THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


HISTORY 


-  IF 


CALIFORNIA 


BY 


THEODORE  H.  HITTELL 


VOLUME    I 


\ 


lsohool 


SAN    FRANCISCO 

N.  J.  STONE  &  COMPANY 

1897 


/ 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the    Year  1885,  by 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 
1  I.  RIGHTS  RESERVED. 


VWMWi.l^aROTyraS  MAO  ^NUOWa. 
0  sma  VB&.NCASCO 


;,3 

CONTENTS. 


ROOk"    T 

■ 


- 


x  CONTEND  v 

CHAPTER     III. 

THE    SEVEN   CITIES.  Page 

Wanderings  of  Cabeza  de'  Yaca  and  companions  and   their  reports  of  rich 

countries  in  the  north 55 

Expedition  of  Marcos  de  Niza  and  Estevanico 55 

Accounts  of  Cibola,  its  seven  cities  and  other  wonders 57 

Massacre  of  Estevanico  and  his  escort  at  Cibola 58 

Danger  from  treachery  of  the  Indians 58 

Marcos  de  Niza's  distant  view  and  description  of  the  seven  cities 59 

How  he  took  possession  of  them  and  returned  to  New  Spain 59 

Effect  of  his  marvelous  reports 59 

CHAPTER    IV. 

ULLOA. 

Voyage  and  discoveries  of  Francisco  de  Ulloa 61  ■ 

His  survey  of  both  coasts  of  the  peninsula 62 

Arrival  at  Cerros  Island  and  struggles  with  the  northwest  wind 63 

Summary  of  Cortes'  services  to  California 64 

His  return  to  Spai    and  death 65 

CHAPTER    V . 

CIBOLA    AND    QUIVIRA. 

Search  by  land  and  sea  for  the  rich  countries  of  the  north 07 

Expedition  of  Coronado  to  Cibola 67 

Accounts  of  and  visit  to  Quivira    68 

His  return;  fate  of  the  first  white  settlers  at  Quivira 69 

Voyage  of  Alarcon;  his  discovery  of  the  Colorado  and   intercourse  with  the 

-Indians 69 

Pedro  de  Alvarado's  projects,  ingratitude  to  Cortes,  and  death 71 

Domingo  del  Castillo's  map  of  California  ....    72 

CHAPTER     VI. 

CABRILLO. 

Voyage  of  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo  and  discovery  of  Alta  California 73 

His  discovery  of  the  coasts  and  islands  as  far  as  Point  Goncepcion 74 

His  discovery  of  Points  Pinos  and  Ano  Nuevo,  ami  untimely  death 75 

Bartolome"    Ferrelo's  continuation  of  Cabrillo's  voyage;   discovery  of  Cape 

Mendocino;  arrival  off  Cape  Planco  and  return  to  New  Spain 76 

Reports  "I  armed  Spaniards  in  the  interior  of  Alta  California 77 

C  II  A  PT  ER    VII. 

lilt:    PHILIPPINE    TRADE. 

tations  ol   finding  wealth  and  splendor  in  the  northwest  abandoned. . .  79 

"discovery  of  the  Philipnj       '  '   ■       and  its  effecl .  79 


CONTENTS.  xi 

Pagi 

Voyages  to  and  conquest  of  the  Philippines So 

Pope  Alexander  YI's  division  of   the  world    between    the    Portuguese  and 

Spaniards  and  dispute  as  to  the  line  in  the  East  Indies 82 

Why  the  Philippine  trade  took  the  way  of  America Sj 

Why  the  east-bound  galleons  skirted  California;  the  North  Pacific  winds  and 

currents 84 

Results  of  the  Philippine  trade  to  California CS4 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

DRAKE. 

Antipathy  of  the  English  towards  the  Spaniards 85  ■ 

Francis  Drake;    his  early  life  and  adventures  in  the  West  Indies S5 

His  first  sight  of  the  Pacific  and  project  of  sailing  thither S6 

His  voyage  to  Port  St.  Julian  and  execution  of  Thomas  Doughty 86 

Passage  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan;   plunder  on  the  coasts  of  Chili  and   Peru 

and  taking  of  the  Spanish  ship  Cacafuego 87 

Attempts  to  find  a  way  homeward   to  the  north  of  America;    return  south- 
ward and  anchorage  under  Point  Reyes 88 

The  Indians  of  Point  Reyes 89 

CHAPTER    IX. 

NEW    ALBION. 

Landing  of  Drake  and  intercourse  with  the  Indians 90 

Ceremonial  visit  of  the  Indian  "  hioh  "  or  chief 91 

Reception  and  entertainment  of  the  Indians s 92 

Supposed  transfer  of  sovereignty  to  the  English  crown    93  > 

Conduct  of  the  Indians  towards  the  English 95 

Excursion  inland  and  appearance  of  the  country 94 

Drake's  monunltnt  and  name  of  New  Albion 95 

His  determination  to  sail  by  the  way  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  depart- 
ure from  California 

Passage  of  the  Pacific  and  return  to  England 

'    '     •'-  97 

■ 
:il 


xii  CONTENTS. 

Page 

Taking  of  Guayaquil 104 

Passage  to  Cape  San  Lucas  and  capture  of  a  Philippine  galleon 105 

Attack  upon  a  second  Philippine  galleon .  107 

Desperate  sea  fight;  withdrawal  of  the  English  and  their  return  to  England  .  108 

The  Indians  of  Cape  San  Lucas 109 

CHAPTER    XI. 

SHELVOCKE. 

Shelvocke  and  his  voyage  by  Cape  Horn  112 

Simon  Hatley,  the  man  that  "  shot  the  albatross" 112 

Passage  to  Chiloe;  fraud  and  theft  there,  and  mischance  at  Concepcion  .    .  .  113 

Exploits  of  Hatley  and  Betagh 114 

Firing  of  Payta;  run  to  Juan  Fernandez;  shipwreck  there,  and  passage  back  115 
Meeting  and  separation  of  Shelvocke  and   Clipperton;  capture  of  the  Sacra 

Familia 116 

Piratical  proceedings  of  the  English 117 

Passage  to  and  stay  at  Cape  San  Lucas ...  118 

Intercourse  with  the  Indians 1 18 

Their  manner  of  living 119 

Their  persons  and  character 119 

Aspect  of  the  country  at  the  Cape 120 

Passage  to  China  and  troubles  there 121 

Difficulties  and  prosecutions  in  England 122 

The  South  Sea  Bubble  and  how  it  burst 123 

Anson's  voyage 1 24 

CHAPTER    XII. 

THE    STRAITS    OF    ANIAN. 

Supposed  existence  of  the  Straits  of  Anian 125 

An  object  of  search  to  Cortes,  Marcos  de  Niza,  Alarcon  and  Cabrillo 125 

Reported  discoveries  of  Urdaneta,  Martin  ChaquiT,  Ladrillero  and  Gali  ....  126 

Pretended  discoveries  of  Lorenzo  Ferrer  de  Maldonado    127 

Account  of  the  straits  and  their  passage  by  Juan  de  Fuca 128 

Reported  voyage  of  Admiral  Fonte 130 

Voyage  of  the  San  Agustin  and  its  shipwreck 131 

Summing  up  of  the  various  accounts  of  the  Straits  of  Anian 132 

General  belief  in  them 133 

First  voyage  of  Viscaino .  .  .  134 

C  1 1  A  P  T  E  R    XIII. 

VISCAINO. 

I  >etermination  of  the  Spanish  government  for  a  new  exploration  of  the  north- 
west coast 1j7 

Second  voyage  of  Viscaino;  passage  to  San   Diego  and  intercourse  with  the 

Indians  there 138 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

Page 

Stories  of  a  people  resembling  the  Spaniards  in  the  Interior 139 

The  island  of  Santa  Catalina;  its  people,  temple  and  idol    139 

Advanced  state  of  the  Indians  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel 140 

Passage  to  Point  Concepcion;  intercourse  with  the  natives,  and  passage  to 

Monterey 141 

Stay  at  Monterey  and  excursion  inland  .    142 

Anchorage  near  San  Francisco  bay;  passage  to  Cape  Blanco  and  return  to 

New  Spain 142 

River  of  Martin  de  Aguilar 144 

The  scurvy,  and  how  Antonio  Luis  found  a  cure  for  it 144 

Viscaino's  project  for  a  third  voyage,  retirement,  recall  and  death 146 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

THE    PEARL    FISHERS. 

Decay  of  Spanish  enterprise 148 ' 

Maritime  discoveries  of  the  Dutch;  passage  round  Cape   Horn;  the  Pichi- 

lingues 149 

Voyage  of  Iturbi  and  the  pearls  he  collected 150 

Farming  out  of  the  pearl  fisheries 151 

Voyages  of  Ortega  and  Carboneli 152 

Voyage  of  Pedro  Portel  de  Casanate 152 

Voyages  of  Pinadero  and  Luzenilla 1 54 

Abandonment  of  the  monopoly ,    15 

Atondo  and  Kino's  voyage  and  settlement  at  La  Paz 155 

Fierceness  of  the  Guaycu'ros  Indians   , 156 

Attacks  upon  the  Spanish  camp  and  how  they  were  repelled 157 

Removal  of  the  settlement  to  San  Bruno 158 

How  Kino  taught  the  resurrection   159 

Breaking  up  of  the  settlement 160 

The  conquest  of  California  by  the  civil  power  a  failure 160 


BOOK  II. 

THE    JESUITS. 

Salvatii.. 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

Page 

Intercourse  and  trouble  with  the  natives 169 

Stealing  and  killing  of  Salvatierra's  only  horse 170 

Indian  forays;  attack  upon  the  settlement  and  repulsion 170 

Submission  of  the  Indians  and  restoration  of  quiet 172 

CHAPTER    II 

SALVATIERRA. 

Thanksgiving  for  the  salvation  of  Loreto 173 

Salvatierra's  missionary  labors 173 

Progress  of  the  spiritual  conquest;  opposition  of  the  medicine  men  or  sor- 
cerers   175 

Failure  of  supplies  and  destitution  of  the  settlement 176 

The  boats  and  vessels  of  the  establishment 177 

Calumnies  circulated  against  the  missionaries  and  their  effect     177 

The  dark  days  of  the  enterprise;  steadfastness  of  Salvatierra;  vain  appeals 

for  help;  Ugarte's  advocacy 179 

The  missionaries  left  to  their  own  resources;  their  determination 180 

Foundation  of  the  mission  of  San  Francisco  Xavier 181 

CHAPTER    III. 

KINO. 

Labors  of  Kino  in  collecting  and  forwarding  supplies 182 

Uncertainty  or  geographical  knowledge  respecting  California 182 

Kino's  opinions  and  grand  design 184 

His  journey  to  the  junction  of  the  Colorado  and  Gila 184 

His  journey  with  Salvatierra  to  the  head  of  the  gulf 185 

His  third  journey 186 

His  fourth  journey;  subsequent  labors  and  death 187 

CHAPTER    IV. 

UGARTE. 

Ugarte's  great  place  in  the  history  of  California. 188 

New  arrangements  at  Loreto;  Ugarte  at  Vigge  Biaundo. 188 

His  policy  and  efforts  in  making  the  missions  self-supporting 189 

I  lis  labors  in  building  and  introducing  agriculture 190 

How  he  taught    the   Indians,    punished    insolence,   and    learned  the   native 

tongue   1 9 1 

How  he  encountered  and  slew  a  California  lion  with  stones 192 

The  splendid  fruits  of  his  toils 192 

CHAPTER    V . 

DIFFICULTIES    AND    OBSTACLES. 

Poblano's  wife;  Indian  outbreak  and  destruction  of  Ugarte's  fields i< 


COXTEXTS.  xv 

Page 

Campaign  against  the  insurgents;  trial  and  execution  of  the  ringleader 195 

Failure  of  provisions  and  discussion  as  to  abandonment  of  the  country 196 

Ugarte's  indomitable  spirit  and  its  effect 197 

New  royal  orders;  promotion  of  Salvatierra 198 

His  efforts  as  provincial  on  behalf  of  California;  enmity  of  the  Duque  de 

Albuquerque 199 

Dawning  of  brighter  days;  foundation  of  the  new  missions  of  Juan  Bautista 

and  Santa  Rosalia 201 

Journey  of  Cgarte  to  the  Pacific  coast 202 

CHAPTER    VI. 

MISSIONARY    GOVERNMENT. 

Salvatierra's  release  from  office  and  return  to  California 204 

Foundation  of  the  mission  of  San  Jose  de  Comondu 205 

Manner  of  foundation  of  a  California  Jesuit  mission:  investment  of  endow- 
ments   , 205 

Sway  exercised  by  the  fathers  over  the  Indians 206 

Was  the  missionary  government  beneficial  to  the  natives ? 207 

Terms  of  service  of  the  soldiers 208 

Powers  of  the  missionaries  over  them ....  209 

Authority  of  the  commander  or  captain-general  .  , 210 

Last  journey  and  death  of  Salvatierra 211 

CHAPTER    VII. 

JAYME    BRAVO. 

Extensive  plans  of  Alberoni 212 

Proposed  purchase  of  California  and  its  rejection;  instructions  to  the  viceroy  213 

Jayme  Bravo  represents  California  at   Mexico    214 

His  eloquent  advocacy  and  its  effect 215 

His  return  to  Loreto  and  admission  to  the  priesthood 210 

His  second  visit  to  Mexico  and  success.  . -•- 


* 


\ 


\ 


xvi  CONTENTS. 

Page 

Foundation  of  the  mission  of  La  Purfsima  Concepcion 223 

Ugarte's  project  of  further  explorations  northward 224 

His  voyage  up  the  gulf;  incident  on  the  Sonorian  shore 224 

His  passage  to  the  mouth  of  the  Colorado  and  return 226 

Expedition  of  Sistiaga  up  the  northwest  coast 227 

CHAPTER    IX. 

REBELLION. 

Disorders  among  the  southern  Indians  and  foundation  of  the  missions  of  Do- 
lores del  Sur  and  Santiago    228 

Foundation  of  the  mission  of  San  Ignacio  and  attack  upon  it  by  the  natives  .  229 

Sistiaga's  masterly  campaign  and  its  results    230 

Foundation  of  the  missions  of  San  Jose  del  Cabo  and  Santa  Rosa 232 

Policy  of  the  founders  of  the  southern  missions 233 

Conspiracy  of  Boton  and  Chicori 233 

Touching  of  a  Philippine  galleon  at  San  Lucas , 234 

Outbreak  of  the  southern  Indians  and  murders  at  Santa  Rosa  and  La  Paz. .  234 

Murder  of  Carranco  and  outrages  at  Santiago 236 

Murder  of  Tamaral;  escape  of  Taraval  and  destruction  of  the  four  southern 

missions 236 

CHAPTER    X. 

REDUCTION    AND    PACIFICATION. 

Death  of  Ugarte 238 

Fears  of  a  general  insurrection;  withdrawal  of  the  missionaries  to  Loreto.  . .  238 

Volunteer  aid  of  the  Yaqui  Indians 239 

Pilgrimage  of  the  northern  converts  to  Loreto  and  return  of  the  missionaries 

to  their  charges 240 

Campaign  of  Lorenzo  against  the  southern  rebels 241 

A  second  Philippine  galleon  at  San  Lucas;  murder  of  its  boat's  crew 242 

The  governor  of  Sinaloa's  campaigns  against  the  rebels  and  their  outcome; 

final  reduction  of  the  insurrection 243 

Results  of  th  j  rebellion;  new  system  of  government  for  California    24  3 

Failure  of  the  new  system  and  restoration  of  the  former  establishment 244 

Pacification  of  the  country  and  brilliant  prospects , 245, 

CHAPTER    XI. 

EXPULSION    OF   THE   JESUITS. 

Condition  of  Pimeria;  expeditions  of  Keler  and  Sedelmayer 247 

Contemplated  reduction  of  Pimeria  and  new  settlements  ir   California 247 

Voyage  of  Consag  up  the  gulf 248 

Collection  of  information  concerning  the  California  missions;  Venegas'  his- 
tory . . . : 249 

111  repute  of  the  Jesuits  in  Europe 250 

Movements  against  them  in  Portugal,  France  and  Spain 251 


CONTENTS.  xvii 

Pace 

How  they  were  driven  out  of  Sinaloa  and  Sonora ,    .    .    252 

Gaspar  de  Portola  sent  to  California  and  his  orders 253 

Arrival  of  Portola;  his  march  and  seizure  of  the  missions   254 

Expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  and  how  they  departed  .      . 255 

CHAPTER    XII. 

PHYSICAL    GEOGRAPHY    OF    LOWER    CALIFORNIA. 

Enumeration  and  position  of  the  Jesuit  missions 257 

Baegert  and  his  "  Nachrichten." 258 

Literary  character  of  his  work 259 

Description  of  Lower  California;  its  mountains  and  rivulets 259 

Its  climate,  heat  and  dryness 260 

Seasons,  rains,  storms,  freshets  and  pools 261 

Fogs  and  dews,  rocks  and  soil 262 

Productiveness  of  cultivable  spots 263 

Trees,  chaparral,  thorns  and  roots .  , 263 

Quadrupeds,  birds,  reptiles  and  insects 264 

Whales,  seals  and  fish    265 

Metals  and  mining  in  the  times  of  the  Jesuits 265 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

INDIANS    OF    LOWER    CALIFORNIA. 

The  native  races  ;  their  different  branches,  names  and  personal  appearance. .  267 

Population  in  1767;  their  isolation  and  absence  of  traditions 268 

The  kind  of  life  they  led;  wanderings;  wind-screens  and  huts;  clothing  ....  268 
Their  property;  bows,  arrows  and  archeiy;  food;  omnivorous  and  indiscrim- 
inate appetites;  cookery;  gluttony , 269 

Sexual  relations;  parturition;  maternal  affection 272 

Sickness;  therapeutics;  medicine  men;   deaths  and  burials 272 

Absence  of  government  and  religious  ideas;  legend  of  Niparaya  and  Quaay- 

ayp  a  fabrication , 274 

Their  language;  want  of  abstract  terms  and  slender  vocabulary 276 

Absence  of  prepositions,  conjunctions,  relatives  and  adverbs 277 

Their  low  grade  and  brutish  characteristics 277 

Their  limited  numerals,  cunning,   thievery,  idleness  and  filth:    their  sound 

sleep,  exemption  from  trouble  and  stolid  happiness 278 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

LO\VER    CALIFORNIA    IN    1 768. 

Results  accomplished  by  the  Jesuits 2S0 

Description  of  Loreto  in  1768;  the  mission  buildings,  village  and  inhabitants  2S0 

Irrigating  canals;  extent  of  cultivation  and  harvests 281 

The  plow;  how  the  fields  were  planted;  fruits  and  other  productions;   wine- 


^Ni 


xviii  CONTENTS. 

Paoe 

Domestic  animals  and  uses  made  of  them 283 

The  Spanish  soldiers  and  sailors  and  how  they  were  paid 285 

Other  population;  absence  of  money  and  trade 285 

Roads  or  trails;  manufactures  , ,  .  .  286 

The  "pious  fund." , 287 

General  summary  of  what  the  Jesuits  accomplished 288 

What  they  did  respecting  the  Indians. 288 

The  spirit  in  which  and  objects  for  which  they  labored 289 


BOOK  III. 

THE    FRANCISCANS- 


CHAPTER    I . 

ST.    FRANCIS    AND    HIS    ORDER. 

Circumstances  under  which  the  Franciscans  assumed  control  of  California  .  .  291 

Account  of  St.  Francis;  his  character  and  conversion, . .  , ., 292 

How  he  became  a  mendicant   .nd  saint 293 

His  visit  to  the  Holy  Land;  increased  ardor,  and  impression  of  the  stigmata  294 

How  his  order  of  Franciscans  originated;  its  rapid  rise  and  wide  extent  .  . .  294 

The  Franciscans  in  America;  and  their  college  of  San  Fernando  in  Mexico  .  296 

Part  taken  by  the  Franciscans  in  the  supersession  of  the  Jesuits 296 

How  the  Franciscans  were  led  by  Junipero  Serra  to  California 297^ 

General  plan  of  the  Spanish  government  in  regard  to  the  northwest  coast. . .  298 

CHAPTER    II. 

JUNIPERO    SERRA. 

Junipero  as  compared  with  St.  Francis 300 

Junipero's  birth  and  education  and  how  he  became  a  priest  and  missionary  .  300 

Circumstances  under  which  he  came  to  America, „ 301 

His  journey  on  foot  from  Vera  Cruz  to  Mexico 302 

Missionary  labors  in  the  Sierra  Gorda 303 

His  labors  at  the  capital  and  in  other  parts  of  Mexico;    wonderful   effects  of 

his  preaching 303 

Comes  to  regard  himself  as  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  God 304 

Remarkable  exhibition  of  his  faith 305 

His  qualifications  for  the  presidency  of  the  California  missions 306 

Plans  for  the  occupation  and  settlement  of  Alta  California;  part  taken  by  Jose 

de  Galvez,  the  visitador-general 307 

Sailing  of  the  first  vessel  with  settlers  for  Alta  California 307 

CHAP  T  E  R    HI. 

THE    PIONEERS    OF    1769. 

The  San  Carlos  and  its  cargo 309 


CONTENTS.  mx 

Pack 

Preparations  and  dispatch  of  the  San  Antonio   .,,.,... 309 

The  San  Jose  and  its  unknown  fate , „ , 310 

March  of  first  division  of  land  pioneers  to  Vellicata 310 

March  of  second  division  and  progress  of  Father  [unipero ,  311 

Foundation  of  the  mission  of  San  Fernando  de  YellicaUi 312 

Junipero  *  dcerated  leg  and  how  he  was  relieved  by  a  muleteer 313" 

Arrival  and   oinder  of  the  pioneers  at  San  Diego  .    ... , , ,    . .  ,  314 

Voyages  of  Lhe  San  Carlos  and  San  Antonio ....».,.....,  315 

Junipero's  account  of  the  port  of  San  Diego , ,  316 

CHAPTER    IV. 

SETTLEMENT    OF    SAN    DIEGO.     '" 

Natal  day  of  Alta  California,  July  1,  1769 , _.  317 

March  of  expedition  of  discovery  for  Monterey 317 

Foundation  of  the  mission  of  San  Diego, . . 3181 

Uprising  of  Indians  and  attack  upon  the  new  mission    319 

Results  of  the  Indian  outbreak 320 

Junipero's  experience  ir  making  converts   ; 321 

Return  of  the  Monterey  expedition;  gloomy  outlook  and  proposed  abandon- 
ment of  Alta  California   .  .      - 321 

Junipero's  determination  to  remain  at  all  hazards.    .    .    ., 322 

Unexpected  change  of  prospect  on  St.  Joseph's  day  and  its  occasion    323 

Arrival  of  the  San  Antonio  and  circumstances  of  its  voyage. 324 

CHAPTER    V. 

FOUNDATION    OF    MONTEREY. 

Renewal  of  the  search  for  Monterey 326 

How  the  first  expedition  passed  Point  Pinos  without  recognizing  the  port.  .      y&. 
How  it  advanced  to  San  Francisco  and  returned  and  still  failed  to  find  M01 

terey 

Portola's  account  of  the  expedition 

Return  to  San  L)iego 

Second  expedition  and  how  divided  into  a  land  division  and  sea  division  . . 

Arrival  of  land  division  and  what  the  Indians  said  of  the  cross 

Recognition  of  Monterey  and  joinder  of  the  two  divisions ,    

Foundation  of  presidio  and  mission  of  Monterey , 

How  the  good  news  was  carried  from  Monterey  to  Mexico 

Rejoicings  in  Mexico . . .  , 

Junipero's  labors  at  Monterey;  removal  of  the  mission  to  Carmel  river  .  .  . 

Scenery  of  the  new  site 

Junipero's  call  for  more  missions  and  missionaries  . 

Liberal  response  of  the  viceroy,  visitador-general  and  college  of  San   l'i 

nando 

How  the  San  Carlos  returned  to  San  Bias  and  sailed  with  twenty  missii 

aries  for  Loreto 

Reception  often  new  missionaries  at  Monterey:  Junipero's  satisfaction  . .  . 


xx  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    VI. 

SAN    ANTONIO,    SAN    GABRIEL    AND    SAN    LUIS    OBISPO.  Pace 

Site  of  the  mission  of  San  Antonio 339 

How  the  place  had  first  been  seen  and  appreciated 339 

How  Junipero  journeyed  to  the  spot;  lifted  up  his  voice  in  the  wilderness, 

and  founded  the  new  mission 34° 

Preparation  for  another  new  mission;  site  of  San  Gabriel .  342 

Wonder-working  picture  of  the  Virgin  Mary;  foundation  of  the  mission  of 

San  Gabriel. , .  .  • 343 

Outrage  upon  the  wife  of  an  Indian  chief  and  its  effects 344 

Failure  of  supplies  and  how  remedied;  slaughter  of  bears 345. 

How  Junipero  was  obliged  to  go  south  and  resolved  to  found  a  new  mission  345 

The  site  of  San  Luis  Obispo  and  how  it  was  first  visited 34^ 

Foundation  of  the  mission  of  San  Luis  Obispo 346 

Manufacture  of  roofing  tiles  and  what  led  to  it ,  347 

Junipero's  journey  to  San  Diego;  his  conference  with  Juan  Perez  and  the 

result . 348 

Reasons  that  induced  Junipero  to  extend  his  journey  to  Mexico 349 

How  he  fell  sick  at  Guadalajara  and  how  he  was  restored  at  Quer6taro 350 

Political  changes  in  Mexico;  the  viceroyalty;  recall  of  the  visitador-general  351 
The  Dominicans  demand  a  part  of  the  new  province;  arrangement  giving 

them  Lower  California. 352 

Proposed  abandonment  of  the  port  of  San  Bias « 352 

CHAPTER  VII. 

BUCARELI. SAN  DIEGO  DESTROYED  AND  RESTORED. SAN  JUAN 

CAPISTRANO. 

Interest  taken  by  Bucareli  y  Ursua,  the  new  viceroy,  in  California. 354 

Intercourse  between  him  and  Junipero 354 

How  Junipero  saved  the  port  of  San  Bias 356 

His  statement  of  the  needs  of  Alta  California  and  Bucareli's  action 356 

His  demand  for  the  removal  of  Pedro  Fages  and  its  reasons 356 

Resolutions  in  reference  to  powers  to  be  exercised  by  the  missionaries 357 

Measures  for  the  advance  of  the  missions 357 

Reglamento  of  the  military  establishment 358 

Junipero's  success  in  obtaining  contributions  for  temporary  relief 359 

How  Bucareli  was  indcced  to  open  an  overland  road  from  Sonora 360 

How  his  zeal,  kindled  by  Junipero's,  projected  voyages  of  discovery 360 

Junipero's  return  to  California r. 361 

Juan  Bautista  de  Anza  and  his  employment  to  open  a  road  from  Sonora  ....  362 

His  expedition  from  Altar  to  Monterey 363 

His  return  to  Sonora 363 

Delivery  of  Lower  California  missions  to  Dominicans;  Palou's  start  for  Alta 

California. 364 

Palou's  journey  and  labors , 365 


CONTENTS.  xxi 

^^^^^  Page 

Monterey 366 

'./.  to  the-  north 366 

Ae  Heceta 367 

y  Quadra  ,    368 

nission  of  San  Juan  Capistrano 369 

San  Diego;  murder  of  Father  Luis  Jayme  and  d  est  rue- 
mission  370 

d  hands  and  Urselino's  forgiving  spirit 371 

•  Moncada  and  Anza  to  the  spot 372 

livera  y  Moncada  and  the  missionaries 373 

of  Rivera  y  Moncada 374 

to  San  Diego  and  how  he  commenced  to  rebuild  the  ruined 

; 375 

Bucareli,  advancing  the  missionary  cause 376 

a's  change  of  policy 377 

How  Junipero  completed  the  restoration  of  San  Diego  and  refounded  San 

Juan  Capistrano 377 

How  the  stratagem  of  a  San  Gabriel  Indian  saved  him  from  destruction.  . .  378 

Site  of  San  Juan  Capistrano 378 

Junipero's  return  to  Monterey 379 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

DISCOVERY    AND    SETTLEMENT    dF    SAN    FRANCISCO. 

San  Francisco  unknown  till  a  late  period 380 

Wreck  of  the  San  Agustin;  Viscaino's  search;  Cabrera  Bueno 380 

Governor  Portola's  expedition  up  the  coast 381 

Discovery  of  San  Francisco  and  its  circumstances 383 

What  St.  Francis  had  to  do  with  the  discovery 385 

Spanish  and  Mexican  inappreciation  of  San  Francisco 386 

Survey  undertaken  by  Pedro  Fages  and  Father  Crespi 387 

Their  expedition  around  the  eastern  side  of  the  bay  to  the  mouth  of  the  San 

Joaquin  river 387 

Expedition  of  Rivera  y  Moncada  and   Fathe.-   Palou;  the  cross  planted  on 

Point  Lobos  388 

Bucareli's  orders  for  the  presidio  and  mission  of  San    Francisco  and  mission 

1S9 


■ 


xxii  CONTENTS. 

Pagk 

Anza's  survey  of  San  Francisco  and  the  bay 395 

Quarrel  between  Anza  and  Rivera  y  Moncada 397 

How  the  presidio  was  ordered  to  be  founded  and  Junipero  managed  to  have 

the  mission  started  . 397 

The  founders  of  San  Francisco  and  how  they  left  Monterey 398 

Their  route  to,  and  first  camp  at,  San  Francisco 399 

Preparations  for  the  presidio 400 

How  the  San  Carlos  arrived,  and  the  work  at  the  presidio  and  mission  pro- 
ceeded   , 401 

■  Formal  foundation  of  the  presidio,  September  17,  1776    402 

How  Jose  Joaquin  Moraga  went  a  second  time  to  the  San  Joaquin  river  and 

crossed  it 403 

Fernando  Quiros'  exploration  of  San  Pablo  bay 404 

Foundation  of  the  mission  of  San  Francisco 404 

Absence  of  the  San  Francisco  Indians  and  reasons  therefor 406 

CHAPTER    IX. 

SANTA    CLARA    AND    SAN    JOSE. EVENTS    OF    1 777—79- 

Earliest  visitors  to  the  Santa  Clara  valley 407 

Foundation  of  the  mission  of  Santa  Clara 407 

The  Santa  Clara  valley  and  its  products 409 

The  natives  and  their  thieving  character;  the  first  fruits  of  the  mission 409/ 

Visit  of  Junipero  to  Santa  Clara  and  San  Francisco 410 

Junipero  at  the  presidio;  his  emotion  upon  beholding  the  Golden  Gate    ....  411 

\  Foundation  of  the  pueblo  of  San  Jose 41 1 

How  it  was  originally  laid  out  and  built  up 412 

Junipero's  missionary  labors;  investment  with  the  power  of  confirmation  .  .  .  413 
Political  change  in  New  Spain;  new  jurisdiction  of  the  Internal  Provinces, 

including  the  Californias 415 

Junipero's  second  visit  to  San  Francisco  . . . . : .  415 

Uucareli's  exploring  voyages 416 

Voyage  of  Arteaga  and  liodega  y  Quadra 416 

Their  stop  at  San  Francisco;  Nuestra  Seiiora  de  Los  Remedios 418 

Death  of  Bucareli;  tribute  to  his  memory 419 

CHAPTER    X. 

JUNIPERO'S    TROUBLES. — COLORADO    MISSIONS. — LOS    ANGELES.— SAN 

BUENAVENTURA. SANTA    BARBARA. 

Junipero's  power  of  confirmation  called  in  question .• 420 

The  controversy  decided  in  his  favor:  Junipero's  resumption  of  labor 421 

Father  Juan  Crespi:  his  last  visit  to  San  Francisco;  his  death;  honors  paid 

him 422 

New  missionary  projects  contemplated 423 

Expeditions  to  the  Colorado  river 423 

Father  Francisco  Garces;  his  missionary  banner;  Irs  wanderings 424/ 


CONTENTS.  *  xxiii 

Determination  of  the  college  of  Queretaro  to  found  missions 426 

Foundation  of  the  Colorado  missions;  policy  adopted  for  carrying  them  on.  .  426 

Troubles  with  the  Indians 427 

Arrival  of  Rivera  y  Moncada  with  recruits  for  California 428 

Attack  upon  and  destruction  of  the  Colorado  missions 429 

Cayetano  Limon's  marches   429 

Marvels  concerning' the  martyred  missionaries 430 

Stories  of  ghosts  and  specters  at  the  ruined  missions   431 

Campaigns  against  the  Yumas 4  .52 

Foundation  of  the  pueblo  of  Los  Angeles 433 

Comparison  between  San  Jose  and  Los  Angeles 434 

Preparations  for  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel  establishments 435 

The  site  of  San  Buenaventura 436 

Foundation  of  San  Buenaventura  mission    436 

Foundation  of  the  presidio  of  Santa  Barbara 437 

New  missions  contemplated;  refusal  of  government  to  furnish  supplies 438 

Sorrows  of  Junipero 439 

CHAP  T E  R    X  I  . 

LAST    DAYS,    DEATH    AND    BURIAL    OF    JUNIPERO. 

lunipero's  bodily  ailments  and   how  he  had  aggravated  them 441- 

His  last  visit  to  the  southern  missions 442 

Last  visit  to  San  Francisco, 443 

Dedication  of  Murguia's  church  at  Santa  Clara   /\/\.\ 

Final  labors  at  San  Carlos 445 

Sinking  of  the  fervid  spirit;  farewell  to  his  fellow  laborers 445 

Last  sickness  and  patient  sufferings 446 

Last  devotions  and  last  night 446 

His  last  requests 447 

llow  he  died;  his  character;  what  he  accomplished 447- 

IIow  his  body  was  laid  out  and  how  relic-seekers  did  it  pious  violence 44S 

Burial  ceremonies  and  honors 449 

Biography  by  Father  Palou    450 

J  uniperors  title  to  remembrance 451 

CHAPTER    XII. 

PRESIDENT  LASUEN. — SANTA    BARBARA,  PURISIMA.    SANTA    CRUS, 
AND    SOLED.AD. 

Father  Palou  temporarv  successor  to  Junipero 452 

His  troubles;  the  bishopric  of  Sonora  and  the  Californias;  proposed  custodia 

of  San  Gabriel    453 

Progress  of  the  first  nine  missions 453 

Pather  Fermin  Francisco  de  Lasuen,  next  president 454 

Foundation  of  Santa  Barbara  mission 455 

Progress  of  the  establishment 456 


xxiv  *  CONTI 

Survey  of  site  ot  Purisima 

Foundation  of  Purisima  mission;  its  prog] 
Lasuen  authorized  to  administer  the  rite  o 
How  his  labors  of  confirmation  were  inter. 

sions . 

Who  started  the  new  projects 46o 

Selection  of  site  of  Santa  Cruz .  461 

Description  of  the  location  ..... 461 

Foundation  of  Santa  Cruz  mission 462 

Minute  records  of  the  foundation;    supplies  furnished;  Hermenegildo  Sal's 

instructions  to  the  guard 463 

Progress  of  the  new  establishment 465 

Preparations  for  foundation  of  Soledad 465 

Foundation  and  progress  of  Soledad  mission 466 

La  Perouse's  visit  to  California 467 

His  observations  of  the  Indians  at  San  Carlos 467 

His  account  of  how  they  were  treated  and  fed   468 

His  summing  up  of  impressions;   Indians  slaves 469 

His  departure  and  legacy  to  the  country   470 

Vancouver's  visit  and  opportunities  of  observation 47 1 

His  account  of  what  he  saw .    47 1 

Treatment  of  the  Indians;  kindness  of  missionaries;   Father  Santa  Maria  and 

the  neophytes  of  San  Buenaventara   472 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

SAN    JOSE.    SAN     JUAN    BAUTISTA,    SAN    MIGUEL,    SAN    FERNANDO    AND 

SAN    LUIS    REY. 

How  it  was  resolved  to  (ill  up  the  unsettled  gaps  between  the  old  missions. .  474 
What  gaps  there  were  and  the  movements  of  Diego  de  Borica  to  found  new 

establishments 474 

Branciforte's  participation  in  the  new  projects. ....    476 

Site  of  San  Jose  mission 476 

How  San  Jose  mission  was  founded 477 

Quarrel  between  Father  Barcenilla  and  Corporal  Miranda  and  progress  of  the 

new  establishment 478 

Preparations  for  San  Juan  Bautista;  survey  and  selection  of  its  site 479 

Foundation  and  progress  of  San  Juan  Bautista  mission 480 

How  the  site  of  San  Miguel  was  selected 481 

>i  Foundation  of  San  Miguel  mission 481 

Strange  actions  of  Father  Concepcion. 482 

His  violent  removal  to  Monterey;  declared   insane  and  sent  off  to  Mexico; 

progress  of  San  Miguel 482 

Selection  of  the  site  of  San  Fernando 484 

Foundation  and  progress  of  San  Fernando  mission 4N4 

Selection  of  the  site  of  San  Luis  Key 4S5 

Foundation  of  San  Luis  Key  mission 486 


CONTENTS.  xxv 

Progress  of  the  new  establishment 4S7 

Lasuen's  return,  after  his  labors,  to  .Monterey;  his  pious  sweats 4SS 

His  final  sickness  and  death 489 

His  character   489 

CHAPTE  R    X  I  V. 

SAN    INEZ,    SAN    RAFAEL    AND    SAN    FRANCISCO    SOLANO. 

Father  Estevan  Tapis  president  of  the  missions ,   490 

Selection  of  the  site  of  Santa  Inez 490 

Foundation  and  progress  of  Santa  Inez  mission 491 

The  gaps  all  filled  and  country  occupied  from  San  Diego  to  Saa  Francisco  492 

Reasons  for  founding  missions  north  of  San  Francisco;  the  Russians 493 

Presidents  Jose  Senan  and  Mariano  Payeras;  foundation  and  site  of  San  Ra- 
fael mission 494 

Progress  of  the  Russians  and  decline  of  Spanish  power 495 

Reconnoisance  and  survey  of  Sonoma  and  its  neighborhood j.96 

Foundation  and  progress  of  San  Francisco  Solano  mission 498 

The  twenty-one  missions  of  Aha  California  all  founded;  futile  talk  of  found- 
ing others 499 

General  character  of  the  old  establishments;  churches  and  buildings;  court- 
yards and  corridors;  San  Juan  Bautista  as  a  example 500 

The  office  of  prefect  of  the  missions 500 

Failure  of  the  college  of  San  Fernando  of  Mexico  to  furnish  more  mission- 
aries; transfer  of  half  the  missions  to  the  college  of  Orizaba 501 

Effect  of  the  Mexican  revolution  upon  the  mission  system 502 

Attitude  of  the  missionaries  towards  the  republic;  non-juring  missionaries  .  .  503 
How  Fathers  Sarria,  Duran  and  others  refused  to  take  the  oaths  and  the  col- 
lege of  Zacatecas  was  invited  to  furnish  compliant  missionaries 504 

Relations  of  juring  and  non-juring  missionaries  towards  each  other;  Gover- 
nor Figueroa  on  Sarria  and  Duran 505 

Destruction  of  the  missions  by  secularization 507 

The  work  of  the  missionaries  barren  and  unprofitable 508 


,     BOOK  IV. 

THE  SPANISH   GOVERNORS. 


CHAPTER     I. 

PORTOLA,  BARRI,  DE  NEVE  AND  FAGES. 

Gaspar  de  Portola,  first  governor 5°9 

His  connection  with  the  Californias 5'° 

His  character,  abilities  and  success 5'° 

Felipe  de  Barri,  second  governor;  quarrel  between  him  and  the  missionaries  511 


xxvi  .    CONTENTS. 

Pag? 

Withdrawal  of  Jose  de  Galvez,  the  visitador-general 512 

Pedro  Fages  and  his  quarrels  with  the  missionaries 513 

The  quarrels  carried  to  Mexico    513 

Bucareli's  vain  efforts  to  compose  them 514* 

Removal  of  Barri  and  Fages 515 

Fernando  Rivera  y  Moncada  appointed  comandante  of  San  Diego  and  Mon- 
terey; the  "  soldados  de  cuera." 5'5 

Bucareli's  instructions 516 

The  comandante's  movements 517 

Disagreement  with  Anza 5  1  b> 

Disagreement  with  the  missionaries 5 '  ^ 

Exhibition  of  Rivera  y  Moncada's  ill  humor  towards  Anza ...  5r9 

Anza's  return  in  kind 520 

Bucareli's  reproof  to  both;  retirement  of  Rivera  y  Moncada  to  Lower  C  ali- 

fornia 521 

Felipe  de  Neve,  third  governor;  his  appointment  and  instructions 521 

His  famous  "  Reglamento  ;  "  and  its  provisions  relating  to  colonization 522 

Distribution  and  use  of  municipal  lots  and  lands 523 

How  he  laid  out  and  founded  pueblos 524 

His  legislation 525 

His  instructions,  when  promoted,  for  the  guidance  of  his  successor 525 

His  relations  with  the  missionaries  and  unfavorable  opinion  of  their  work.  .  .  526 

Promotion  and  untimely  death 527 

Pedro  Fages,  fourth  governor;  his  previous  life  in  California 527 

How  he  became  military  comandante  and  temporary  governor  of  the  Cali- 

fornias .  .    .  . . 528 

How  his  wife,  DoSa  Eulalia,  the  senora  gobernadora,  came  to   California; 

the  quarrel  between  the  spouses 529 

First  acts  of  Fages'  administration;  control  of  government  over  the  mission- 
aries     o .  .  .'. 530 

His  raid  upon  licentiousness,  general  immorality  and  fault-finding 531 

How  he  tried  his  hand  at  legislation  and  the  nature  of  his  regulations 532 

Intercourse  of  traveling  soldiers  and  couriers  with  Indians;  punishment   of 

Indian  horse-thieves;  prohibition  of  liquor  traffic 533 

Tariff  of  prices  in  Fages'  time 533 

Interesting  letters  to  Fages;  Ortega's  unspeakable  gratitude  for   favors   re- 
received  534 

Dishonor  of  Francisco  Bernal's  domestic  hearth  by  Marcelo  Pinto 535 

Exquisite  letter  of  Jose  de  Zufiiga  to  his  mother 536 

Fages'  improvements  at  Monterey;  how  he  employed  Indians  to  do  the  work  537 

His  suggestions  to  his  successor;  estimate  of  his  character 539 

CHAPTER    II. 

KOMEU     AND    ARRILLAGA. 

The  Provincias  Interims;  their  extent,  jurisdiction  and  comandante-general .  .  540 

New  plan  of  government;  erection  of  the  Internal  Provinces  of  the  West.  .  .  541 


CONTENTS.  xxvii 

Pack 

Circuitous  manner  in  which  royal  orders  were  transmitted  to  California 541 

How  and  why  a  supposed  remedy  against  "jiggers  "  was  sent  to  a  jiggerless 

country " 512 

Order  as  to  how  the  American  ship  Columbia  wis  to  be  treated 543 

Authority  of  the  comandante  of  the  Internal  Provinces    544 

Judicial  jurisdiction  over  the  Californias *. 544 

Jurisdiction  of  the  viceroy    545 

Jose  Antonio  Romeu,  fifth  governor;  his  appointment,  journey  and  I     h  :alth  545 

Council  of  officers  to  provide  for  the  government  in  case  of  his  dea  h  .  . .  .  540 

Death  of  Romeu;  respect  -paid  to  his  family 547 

Jose  Joaquin  de  Arrillaga,  sixth  governor 54S 

His  inaugural  remarks;  unfavorable  opinions  of  Alejandro  Jordan's  coloniza- 
tion scheme 549 

Arrillaga's  journey  from  Loreto  to  San  Francisco,  and  what  he  did 549 

Defenseless  condition  of  San  Francisco  and  how  Arrillaga  fortified  Fort  Point  55° 
The  four  presidios  of  Alta  California  in   1793;  character  of  improvements 

made;  Toribio  Ruiz 551 

Arrillaga's  report  of  his  administration 552 

His  statement  of  the  condition  of  affairs  for  the  information  of  his  successor  552 

New  missions  founded  by  the  Dominicans  in  Lower  California 553 

Withdrawal  of  Arrillaga  and  estimate  of  his  services 555 

Strange  good  fortune  of  Our  Lady  of  Loreto;  bow  she  was  covered   from 

head  to  feet  with  pearls 555 

How  Our  Lady  presented   "  La  Peregrina"  to  the  queen  of  Spain  and  how 
the  queen  of  Spain  in  return  provided  for  a  perpetual    flame  at   the 

shrine  of  Our  Lady 55^ 

CHAPTER    III. 

KORICA. 

i)  Diego  de  Borica,  seventh  governor  of  the  Californias 558 

His  pleasant  life  and  cultured  friends  at  Arispe 55S 

Journey  of  the  governor  and  his  family  to  Monterey;  good  humor  and  gal- 
lantry        •  •  559 

Intercourse  with  Vancouver  and  letters  to  Arispe  friends 560 

Relations  with  missionaries  and  military  subordinates 501 

Views  in  reference  to  grants  of  land 5"j 

Kindness  to  the  Indians;  cruelties  of  the  missionaries 562 

^Ill-treatment  of  neophytes  at  San  Francisco  and  how  Father  Fernand 

into  trouble  for  remonstrating  against  it  ....    5^3 

Borica's  advocacy  of  the  cause  of  the  Indians 5<>4 

Reforms  promised  by  the  missionaries  and  Borica's  manly  letter  on  the  sub- 
ject    565 

More  troubles  about  cruelty  to  Indians;  passage  of  words  betvt     ti  *    iman- 

dante  Arguello  and  the  missionaries 5^5 

Father  Fernandez'  continued  remonstrances;  Borica's  orders  that  abuses  should 

cease 5^° 


xxviii  CONTENTS. 

Page 

Fernandez'  experiences  of  the  usual  fate  of  a  good  man  in  a  bad  age 567 

Borica's  appreciation  and  praise  of  Fernandez 567 

Abuse  by  missionaries  of  power  to  inflict  lashes  and  how   Borica,  roused  to 

indignation,  put  a  stop  to  it   568 

How,  while  kind  to  the  Indians,  he  insisted  on  the  performance  of  their  duly; 

general  effect  of  his  measures 569 

War  between  Spain  and  France;  Borica's  efforts  to  put  the  country  in  a  state 

of  defense;  reinforcements  ordered  by  viceroy  Branciforte 570 

Borica's  plans  in  case  California  should  be  attacked 571 

Contributions  for  the  war;  answer  of  missionaries  when  asked  to  contribute  571 

Dissipation  of  the  war-cloud 572 

Talk  of  war  with  England;  rumored  invasion  by  Americans  pronounced  by 

Borica  a  plalonic  idea 573 

CHAPTER    IV. 

BORICA   (CONTINUED). 

Alberto  de  Cordoba,  the  "  ingeniero  cstraordinario  *' 575 

Mutual  appreciation  between  Borica  and  Cordoba;  their  accord  in  carrying 

on  improvements 575 

Survey  of  the  neighborhood  of  San  Francisco  for  new  pueblos;  choice  of  the 

site  of  Branciforte 576 

Instructions  of  the  viceroy  about  the  villa  of  Branciforte 577 

Borica's  instruction  and  adoption  of  the  Plan  of  Pitic , 578 

The  Plan  of  Pitic;  its  object  and  character 579 

Its  main  features  as  a  model  for  new  pueblos;  right  to  four  square  leagues  of 

land;  alcaldes,  ayuntamientos,  and  municipal  regulations 579 

Arrival  of  the  first  colonists  for  Branciforte  and  their  miserable  condition.  .  .  581 
Foundation  of  Branciforte  and  Borica's  account  of  the  wants  of  the  new  estab- 
lishment       5S1 

Progress  of  Branciforte;   Gabriel  Moraga  s  favorable  report;  the  place  not 

destined  to  be  a  success   582 

Bad  condition  in  which  Cordoba  and  Alberni  found  San  Francisco 582 

Repairs  and  improvements  at  San  Francisco 583 

Yerba  Buena;  origin  of  the  name  and   description  of  the  place;   the  battery 

built  there  by  Borica .    5^4 

Advantages  of  Yerba  Buena  as  a  place  of  anchorage;  loss  of  the  San  Carlos; 

Spanish  mode  of  anchoring  ships 585 

Establishment  of  "  el  rancho  del  rev;  "  opposition  of  the  missionaries;   Borica 

sustained  by  the  viceroy 5^° 

C6rdoba's  valuable  services  to  California 5^7 

I  lis  return  to  Mexico  with  Borica's,  well  merited  compliments 58S 

CHAPTER    V. 

BORICA    (CONTINUED). 
Borica's  energy  and  activity  as  a  governor 59° 


CONTENTS.  xxix 

r    i 
The  bad  materials  he  had  to  work  apon;  his  crusade  against  aguardiente  .  .  .    590 
His  disgust  with  idleness  and  how  he  reformed  the  laziness  of  San  Jose  colo- 
nists     591 

His  raid  upon  gamblers  and  gambling 592 

How  he  silenced  slanderous  tongues 593 

His  trouble  with  the  extraordinary  wickedness  of  San  Jose;  plain  talk  to  the 

alcalde 593 

What  Borica  expected  and  required  of  an  alcalde 594 

His  concern  for  the  youth  of  the  country  and  measures  to  secure  education.  .   594 

Character  of  early  school  teachers 596 

Education  of  Indians;  Bonca's  circular;  Spanish  to  be  taught  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  native  languages;  Borica's  views 596 

Encouragement  of  hemp  and  flax  and  agriculture  in  general 597 

Overland  communication  with  Sonora  and  character  of  the  Colorado  country  598 
Foundation  of  the  Dominican  missions  of  San  Pedro  and  Santa  Catalina  near 
the  Colorado;  Borica's  commendation  of  Arrillaga  for  the  part  he  took 

in  them 599 

Borica  as  a  magistrate;  his  justice  tempered  with  mercy;  punishments  inflicted 

by  his  orders 600 

His  action  as  a  judge  in  civil  cases;  specimen  of  an  interlocutory  order  issued 

by  him , 601 

His  advocacy  of  a  division  of  the  Californias  into  separate  jurisdictions 601 

Recognition  and  appreciation  of  his  great  services  by  the  viceroy  Branciforte  603    ■ 

His  incessant  labors  and  failing  strength;  prayer  to  be  relieved :    ...   603 

His  appointment  of  Arrillaga;  retirement  from  California,  and  death 604 

CHAPTER    VI. 

ARRILLAGA    AGAIN. 

Jose  Joaquin  de  Arrillaga,  eighth  governor 606 

Separation  of  the  Californias;  Arrillaga  gobernador    propietario    of  Nueva 
California  and  Felipe  de  Goycoechea  of  Antigua  California;  line  of 

division 607 

Condition  of  military  affairs  in  1S00 608 

Death  of  Hermenegildo  Sal  and  Pedro  de  Alberni 60S 

Arrillaga's  change  of  residence  from  Loreto  to  Monterey 610 

Inspection  and  condition  of  presidios  and  soldiers  in  1S06 610 

Population  of  Alta  California  from   1S05  to   1 8 10;  decrease  of  Indians;  epi- 
demics; desertions;  expeditions  after  fugitives;  Indian  uprisings 611 

Bitter  feelings  of  Indians  against  whites;  murder  of  Father  Quintana  at  San 

Diego;  cruelties  practiced  towards  the  Indians 612 

Healthy  country  and  climate;  "few  diseases,  fewer  physicians  and  hardly  any 

drugs; "  barbers  not  allowed  to  practice  blood-letting 013 

Surgeon  Pablo  Soler  and  his  lonely  state;  operations  and  cures  performed 

by  him 614 

Old  pueblos  preferred  as  places  of  residence  and  Branciforte  neglected 014 

Progress  of  Los  Angeles    615 


xxx  CONTENTS. 

Page 

Progress  of  San  Jose;  the  alameda 616 

Site  of  San  Jose  changed;  dispute  of  pueblo  with  Santa  Clara  mission 617 

Population  of  Alta  California  from  1S10  to  1816  and  how  distributed 618 

Arrillaga  as  a  magistrate  and  judge;  remarkable  case  and  execution  at  Santa 

Barbara;  restraint  of  ecclesiastical  encroachment 618 

Spanish  jealousy  of  foreigners;  treatment  of  Vancouver  and  the  English  ....    619 

Feeling  against  the  Americans  and  its  reasons 619 

Affair  of  the  brig  Lelia  Byrd  at  San  Diego  and  how  the  Americans  ran  the 

gauntlet  of  the  guns  of  Point  Guijarros    ' 620 

American  smugglers;    their  usual  cargoes  and    how  they  traded    along  the 

coast 621 

The  British  ship  Raccoon  at  San  Francisco;  Captain  Black's  correspondence 

with  Arrillaga 622 

The  Russians;  story  of  R6sanoff;  his  betrothal  with  Concepcion  Arguello 

and  sad  fate 623 

R6sanoff's  extensive  plans 624 

His  attempt  to  negotiate  a  commercial  treaty  with  Arrillaga 624 

How  he  proposed  to  accomplish  his  objects   625 

How  near  California  came  to  being  Russianized 625 

Russian  settlement  at  Bodega  in  1S12;  extent  and  enormous  profits  of  Rus- 
sian hunting;  trade  with  the  Californians 626 

Kotzebue's  visit  to  California 627 

Conference  between  Kotzebue,  Koskoff  and  Governor  Sola;  jealousy  of  the 

Russians 627 

Accession  of  Fernando  VII.  to  the  Spanish  throne  and  how  allegiance  was 

sworn  to  him  in  California 628 

Commencement  of  the  revolution  against  Spain;  rising  of  Miguel  Hidalgo 

and  its  results;  Arrillaga's  proclamation 628 

Death  of  Arrillaga;  his  will  and  legatee;  masses  for  his  soul  and  how  paid 

for 629 

CHAPTER    VII. 

ARGUELLO    (THE    ELDER)    AND    SOLA. 

■*  Jose  Dario  Arguello,  ninth  governor;  his  life  up  to  1S06 631 

His  instructions  to  his  son_.  Luis  Antonio  Arguello,  on  delivering  to  him  the 

command  of  San  Francisco 631 

His  removal  to  Santa  Barbara;  prominence  of  his  family;  appointment  as 

governor  of  Lower  California  and  removal  to  Loreto 632 

Pablo  Vicente  de  Sola,  tenth  governor;  sketch  of  his  earlier  life 633 

His  arrival  in  California;  grand  mass,  rejoicings  and  extraordinary  festivities  633 

Description  of  the  presidio  of  Monterey,  where  the  festivities  took  place. . .  .  634 

Its  adornment  in  his  honor 6j© 

"La  gran  funcion  "  in  the  church  and  parade  by  the  soldiers 635 

Address  to  the  people  and  to  the  troops 636 

Banquet  and  delightful  surprise 637 

Bull-light;  a  bear  brought   in  to  vary  the  amusement 637 


CONTENTS.  xxxi 

Page 

Combat  between  bull  ami  bear 638 

Ball  at  night;  the  dresses  and  dances 6  jS 

Celebration  at  San  Carlos;  the  governor's  opinion  of  what  he  had  seen    ... 
Sola's  tours  of  inspection  and  the  condition  in  which  he  found  the  country.  .    640 
His  suspicions  of  the  Russians  and   Americans;  his  project  of  seizing   Fort 

Ross  and  Bodega  and  expelling  the  Russians   641 

Buenos  Ayres  privateers;  their  threatened  attack  upon  California  ami   S 

preparations  to  meet  them 642 

General  character  of  the  Buenos  Ayres  "  insurgentes" 643 

Excitement  at  Monterey  caused  by  the  appearance  of  a  strange  sail 643 

How  the  captain  of  the  strange  vessel  was  obliged  to  give    an    account  of 

himself 644 

How  the  stranger  was  sent  out  of  the   country;  new   excitement  occasioned 

by  an  English  vessel;  suspicions  of  the  Californians 645 

Interchange  of  civilities  with  cannons  ready-shotted  and  men  under  arms.  .  .    647 

CHAPTER     VIII. 

1    SOLA    AND    MEXICAN    INDEPENDENCE. 

Subsidence  of  excitement  in  reference  to  l'.uenos  Ayres  insurgents 04N 

Notice  of  an  attack  actually  contemplated  and  Sola's  preparations 648 

Arrival  of  two  Buenos  Ayres  privateers;   their  demands  and   Sola's  defiant 

reply      649 

Disposition  of  the  California  forces  for  the  purposes  of  resistance 650 

The  attack  on  Monterey  and  how  it  was  met;  interesting  incidents;  the  white 

Hag  and  debarkation  of  the  insurgents 651 

Retirement  of  Sola  and  his  troops  to  the  interior;  results  of  the  fight;  with- 
drawal of  the  enemy 652 

Sola's  return  to  Monterey  to  find  it  abandoned  and  in  flames 652 

Insurgent  deserters  and  the  story  they  told ,  , 653 

Acceptance  of  their  story;  repair  of  Monterey 654 

The  insurgents  at  Refugio  rancho  and  how  they  were  compelled  to  leave  it.  .   654 
Progress  of  the  insurgents  down  the  coast;  events  at  Santa  Barbara  and.San 

Juan  Capistrano;   Father  Martinez  as  a  warrior 655 

How  the  insurgents  attempted  to  take  a  treasure  ship   near   San   Bias  and 

made  a  serious  mistake 656 

Result  of  their  mistake;  naval  tight  and  its  outcome 657 

Sola's  reports;  action  of  vice-regal  government;  miserable  character  of  sup- 
plies, and  reinforcements  furnished 658 

Sola  compelled  to  get  along  as  best  he  could;  his  conduct  approved;  promo- 
tion     659 

His  representations  of  how  great  California  might  be  made  and  how  shame- 
fully neglected  it  was    660 

His  expostulations;  reply  to  complaints  about  the  trade  with  the  Russians  .  .   661 

His  ideas  of  the  reasons  why  the  country  was  not  further  advanced    

Sudden  success  of  the  Mexican  revolution;  Iturbide  and  his  Plan  of  Igualaj 

what  Sola  thought  of  them 663 


xxxii  CONTENTS. 

Page 

More  trouble  from  insurgents  anticipated  and  what  was  done 664 

Arrival  at  Monterey  of  a  vessel  flying  the  new  flag  of  Imperial   Mexico 665 

The  Canon  Agustin  Fernandez  de  San  Vicente  and  what  he  had  to  say; 

reception  of  the  news  of  the  Empire   665 

How  Sola  was  decorated  with  imperial  honors  and  how  he  transferred  his 

allegiance 666 

His  speech  on  Mexican  independence 666 

The  change  of  sovereignty  from  Spain  to  Mexico 667 

CHAPTER     IX. 

THE    NORTHWEST-COAST    FUR    TRADE. 

Inability  of  Spain  to  maintain  exclusive  possession  of  America 668 

Claims  of  the  English  and  how  they  came  to  be  allowed  and  admitted 668 

The  French  and  their  possessions  in  America 669 

Condition  of  the  western  side  of  the  continent;  the  claims  of  Spain   .......  669 

Cook's  voyages  and  search  for  a  northern  passage 670 

His  discoveries  on  the  northwest  coast 671 

His  discovery  of  tht  Sandwich  Islands,  death  and  successors. . .    672 

Unexpected  value  of  the  northwest  coast  as  a  fur-producing  country;  enor- 
mous profits 673 

How  Cook's  journals  were  withheld  from  publication  and  their  effect  when 

given  to  the  world 674 

La  Perouse's  voyage  and  its  objects 674 

Fate  of  La  Perouse 676 

English  fur-traders  on  the  northwest  coast 677 

Portlock  and  Dixon's  voyage  and  its  results 677 

Meares,  Colnett  and  Berkeley 678 

Berkeley's  discovery  of  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca 678 

The  stir  made  by  Meares  and  Colnett 679 

New  projects  of  English  fur-traders  on  the  northwest  coast 681 

Alarm  of  the  vice-regal  government  at  Mexico;  Martinez  and  De  Haro  sent 

to  occupy  Nootka;  how  they  fulfilled  their  commission. . 681 

Vessels  seized  by  the  Spaniards 683 

Altercation  between  Martinez  and  Colnett;  the  English  sent  as  prisoners  to 

Mexico 683 

Result  of  judicial  investigations  and  release  of  the  English. , 6S4 

The  quarrel  transferred  to  Europe  and  how  nearly  it  embroiled   England  and 

Spain 685 

How  Meares  fanned  the  smouldering  fire;  negotiations  and  settlement (JS5 

How  the  French  king  was  prevented  from  assisting  Spain 686 

CHAPTER  X. 

LATER    NORTHWEST-COAST    VOYAGES    AND    DISCOVERIES. 

The  Nootka  Convention  and  its  terms 688 

How  England  put  its  own  interpretation  upon  it 689 


CONTENTS.  xxxiii 

Pagb 

Revival  of  old  stories  about  the  Straits  of  Anian 690 

Malaspina's  voyage  and  the  quietus  he  put  to  Maldonado's  reported  passage  691 
Cnamafio's  voyage,  and  his  similar  service  as  to  Admiral  Fonte's  passage  .  .  .    692 

Galiano  and  Valdes'  voyage  and  surveys.      692 

Meeting  of  Vancouver  and  Bodega  y  Quadra  at  Nootka  and  its  result 693 

How  the  settlement  of  the  Nootka  controversy  put  a  limit  to  the  indefinite 

extension  of  California  northwestwardly C94 

First  appearance  of  the  Americans   in  the   Pacific  and  their  trade    on  the 

northwest  coast 695 

Kendrick  and  Gray's  voyages  in  the  ship  Columbia  and  sloop   Washington; 

their  arrival  at  Nootka 696 

How  the  Americans  piled  up  treasures  while  the  English  and   Spanish  were 

quarreling 696 

Gray's  movements  and  how  he  sailed  to  China 697 

Kendrick 's  movements;  how  he  started  an  American  trade  in  sandal-wood    .   697 

Metcalfs  voyages;  his  troubles  and  losses  at  Hawaii 6oS 

Ingraham's  yoyage  and  discovery  of  the  Washington  islands 700 

Gray's  second  voyage  to  the  northwest  coast 700 

His  discovery  of  Gray's  Harbor  and  the  Columbia  river 701 

Importance  of  the  discovery  of  the  Columbia;  Gray's  claims  to  credit 7o2 

Communication  of  his  discovery 703 

Vancouver's  voyage  and  surveys  about  Vancouver's  Island 704 

His  examinations  southward 704 

Broughton's  examination  of  the  Columbia  river 705 

Vancouver  at  San  Francisco  and  his  subsequent  movements 706 

English  projects  at  the  Hawaiian  Islands  and  how  King  Kamehameha  made  a 

cession  and  became  brother  to  King  George  III 707 

The  British  possessions  on  the  northwest  coast 708 

Substantial  abandonment  of  Nootka;  American  fur-trading  voyages 709 

CHAPTER    XI. 

OVERLAND    EXPEDITIONS    AND    EXPLORATIONS. 

nd  fanciful  notions 71 1 

and  its  claims;  Samuel   Hearne  and  his  dis- 

712 

pioneer  overland  journey 713 

|ect  of  their  expedition  to  the  Pacific 713 

lountains 714 

uns 715 

iimbia  river  to  the  ocean 715 

ountains 710 

1  States;  their  journals 717 

vels 718 

1  to  secure  English  supremacy 7 1  S 

and  the  Missouri  Fur  Company 719 

720 


xxxiv  CONTENTS. 

Page 

How  Astoria  was  founded 72  ' 

Collection  of  Astor's  partners  and  employees  at  Astoria 722 

The  fort  and  establishment  at  Astoria   723 

Loss  of  the  Tonquin  and  circumstances  attending  its  destruction 724 

How  Astoria  was  transferred  to  the  British  and  how  the  British  had  finally  to 

abandon  it 725 

Connection  of  the  history  of  the  northwest  coast  with  that  of  California;  the 

Florida  Treaty 726 

The  Florida-treaty  line  still  a  boundary  on  the  United  States  map 727 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    INDIANS. 

General  characteristics  of  the  Indians  of  Alta  California 728 

Their  low  grade  and  brutishness 728 

Speculations  as  to  their  origin 729 

Absence  of  political  organization;  no  nations  or  large  tribes;  their  rancherias  730 

Indian  names  as  geographical  designations 731 

Physical  characteristics;  stature  and  features;  question  about  beards;  color  732 
Natural  capacities;  disposition  to  imitate;  how  and  why  they  burned  a  chief  733 

Instances  of  Indian  acuteness  and  strength  of  mind    734 

Cases  of  spirited  and  resolute  resistence 736 

How  Ambrosio  rebelled,  was  taken,  shrived,  shot,  and  buried  in  the  "  pan- 
theon of  San  Jose. " 1 738 

Spanish  project  of  arming  the  Indians  to  fight  the  Buenos  Ayres  insurgents; 

specimen  of  Indian  vituperation  of  the  government 739 

Demands  for  emancipation 740 

Indian  population  of  Alta  California 741 

Decrease  of  the  Indians  and  its  causes 742 

Instances  of  extreme  old  age 743 

Question  as  to  whether  the  Indians  might  not  have  been  civilized 744 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

INDIAN    RELIGIOUS    NOTIONS    AND    SUPERSTITIONS. 

Father  Geronimo  Boscana  and  his  book  on  the  Ind;    .s  of  San  Juan  Capis- 

trano 746 

Beliefs  of  the  Serranos;  origin  of  the  world;  Ouiot  a,. J  his  descendants  ....  746 

Conspiracy  against  Ouiot;  his  death  and  funeral  pyre 747 

Advent  of  Chinigchinich;  institution  of  the  sorcerers 748 

Creation  of  man  and  establishment  of  religious  rites;  how  Chinigchinich  was 

taken  up  to  the  stars 748 

Recognition  of  Chinigchinich  as  God,  and  his  worship 749 

Beliefs  of  the  1'layanos;   Nocuma;  cosmogony;  Tosaut;  the  sea  and  fishes.  .  749 
How  Nocuma  made  man;  anthropomorphism;  how  and  why  Ouiot  was  poi- 
soned   750 

Circumstances  of  Ouiot's  cremation;  advent  of  Chinigchinich;  religious  rites  751 


CONTENTS.  xxxv 

Pace 

Attributes  and  worship  of  Chinigchinich 752 

Reflections  upon  and  doubts  concerning  missionary  accounts  of  religious  no- 
tions of  the  aborigines 753 

Difficulties  of  ascertaining  the  real  belief  of  the  natives;  their  low  scale  of 

culture 754 

The  vanquech;  representations  of  Chinigchinich;  fetishism 755 

The  sorcerers  or  medicine-men;  their  teachings  and  influence    756 

The  chiefs  and  their  authority 757 

The   puplem  or   grand  council;   ceremonies  upon  commencing   harvests  or 

hunts 758 

Installation  of  new  chiefs 759 

How  war  was  declared ...    759 

Respect  of  people  for  chiefs,  sorcerers  and  puplem;  the  vanquech  as  a  sanctu- 
ary and  place  of  refuge. 760 

Belief  in  charms 761 

Notions  as  to  future  existence;  che  so-called  man-eaters  and  the  part  they 

played  in  confening  immortality 762 

Feasts  and  dances;  ceremonial    painting  and  ornamentation;  separation  of 

sexes;  music     762 

The  feast  of  "  panes  "  and  how  conducted 763 

Descriptions  of  various  dances 764 

Cosumnes  skeleton  dance;  Mokelumne  "  dance  of  death" 765 

Wars  and  how  they  were  carried  on 766 

Battles  by  pre-arrangement 767 

Treatment  of  prisoners 768 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

INDIAN    DOMESTIC    RELATIONS    AND    MODES    OF    LIFE. 

Courtship  and  marriage 770 

Marriage  ceremonies     771 

Marriages  between  members  of  different  rancherias;  abductions 771 

Divorces;  polygamy;    adultery 772 

The  "  joyas"  an-  "  execrable  y  maldita  gente." 772 

Customs  in  reference  tr;.  child-bearing;  education  of  boys;  the  "touch"  or 

protecting  spirit     .ate  of  a  youthful  skeptic 773 

The  "  potense  "  or  bran,(mg 775 

Education,  tattooing  and  purification  of  girls 775 

Differences  of  customs  in  different  places;  maternal  affection 776 

\  Modes  of  life;  plentifulness  and  scarcity  of  food 777 

*  Habitations  and  their  remains ....    777 

\Households  and  promiscuous  inhabitations 77^ 

Occupations  of  men  and  women  respectively 779 

Games;  "  takersia"  and  "  toussi." 7^o 

\  Kinds  of  food;  cooking;  hunting;  fishing;  grasshopper  gathering 7S1 

Weapons;  bows  and  arrows 7^3 

Spears,  knives  and  clubs 7^4 


V 


xxxvi  CONTENTS. 

Pace 

Canoes  and  rafts 785 

Baskets !    785 

Mortars  and  pestles 786 

Shells  as  a  sort  of  money  and  the  traffic  in  them 786 

Clothing  and  ornamentation 786 

Physical  strength  and  health;   "  el  mal  Galico  "  and  other  diseases 7^7 

Epidemics 788 

Temescal  or  sweat-house;  medicines 790 

Practices  of  the  medicine-men  in  cases  of  disease 791 

Funeral  observances  792 

Cremation  and  how  it  was  conducted 792 

Indian  languages 793 

Variety  of  distinct  dialects  and  reasons  therefor 794 

Dying  out  of  a  language;  remarkable  case  of  an  Indian  female  Robinson 

Crusoe 795 

Rapid  changes  in  the  native  dialects 79& 

General  characteristics  of  the'aboriginal  languages 797 

Difficulties  and  uncertainties  in  reference  to  the  subject 798 


History  of  California. 


BOOK  I 


EARLY     VOYArx^S 


T 


CHAPTER    I. 

DISCOVERY. 

HE  first  account  of  California,  that  is  found  in  the  old 
records,  represented  it  as  an  island,  rich  in  pearls  and 
gold.  It  was  said  to  lie  at  a  distance  of  ten  days'  journey 
from  the  province  of  Ciguatan,  and  to  be  inhabited  by  women 
only,  except  at  certain  seasons,  when  they  were  visited  by 
men  from  the  mainland.  The  fruits  of  these  visits,  if  female, 
were  retained;  if  male,  they  were  sent  away.  Such  was  the 
strange  story  brought  to  Mexico  from  Colima  by  Gonzalo  de 
Sandoval,  and  transmitted  by  Cortes  to  the  emperor  Charles 
V.,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1524.1 

1  This  account  is  contained  in  the  Carta  Quarta  de  Relacion,  dated  October 
15,  1524.  Speaking  of  the  reports  brought  him  by  Sandoval,  of  the  provinces 
of  Colima,  Aliman,  Colimonte  and  Ciguatan,  all  of  which  appear  to  have  been 
embraced  in  what  is  now  known  as  Colima,  Cortes  wrote:  "Y  assimismo  me 
trujo  relacion  de  los  senores  de  la  provincia  de  Ciguatan,  que  se  anrmm  mucho 
haber  una  isla  toda  poblada  de  mugeres,  sin  varon  ninguno ;  y  que  en  ciertos 
tiempos  van  de  la  tierra-firme  hombres,  con  los  quales  han  aceso;  y  las  que  quedan 
prefiadas,  si  paran  mugeres  las  guardan,  y  si  hombres  los  echan  de  su  compania; 
yque  esta  isla  esta  diez  jornadas  de  esta  provincia;  y  que  muchos  de  ellos  han  ido 
allii  y  la  han  visto.  Dicenme  assimismo  que  es  muy  rica  de  perlas  y  oro." — 
Cortes,  Carta  Quarta,  VII;  Lorenzana,  349. 

(37) 


38  EARLY    VOYAGES. 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  Cortes  believed  in  this  report 
in  all  its  particulars.1  But  that  it  produced  a  profound  effect 
upon  his  mind  there  can  be  no  question.  It  was  the  general 
supposition  that  Asia  was  not  far  distant,"  and  hardly  any 
story,  if  told  about  that  wonderful  country  or  its  neighborhood, 
was  too  marvelous  for  credence.  From  the  time  when  Hero- 
dotus spoke  of  its  golden  sands,  guarded  by  armies  of  mon- 
strous ants  and  fire-breathing  griffins,  the  most  extravagant 
fancies  had  prevailed  in  reference  to  its  wealth;  and  these 
fancies  had  been  rather  increased  than  diminished  by  the 
accounts  of  more  recent  writers,  who  dwelt  upon  its  silks  and 
spices,  its  rare  gems  and  costly  gums,  the  magnificehce  of  its 
princes,  the  grandeur  of  its  courts,  the  extent  of  its  kingdoms 
and  the  countless  numbers  of  its  inhabitants.  Without 
attempting  to  ascertain  the  exact  limits  of  his  knowledge  or 
to  measure  the  precise  degree  of  his  faith,  it  is  certain  that 
Cortes  was  firmly  persuaded  of  the  existence  of  rich  and 
populous  countries  in  the  direction  ascribed  to  the  island  of 
amazons.  He  was  in  fact  so  thoroughly  convinced  that,  in 
the  letter  transmitting  Sandoval's  report,  he  promised  Charles 
V.  the  sovereignty  of  more  kingdoms  and  dominions  in  those 
regions  than  had  ever  before  been  heard  of  in  the  Spanish 
nation.  * 

These  wild  notions,  inconsequential  as  they  might  appear, 
were  the  causes  that  led  to  the  discovery  and  afterwards  to 
the  exploration  of  California.  They  therefore  constitute  an 
essential  element  of  its  early  history.     Only  by  taking  them 

1  He  added  to  the  account  given  in  the  foregoing  note:  "Yo  trabajare  <m 
teniendo  aparejo  de  saber  la  verdad  y  hacer  de  ello  larga  relacion  ;i  vuestra 
magestad." — Cortes,  Carta  Quarta,  VII j  Lorenzana,  350. 

8  The  supposition  was  that  America  and  Asia  approached  close  together  in  a 
very  low  latitude.  Cortes,  speaking  of  a  supposed  strait  separating  them,  said: 
"  Porque  se  tiene  cierto  que  en  aquella  costa  [de  los  Jiacallaos,  Newfoundland] 
hay  estrecho,  que  pasa  ;i  la  Mar  del  Sur;  y  si  se  hallase  segun  cierta  figura,  que  yo 
tengo  del  panije  adonde  est;i  aquel  archipielago  que  descubrio  Magellanes  por 
mandado  de  vuestra  alteza,  parece  que  saldria  muy  cerca  de  alii." — Cortes,  Carta 
Quarta,  XIX;   Lorenzana,  3S3 

3  "Tengo  en  tanto  estos  nanus  [building  at  Zacatula]  que  no  lo  podria  signifi- 
car;  porque  (engo  por  muy  cierto,  que  con  ellos,  siendo  Dios  Nuestro  Sefior  ser- 
vido,  tengo  de  ser  causa,  que  vuestra  Cesarea  magestad  sea  en  estas  partes  sefior 
de  mas  reynos  y  sefiorios  que  los  que  hasta  hoy  en  nuestra  nacion  se  tiene  noticia. " 
— Cortes,  Carta  Quarta,  XV;   Lorenzana,  374. 


DISCOVERY,  39 

into  account  and  considering  the  confidence  reposed  and  the 
sanguine  expectations  entertained  in  respect  to  them,  is  it 
possible  to  understand  why  Cortes  spent  so  many  years  of 
his  life  and  so  large  a  portion  of  his  fortune  in  building  ves- 
sels and  sending  expedition  after  expedition  to  these  remote 
shores.  Though  the  search  for  a  northern  passage  from 
ocean  to  ocean  was  always  an  important  consideration  and 
though  he  put  it  forward,  in  his  correspondence  with  Charles 
V.,  as  the  principal  object  he  had  in  view;  yet,  when  the 
different  motives  which  actuated  him  are  weighed  and  com- 
pared, it  will  be  found  that  the  predominant  one,  the  one 
which  caused  him,  more  than  any  other  and  in  spite  of 
repeated  and  disastrous  failures,  to  persist  in  his  attempts, 
was  the  vain  hope,  fostered  by  the  fancies  alluded  to,  of  find- 
ing newer  and  greater  countries  and  of  winning  richer  and 
more  splendid  provinces  than  any  hitherto  known  in  the  New 
World.1 

Yet,  vain  as  was  this  hope  and  extravagant  as  were  these 
fancies  in  the  sense  in  which  they  were  conceived,  still,  strange 
to  say,  they  fell  far  short  of  the  absolute  truth.  There  were 
no  amazons  ;  there  was  no  barbaric  splendor;  there  were  no 
great  empires  or  extensive  cities  to  be  conquered  or  magnifi- 
cent spoils  to  be  carried  away ;  but  in  intrinsic  wealth,  in  the 
resources  adapted  to  the  support  of  multitudinous  peoples 
and  their  advancement  in  civilization  and  culture,  as  well  as 
in  the  quantities  of  precious  metals  profusely  scattered  in 
mountain,  hill  and  stream,  California  far  exceeded  all  that 
Cortes  could  have  anticipated  and  more  than  equaled  all  that 
imagination  could  have  pictured  or  credulity  have  believed. 
It  is,  in  fact,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  circumstances  con- 


1  "  Porque  le  tengo  por  el  mayor  [servicio]  si,  como  digo,  se  lialla  el  estrccho; 
y  ya  que  no  se  halle,  no  es  possible  que  no  se  descubran  may  grandes  y  ricas 
tierras,  donde  vuestra  Cesarea  magestad  mucho  se  sirva  y  los  reynos  y  sefiorios 
de  su  real  corona  se  ensanchen  en  inucha  cantidad."  And  again:  "Certilicoa 
vuestra  magestad  que  segun  tengo  informacion  de  tierras  la  costa  de  la  Mar  de  el 
Sur  arriba,  que  embiando  por  ella  estos  navios,  yo  hubiera  muygrandes  interesses 
y  aun  vuestra  magestad  se  sirviera,  mas  como  yo  sea  inforinado  del  deseo  que 
vuestra  magestad  tiene  de  saber  el  secreto  de  este  estrecho;  y  el  gran  servicio, 
que  en  le  descubrir  su  real  corona  recibiria,  dejo  atras  todos  los  otros  provechos 
y  interesses,  que  por  aca  me  estaban  muy  notorios,  por  seguir  este  otro  camino. " 
— Cortes,  Carta  Quarta,  XIX  ;  Lorenzana,  3S4. 


40  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

nected  with  the  country  that  it  was  so  rich  and  that  it 
remained  so  long  comparatively  unknown.  The  Spaniards 
and  their  successors,  the  Mexicans,  notwithstanding  their  resi- 
dence of  many  years,  failed  almost  entirely  to  discover,  and 
altogether  to  correctly  appreciate  its  vast  capabilities.  But 
these  were  nevertheless  inherent  in  the  climate  and  the  soil, 
in  the  mountains  and  the  plains,  in  the  hills  and  the  valleys, 
and  awaited  but  the  proper  hands  to  turn  them  to  account. 
The  Americans  had  barely  laid  their  eyes  upon  the  country 
before  they  fully  recognized  its  incalculable  worth;  and  they 
had  scarcely  entered  upon  its  possession  before  they  built  it 
up  into  a  sovereignty,  well  represented  as  having  sprung,  like 
Minerva,  at  once  into  full  maturity  and  well  designated  as 
"The  Golden  State." 

While,  therefore,  it  will  be  necessary,  in  the  beginning  of 
its  history,  to  speak  of  the  discovery  and  exploration  of  a  land 
which,  as  it  then  existed  and  as  it  for  a  long  period  continued 
to  exist,  was  the  most  remote,  the  wildest,  the  most,  unculti- 
vated, and  inhabited  by  a  people  the  most  abject,  the  most 
squalid,  the  most  brutish  of  human  beings,  there  will  be  occa- 
sion before  closing  to  speak  of  the  eventual  discovery  in  the 
same  territory  of  wealth  and  resources  almost  unlimited  and 
of  development  and  progress,  in  nearly  all  the  interests  that 
concern  human  welfare,  altogether  unparalleled. 

Cortes,  almost  immediately  after  he  had  made  himself 
master  of  Mexico,  turned  his  attention  to  the  northwest  coast 
or,  as  it  was  then  called,  the  "  upper  coasts  of  the  South  Sea." 
In  1522,  the  very  next  year  after  his  great  conquest,  he  estab- 
lished a  ship-yard  at  Zacatula,1  the  most  northerly  point  of 
his  possessions  upon  the  Pacific,  and  ordered  the  construction 
of  four  ships.'  Already,  even  at  that  early  period,  entertain- 
ing, as  he  did,  the  most  brilliant  anticipations  as  to  the  results 
of  voyages  of  discovery  in  the  northwestern  seas,'2  he  would 


'Cortes,  Carta  Quarta,  II;  Ldrenzana,  $$y,  Cortes,  Carta  Tercera,  XI.VI; 
Lorenzana,  316. 

2  In  the  Carta  Tercera  de  Relacion,  dated  Mavis,  1522,  Cortes  wrote:  ;l  Porque 
me  parecia  que  en  la  descubrir  se  hacia  a  vuestra  magestad  muygrande  ysefiajado 


DISCOVERY.  41 

doubtless  have  put  his  projects  into  speedy  execution,  had 
there  been  no  intervening  obstacles  to  delay  them.  But  in 
1524,  closely  following  his  letter  to  the  emperor  about  the 
wonderful  island  of  amazons  and  the  kingdoms  and  dominions 
he  expected  to  conquer,  and  before  his  vessels  were  completed, 
a  fire  broke  out  in  his  warehouse  at  Zacatula  and  destroyed 
all  his  stores.  It  took  years  to  replace  what  had  thus  been 
lost  in  a  few  hours.  It  was,  in  fact,  not  until  1527  that  his 
ships  were  launched.  Nor  were  they  even  then  destined  to 
plough  the  waters  for  which  they  had  been  originally  intended. 
Three,  upon  imperative  orders  of  the  emperor,  were  dispatched 
under  Alvaro  de  Saavedra  Ceron  to  co-operate  with  the 
squadron  of  Garcia  Jofre  de  Loaysa,  who  had  sailed  from 
Spain  for  the  East  Indies  ;  and  only  the  fourth,  the  smallest 
and  least  calculated  of  all  for  a  lengthy  voyage,  was  left  at 
the  disposal  of  Cortes. 

This  small  vessel  was  used  by  Pedro  Nunez  Maldonado, 
the  superintendent  of  Cortes'  ship-yard,  to  make  a  short  voy- 
age of  discovery  along  the  west  coast  of  New  Spain.  He 
sailed  from  Zacatula  about  the  middle  of  the  year  1528  and 
proceeding  northwestward  surveyed  the  shores  of  Jalisco  as 
far  as  the  river  Santiago.  His  voyage  appears  to  have  been 
the  first  made  in  that  direction.  He  spent  six  months  in 
explorations  and,  upon  his  return,  gave  a  glowing  account  of 
the  fertility  of  the  choice  spots  he  had  seen  and  the  abun- 
dance of  the  precious  metals  of  which  he  had  heard.1 

In  the  same  year,  1528,  Cortes  having  been  superseded  in 
the  government  of  the  country  he  had  conquered,  proceeded 
to  Spain  for  the  purpose  of  defending  himself  against  the 
manifold  calumnies,  which  had  been  circulated  against  him 
and  of  obtaining  some  sort  of  recognition  of  his  services  and 


servicio,  especialmente  que  todos  los  que  tienen  alguna  ciencia  y  experiencia  en  la 
navegacion  de  las  Indias,  han  tenido  por  muy  cierto  que  descubriendo  por  estas 
partes  la  Mar  del  Sur  se  habian  de  hallar  muchas  islas  ricas  de  oro  y  perlas  y 
piedras  preciosas  y  especeria;  y  se  habian  de  descubrir  y  hallar  otros  muchos 
secretos  y  cosas  admirables;  y  esto  han  afirmado  y  alirman  tambien,  personas  de 
letras  y  experimentados  en  la  ciencia  de  la  cosmografia. " — Cortes,  Carta  Tercera, 
XLTI;  Lorenzana,  302. 

1  Greenhow's  History  of  Oregon  and  California,  Boston,  1844,  51. 


42  EARLY   VOYAGES. 

a  definite  declaration  of  his  powers  and  authority  for  the 
future.  He  was  received  at  court  with  what  appeared  and 
purported  to  be  distinguished  honors;  but  he  was  in  fact 
treated  with  empty  forms,  constituting  but  a  poor  return  for 
the  magnificent  domain  he  had  added  to  the  Spanish  crown. 
He  was  named  captain-general  of  New  Spain  and  the  South 
Sea;  but  he  was  stripped  of  the  powers  which  of  right  should 
have  belonged  to  such  an  office.  He  was  elevated  to  the 
nobility  with  the  title  of  Marques  del  Valle  de  Oaxaca,  to 
which  were  attached  large  estates  on  the  wild  borders  of 
the  Pacific;  but  all  these  were  but  a  miserable  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  great  name  and  wide  realms  he  had  won  with 
his  sword.  He  was  empowered  to  discover,  conquer  and  col- 
onize new  countries,  and  to  enjoy  their  government  and  a 
twelfth  part  of  their  revenues;  but  he  was  to  do  so  at  his  own 
charges  and  expense;  and  he  was  rigidly  restricted  from 
interfering  with  the  limits  assigned  to  any  other  Spanish 
governor.  In  consideration  of  these  mean  and  inadequate 
concessions,  he,  on  his  part,  engaged  to  fit  out  and  send 
ships;  to  extend  as  far  as  possible  the  Spanish  name  and 
dominion,  and  to  treat  with  kindness  the  natives  of  all 
newly  discovered  countries  and  enSeavor  to  convert  them 
to  the  Catholic  faith.  An  agreement  or  convention  or,  to 
use  the  Spanish  term,  a  "  capkulacion  "  to  this  effect  was 
signed  in  October,  1529.1  The  next  summer,  after  an  absence 
of  two  years,  Cortes  returned  to  Mexico  and  thenceforward 
devoted  his  time  and  energies  to  the  building  and  equip- 
ment of  new  vessels  in  view  and  anticipation  of  new  discov- 
eries and  new  conquests. 

The  royal  audicncia,  as  the  council  which  had  superseded 
Cortes  in  the  government  of  New  Spain  was  called,  had  for 
its  president  one  Nuflo  de  Guzman.  This  individual  had 
obtained  from  the  emperor  the  administration  of  the  territory, 
known  as  Panuco,  on  the  north  of  Mexico,  and  also  that  of 
Jalisco  on  the  northwest.  He  was  the  sworn  enemy  of  Cor- 
tes.'2    He  had  b:en  engaged   for  years  in  interfering  with  his 

1  Venegas,  Noticia  de  la  California,   P.  II,  §  2,  ]>.  1 5 '• 
J  Venegas,  P.  II,  g  2,  p.  15.,.  t 


DISCOVERY.  43 

projects  and  undermining  his  influence.  He  had  charged 
him  with  the' most  villainous  crimes,  and  pursued  him  with 
the  most  rancorous  and  relentless  malignity.  When  Cortes 
returned  from  Spain  Guzman  was  removed  from  the  presi- 
dency of  the  audiencia.  But,  though  he  lost  his  office,  he- 
did  not  lose  his  desire  nor  his  power  to  annoy  and  in  some 
measure  to  thwart  his  great  antagonist.  Finding,  however, 
that  he  could  accomplish  nothing  at  Mexico,  he  marshaled 
his  retainers  and  marched  them  to  Jalisco.  There,  being 
aware  of  Cortes'  intended  discoveries  in  the  northwest,  he 
conceived  the  project  of  forestalling  them;  and,  with  this 
hope  in  view,  more  than  with  any  expectation  of  advantage 
to  himself,  he  advanced  his  outposts  as  far  as  possible  up  the 
northwest  coast.  He  thus  made  settlements  at  Chiametla  and 
Culiacan  and  as  far  north  as  San  Miguel  on  the  sea-coast 
of  Sinalpa,1 

While  Nufio  de  Guzman  was  thus  employed,  Cortes 
hastened  forward  to  completion  two  ships  which  he  had 
building  at  Acapulco.2  As  soon  as  they  were  finished,  he 
placed  them  under  the  command  of  Diego  Hurtado  de 
Mendoza  and  Juan  de  Mazuela,  with  instructions  to  sail 
northwestward;  to  keep  within  sight  of  land  and  at  all  con- 
venient places  to  disembark  and  communicate  with  the 
natives;  to  carefully  examine  the  countries  they  should  reach, 
and  to  gather  all  the  information  in  their  power  in  regard 
to  such  countries  and  the  northwest  coast  in  general.3  With 
a  view  to  the  reports,  which  he  had  already  received  of  the 
regions  in  that  direction,  he  ordered  them,  upon  reaching  any 
territories  that  seemed  rich  or  civilized,  to  immediately  return 
or  send  back  one  of  the  vessels  with  the  intelligence. 

Hurtado  and  Mazuela,  in  accordance  with  these  instruc- 
tions, set   sail    from    Acapulco    in  June,    1532.4     They    pro- 

1  Herrera,  Indias  Occidentals,  Descrip.,  cap.  II. 

2  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  2,  p.  152.  The  "  Relacion  del  Yiage  hecho  por  Las 
Goletas  Sutil  y  Mexicana  "  says  Cortes  bought  these  ships.— Intruduccion  XI. 

8  Cireenhow,  53>  54- 

*  Relacion,  Intro.  XI.      Vcnegas  says  May.— P.  II,  §  2,  p.  152. 


41  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

ceeded  to  the  port  of  Guatl  in  or  Buena  Esperanza1  in  Coli-na, 
where  they  took  on  board  more  people  and  supplies,  making 
in  all  eighty  soldiers  with  artillery  and  provisions.  Thence 
they  proceeded  to  MatancheF  in  Jalisco,  where  they  proposed 
to  take  in  water;  but,  finding  that  Nuno  de  Guzman  was  dis- 
posed to  interfere  with  them,  they  sailed  on  without  tarrying. 
They  advanced  along  the  coast  and  examined  the  country  as 
far  as  the  river  Mayo.  There,  a  portion  of  the  crews  of 
both  vessels  became  mutinous;  and  Mazuela's  ship,  with  all 
the  disaffected  persons  on  board,  was  sent  back.  Hurtado 
in  the  other  continued  his  voyage  and  advanced,  it  seems 
certain,  a  considerable  distance  beyond  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Yaqui.3  But  the  extreme  point  which  he  gained  and 
the  extent  to  which  his  discoveries  reached  will  never  be 
known;  for  upon  his  return  to  the  Yaqui,  having  landed  in 
search  of  provisions,  he  and  all  his  men  were  killed  by  the 
natives.4  Nor  did  the  mutineers  in  Mazuela's  ship,  by 
reason  of  whose  disaffection  the  expedition  failed,  fare  any 
better.  They  ran  down  the  coast  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Chiametla,  where  they  likewise  were  attacked  and  killed  by 
the  natives;  and  the  vessel,  which  had  stranded,  was  after- 
ward plundered  and  dismantled  by  Nuno  de  Guzman. 

Upon  learning  the  loss  of  Mazuela's  ship  and  hearing  noth- 
ing of  Hurtado's,  Cortes  ordered  two  new  vessels,  which 
were  building  at  his  port  of  Tehuantepec,5  to  be  immediately 
made  ready  for  sea.  He  was  so  intent  upon  having  the  work 
hastily  done  that  he  went  down  and  superintended  their  equip- 
ment himself.  As  soon  as  completed,  he  placed  Diego  Bezerra 
de  Mendoza  in  command  of  the  larger,  the  capitana  or  flag- 
ship, which  was  named  La  Concepcion,  and  Hernando  de 
Grixalva  of  the  smaller,  which  was  named  the  San  Lazaro. 
He  instructed  them  to  the  same  effect  as  he  had   instructed 

1  Relacion,  Intro.  XI. 

2  Relacion,  Intro.  XI. 

3  Herrera,  D.  V,  L.  I,  cap.  7;  Burney's  Discoveries,  Vol.  I,  ch.  6. 

4  Herrera,  D.  V,  L.  I,  cap.  7.  The  Relacion  says  they  were  wrecked  and  all 
drowned. — Intro.  XII. 

5  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  2,  p.  152;   Relacion,  Intro.  XIII. 


DISCO  VER  Y.  45 

his  former  captains.  They  were  also  to  search  after  the  ship 
of  Hurtado;1  and,  in  pursuance  of  his  obligation  to  convert 
the  Indians,  he  sent  two  Franciscan  fathers  in  the  capitana  as 
missionaries. 

Bezerra  and  Grixalva  sailed  from  Tehuantepec  on  October 
3°>  I533-2  Ori  the  second  night  after  leaving  port,  they  were 
separated  by  a  storm  and  never  again  met.  Grixalva,  finding 
Bezerra  to  be  a  man  of  haughty  and  overbearing  disposition,' 
allowed  himself  to  be  driven  out  to  sea.  He  then  sailed  in 
a  northwesterly  direction  without  seeing  land  until  December 
20,  when  he  discovered  an  island,  which  he  named  Santo 
Tomas.  He  anchored  and  explored  it;  but  found  neither 
wealth  nor  human  inhabitants.  From  this  island,  which  is 
situated  about  eighty  leagues  south  of  Cape  San  Lucas  and 
the  same  ^distance  from  Cape  Corrientes  and  still  bears  the 
name  he  gave  it,  he  sailed  eastwardly  to  the  mainland,  whence 
he  ran  down  the  coast  to  Tehuantepec. 

In  giving  an  account  of  his  voyage,  Grixalva  related  a  story 
as  strange  as  that  reported  by  Sandoval  concerning  the  island 
of  amazons.  This  was  to  the  effect  that  on  Sunday,  Novem- 
ber 9,  in  latitude  14^2°  north,  he  saw  a  merman;  that  it  passed 
close  by  his  ship;  that  it  raised  its  head  above  water  three 
or  four  times  to  look  at  the  vessel  and  was  in  plain  sight 
of  all;  that  afterwards,  when  half-way  between  Santo  Tomas 
and  the  mainland,  he  again  saw  the  same  fish,  which  swam 
about  the  ship  for  a  long  time,  playing  antics  like  a  monkey — 
at  one  time  diving,  at  another  washing  itself  with  its  hands, 
and  then  looking  at  the  sailors — until  a  sea-bird  approached, 
when  it  disappeared,  came  up  farther  off,  and  then  disap- 
peared altogether.4 

1  Herrera,  D.  V,  L.  VII,  cap.  3;  Relacion,  Intro.  XIII. 

2  Relacion,  Intro.  XIV.  The  Relacion  says  they  sailed  from  a  port  called  San- 
tiago in  l6°3o>  n.  Venegas,  as  printed,  makes  a  palpable  mistake  in  reference 
to  the  date  of  this  voyage,  giving  it  as  the  year  1524,  although  he  had  just  before 
spoken  of  the  previous  voyage  of  Hurtado  in  1532. — P.  II,  §  2,  p.   152. 

3"Porque  el  Bezerra  era  mui  sobervio  y  malacondicionado." — Bernal  Diaz, 
cap.  200. 

*  Herrera,  D.  V,  L.  VII,  cap.  4. 


46  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

Bezerra,  in  the  meanwhile,  after  the  storm  had  separated 
the  ships,  continued  his  course  in  La  Concepcion  along  the 
shore  as  far  as  Jalisco.  There  a  mutiny  broke  out,  at  the  head 
of  which  was  Fortuho  Ximenes,  the  chief  pilot.  This  Xim- 
enes,  a  native  of  Biscay,  was  a  man  of  great  spirit,  bold  and 
audacious.1  Being  unwilling  to  submit  to  the  overbearing 
disposition  of  Bezerra  he  took  advantage,  as  is  said,  of  an 
occasion  when  the  latter  lay  asleep  and  assassinated  him.  He 
and  his  confederates  then  made  themselves  masters  of  the  ship, 
and  set  on  shore  all  of  Bezerra's  friends,  including  the  Fran- 
ciscan fathers.  They  then,  in  order  to  avoid  the  penalty  of 
their  mutiny,  sailed  away  from  the  coast  and  took  a  north- 
westerly course  into  entirely  unknown  seas.  But,  as  Father 
Miguel  Venegas  says,  "they  were  unable  to  escape  the  ven- 
geance of  God;  for,  coming  to  that  port  which  has  since 
been  called  Santa  Cruz  bay  and  which  according  to  all  the 
indications  is  in  the  interior  coast  of  California,  Ximenes 
went  ashore  and  was  there  slain,  together  with  twenty  other 
Spaniards,  by  the  Indians."2  The  few  persons  who  escaped 
immediately  re-embarked  and  retraced  their  course  to  the 
port  of  Chiametla  in  Jalisco.  There  the  unscrupulous  Nuno 
de  Guzman  seized,  and  stripped  their  ship,  as  he  had  seized 
and  stripped  that  of  Mazuela  two  years  previously.  But  the 
sailors  told  their  story  and  reported  the  discovery  that  had 
been  made;  and  they  added  that  the  new  country  was  well 
peopled  and  that  its  coasts  abounded  in  pearls.3 

Thus  was  Fortuno  Ximenes,  in  the  year  1534,  the  discoverer 
of  the  peninsula  of  California,  now  known  as  Lower  California, 
which  was  then  and  for  a  long  time  afterward  supposed  to  be 
an  island.  There  exists,  it  is  true,  a  report  that  it  had  been 
discovered  as  early  as  1 526,*  the  year  before  Saavedra  sailed 
from  New  Spain  for  the  East  Indies,  and  two  years  before 

1  Bernal  Diaz,  cap.  200. 

2  Venegas,  P.  II,  §2,  p.  153. 

3  Harney's  Discoveries,  Vol.  I,  ch.  6;  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  2;  Rclacion,  Intro. 
XVI. 

1  Humboldt's  Political  Essay  on  the  Kingdom  of  New  Spain,  B.  Ill,  chap. 
VIII,  §  14,  note. 


CORTES.  49 

march  upon  Chiametla;  but  Nuno  de  Guzman  was  prudent 
enough  to  be  afraid  and  had  letired.  At  the  beach  Cortes 
found  his  vessel,  La  Ccncepcion,  lying  on  its  beam-ends, 
a  useless  wreck  and  plundered  of  everything  of  value.  A  few 
days  afterwards,  being  joined  by  his  ships  from  Tehuantepec, 
he  embarked  with  as  many  of  the  people  as  they  could  carry 
and  sailed  in  a  northwesterly  direction,  the  same  pursued  by 
Ximenes. 

On  May  I,  1535,1  Cortes  came  in  sight  of  a  high  promon- 
tory, which  he  named  San  Felipe,  and  on  May  3  anchored  in 
the  port  where  Ximenes  was  said  to  have  been  killed.2  Land- 
ing there,  he  solemnly  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the 
name  of  his  sovereign;  and  in  honor  of  the  day,  called  in  the 
Catholic  calendar  that  of  the  holy  cross,  he  gave  the  name  of 
Santa  Cruz  to  the  bay  which  stretched  around  him.  The  exact 
spot  where  he  landed  is  supposed  to  be  La  Paz  on  the  east- 
ern shore  of  the  peninsula,  about  thirty  leagues  north  of  Cape 
San  Lucas.  It  is  a  desolate-looking  neighborhood,  with  rocky 
and  bare  hills  coming  down  nearly  to  the  water's  edge.  The 
bay  is  formed  by  a  deep  indentation  in  the  coast,  turning 
southward  and  having  several  islands  about  its  mouth,  which 
almost  entirely  close  it  in  from  the  gulf.  It  is  spacious, 
though  not  very  deep,  and  so  protected  by  the  surrounding 
heights  and  islands  as  to  be  secure  from  all  winds.3  It  is 
peculiar  in  these  respects;  and  its  marked  characteristics  and 
especially  its  land-locked  harbor  and  islands,  by  comparison 
with  ancient  descriptions,  justify  its  recognition  as  the  place 
where  Europeans  first  placed  their  feet  upon,  and  where  the 

de  Olazabal,  marinero  natural  de  Cestoria,  que  fue  en  esta  expedicion,  llevo  Cor- 
tes mucha  gente  asi  de  A  pie  como  de  a.  caballo,  hasta  el  numero  de  quatrocientos 
hombres  Espanoles  y  trescientos  negros — Declaraciones  en  el  pleyto  seguido  en 
1  1  Audiencia  de  Mexico."  Bjrnal  Diaz  says  three  hundred  and  twenty  persons, 
of  whom  one  hundred  and  thirty  were  married.  He  mentions  physicians,  sur- 
geons and  an  apothecary;  but  says  nothing  of  negroes.  Duflot  de  Mofras,  T.  I. 
p.  93,  follows  the  account  given  in  the  Relacion;  so  also  Prescott,  Conquest  of 
Mexico,  B.  VII,  chap.  5. 

1Herrera,  D.  V,  L.  VIII,  cap.  9;  Relacion,  Intro.  XVII;  Duflot  de  Mofras, 
T.  I,  p.  93.  Venegas,  by  some  error  of  transcription  or  more  probably  of  typo- 
graphy, says  May  1,  1526 — P.  II,  §  2,  p.  155. 

2  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  2,  p.  155. 

3  Herrera,  D.  V,  L.  VIII,  cap.  9. 

4    Vol.  I. 


50  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

first  attempt  was  made,  by  no  less  a  leader  than  the  great 
Cortes  himself,  to  colonize,  any  part  of  the  country  afterward 
known  as  California. 

As  soon  as  the  adventurers  had  taken  up  their  abode  on 
shore,  the  ships  were  sent  back  to  Chiametla  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  people  and  the  stores  that  had  been  left 
there.  But  in  the  navigation  of  the  gulf  the  vessels  became 
separated;  and  only  the  worst  of  the  three  returned  to  Santa 
Cruz.  By  that  time  the  provisions  had  run  short;  and,  the 
country  being  everywhere  mountainous  and  uncultivated  and 
affording  little  or  no  relief,  hunger  was  felt  and  its  attendant 
murmurs  and  complaints  began  to  be  heard.  Under  these 
circumstances,  Cortes,  taking  with  him  workmen  and  materials, 
re-embarked  in  the  ship  which  had  returned  and  set  forth  in 
search  of  the  missing  ones.  He  sailed  eastwardly  till  he  per- 
ceived land  and  then,  running  southwardly  along  the  coast, 
came  to  Guayabal,  where  he  found  one  of  his  ships  loaded 
with  provisions  and  learned  that  the  other  had  been  dis- 
masted and  run  ashore,  and  that  its  sailors  had  gone  off  to 
Mexico,  whither  those  of  the  loaded  vessel,  considering  it  no 
longer  seaworthy,  purposed  following  them.  This  intended 
desertion  he  was  prompt  to  prevent.  He  then  ordered  both 
vessels  to  be  careened  and  repaired  and  himself  superintended 
the  labor,  working  and  requiring  his  men  to  work  night  and 
day.  When  all  was  completed,  he  at  once  set  sail  on  his 
return;  but  he  had  hardly  lost  sight  of  land  when  one  of  the 
yards  of  his  ship  fell  to  the  deck  and  killed  his  pilot;  and 
Cortes,  for  want  of  a  competent  substitute,  was  compelled  to 
take  the  helm  in  his  own  hands.  Soon  afterward  a  violent 
storm  came  on;  and  it  was  not  without  great  difficulty  and 
danger  that  he  finally  again  reached  Santa  Cruz.  And  there, 
but  a  sad  and  melancholy  spectacle  presented  itself  to  his 
eyes.  His  people  were  suffering  and  in  despair;  a  number 
had  already  died  of  starvation;  and,  notwithstanding  all  his 
precautions,  several  others  lost  their  lives  by  eating  to  excess 
on  his  arrival.1 


1  Herrcra,  D.  V,  L.  VIII,  cap.  10. 


CORTES.  51 

The  conqueror  doubtless  thought  this  new  country,  bald 
and  uninviting  as  it  seemed  along  the  sea-board,  would  prove 
to  be  rich  and  populous  further  inland.  But  in  every  direc- 
tion, as  far  as  he  explored  it,  the  territory  was  utterly  barren 
and  forbidding.  It  was  uninhabited  except  by  savages,  who 
had  neither  houses  nor  clothes  nor  agriculture,  and  who  lived 
like  beasts,  roaming  from  place  to  place  in  search  of  what- 
ever could  be  eaten  and  satisfying  their  omnivorous  appetites 
with  everything  they  could  find,  from  the  filthy  carcass  of  a 
stranded  whale  to  vermin,  insects  and  grass.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  pearls  found  along  the  shores,  it  seemed 
destitute  of  all  promise;  and  the  disappointed  adventurers, 
suffering  as  they  were  and  seeing  their  families  and  friends 
suffering  around  them,  called  down  curses  upon  Cortes,  his 
island,  his  bay  and  his  discovery.1 

It  was  at  this  time  and  under  these  distressing  circum- 
stances, and  with  the  purpose  of  reviving  the  drooping  spirits 
of  his  companions,  that  Cortes  appears  to  have  applied  the 
name  of  California  to  the  country.  This  word  had  been  first 
used  about  twenty-five  years  previously,  in  one  of  the  romances 
of  chivalry  then  current,  as  the  designation  of  an  island  lying 
"on  the  right  hand  of  the  Indies,  very  near  to  the  terrestrial 
paradise,"  and  peopled  with  black  women  who  lived  the  life  of 
amazons.  They  were  said  to  be  of  great  bodily  strength  and 
courage;  and  their  arms,  as  well  as  the  caparisons  of  the,  wild 
beasts  which  they  rode  upon  their  warlike  expeditions,  were 
represented  to  be  entirely  of  gold — that  being  the  only  metal 
the  island  produced.2      This  romantic  fiction,  in   connection 

1  "  Y  maldezian  a  Cortes,  y  a  su  isla,  y  baia,  y  descubrimiento. " — Bernal  Diaz, 
cap.  200. 

2  The  romance  referred  to  was  called  "  Sergas  de  Esplandian,"and  appears  to 
have  been  first  published  in  15 10.  Toward  the  close  of  it,  in  chapter  157,  occurs 
the  following  passage:  "Know  that  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Indies  there  is  an 
island  called  California,  very  near  to  the  terrestrial  paradise,  which  was  peopled 
with  black  women  without  any  men  among  them,  because  they  were  accustomed  to 
live  after  the  fashion  of  amazons.  They  were  of  strong  and  hardened  bodies,  of 
ardent  courage  and  of  great  force.  The  island  was  the  strongest  in  the  world 
from  its  steep  rocks  and  great  cliffs.  Their  arms  were  all  of  gold  and  so  were 
the  caparisons  of  the  wild  beasts  which  they  rode  after  having  lamed  them;  for 
in  all  the  island  there  is  no  other  metal."  See  an  interesting  pa  ward 
E.  Hale,  from  which  the  above  passage  is  taken,  in  Proceedings  of  the  American 
Antiquarian  Society,  April  30,  1S62. 


52  EARLY    VOYAGES. 

with  the  before-mentioned  report  by  Sandoval,  to  which 
it  is  likely  it  in  great  part  gave  rise,  together  with  the  sup- 
position that  the  country  was  an  island  and  not  far  distant 
from  the  Indies,  doubtless  suggested  the  name  of  California 
and  rendered  its  application  natural  and  easy.  As  a  matter 
of  policy  no  more  sagacious  thing  could  have  been  done  than 
gild  the  enterprise  with  a  name  not  only  attractive  in  itself 
but  admirably  calculated,  on  account  of  its  romantic  associa- 
tions, to  buoy  up  the  hopes  of  the  adventurers  in  the  desperate 
strait  to  which  they  were  reduced.  Such  at  least  seems,  upon 
a  fair  examination  of  the  imperfect  records  that  have  survived 
and  a  careful  consideration  of  all  the- surrounding  circum- 
stances, to  be  the  most  plausible  explanation  of  the  origin  of 
the  name  of  California  as  applied  to  the  country. 

The  only  other  explanations  which  need  be  noticed,  are  the 
two  following.  It  was  supposed  by  some  that  the  name 
was  derived  from  a  combination  of  the  two  Latin  words 
"calida"  and  "fornax,"  the  former  signifying  hot  and  the 
latter  a  furnace,  or  the  corresponding  Spanish  words  "  caliente" 
and  "  fornalla;"  and  that  it  was  suggested  either  by  the  heat 
experienced  in  the  climate  or  by  the  sweat-houses  used  by 
the  Indians.1  Others  supposed  that  it  owed  its  origin  to  some 
word  or  words  spoken  by  the  natives  and  misunderstood  by 
the  Spaniards;  and  this  was  the  opinion  of  the  Jesuit  histo- 
rian Venegas.  But  neither  of  these  suppositions  contains  any 
of  the  elements  of  probability  and  would  hardly  be  deserving 
of  mention  but  for  the  fact  that  they  have  been  so  often  re- 
peated. 

It  is  certain,  at  all  event's,  that  the  name  was  applied  as 
early  as  the  time  of  Cortes  and  there  is  authority  to  show 
that  it  was  he  who  applied  it.  The  first  historical  writer,  in 
whose*  work  it  is  found,  is  Bernal  Diaz,  a  cotemporary  of 
the  events  which  he  describes.  According  to  his  account, 
Cortes,  immediately  after  he  returned  to  his  suffering  people 
at  Santa  Cruz,  "  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  the  spectacle  of 

1  Venegas,  P.  I,  §  I,  p.  4. 


CORTES.  53 

so  much  misery  set  forth  to  explore  the  country;  y  entonces 
toparon  con  la  California — and  then  they  struck  upon  Cal- 
ifornia.1 Bernal  Diaz,  it  is  true  if  we  can  trust  the  typog- 
raphy of  his  printed  history,  added  to  the  above-cited  pas- 
sage that  California  was  a  bay — "que  es  una  baia;"2  but  it 
seems  clear,  from  the  other  passages  in  his  work  in  which  the 
name  appears,  that  he  meant  to  apply  it  to  the  entire  country 
and  that  it  was  supposed -£e-4)e  an  island.3  The  historian 
Herrera,  who  had  access  to  the  Spanish  archives  and  to  all 
the  records  and  papers  relating  to  the  subject,  states  dis- 
tinctly that  the  name  was  imposed  by  Cortes  himself.1  But 
as  to  the  extent  to  which  the  explorations  of  Cortes  were  car- 
ried and  how  much  of  the  peninsula  he  saw,  there  is  no  infor- 
mation; and  it  can  only  be  surmised  that,  in  consideration 
of  the  "object  he  had  in  view,  the  expense  incurred,  the 
time  devoted,  and  the  importance  to  himself  personally  of 
success  in  his  undertaking,  his  investigations  must  have  been 
extensive  and   thorough. 

In  the  meantime,  while  Cortes  was  thus  engaged  in  the 
peninsula,  rumors  reached  Mexico  of  the  failure  of  his  expe- 
dition; and  it  was  added  that  he  himself  was  missing  and 
had  probably  perished.  This  caused  so  much  anxiety  in  the 
mind  of  his  wife,  the  marchioness  Dona  Juana  de  Zuiiiga, 
that  she  immediately  dispatched  a  ship  in  search  of  him  and 
soon  afterward  prevailed  upon  the  government  to  furnish 
two  others  and  send  them  on  the  same  errand.  On  the  first 
of  these  vessels  she  forwarded  letters  entreating  him  to  return. 

1  Bernal  Diaz,  cap.  200.  The  passage  cited  reads  in  the  original  as  follows: 
41  Por  no  ver  Cortes  delante  sus  ojos  tantos  miles  fu^  a  descubrir  a  otras  tierras; 
y  entonces  toparon  con  la  California,  que  es  una  baia." 

a  It  is  possible  that  the  word  ''baia,"  as  found  in  the  printed  edition  of  Bernal 
Diaz  and  hitherto  accepted  without  question  as  the  correct  reading,  is  a  misprint 
for  "isla."  The  use  of  the  word  '"'toparon  "  and  the  whole  context  would  seem 
to  render  such  a  supposition  a  not  improbable  one. 

3  Bernal  Diaz,  cap.  200.  He  says  in  one  place,  "Cortes  mando  al  Capitan 
Francisco  de  Ulloa,  que  corriessen  la  co?ta  adelante  y  acabassen  de  baxar  la 
California  ;  "  and  in  another,  ' '  Cortes  gasto  muchos  pesos  de  oro  en  las  armadas 
que  hizo  en  la  California." 

4  Herrera,  D.  VIII,  L  VI,  cap.  14.  In  speaking  of  the  provinces  of  New 
Spain,  he  says,  "  Y  adeUnte  la  California,  adonde  Uego  el  primer  Marques  del 
Valle  que  le  puso  este  nombre. " 


54  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

He  on  his  part,  upon  receiving  these  missives  and  being  dis- 
appointed in  his  search  for  new  kingdoms  among  the  rocks 
and  thorns  of  the  peninsula,  resolved  to  return  at  once;  and 
immediately,  placing  such  of  his  people  as  he  could  not  take 
along  under  the  command  of  Francisco  de  Ulloa,  he  set  sail 
with  two  vessels  for  the  opposite  coast.  Upon  crossing  the 
gulf,  he  met  one  of  his  vessels  that  had  been  sent  for  sup- 
plies, and  ordered  it  to  turn  round  and  follow  him.  At 
Jalisco  there  was  another  of  his  vessels  lying  stranded;  but, 
upon  examining  and  finding  that  though  sadly  wrenched  its 
timbers  were  all  sound,  he  caused  it  to  be  cleared,  launched, 
remasted  and  refurnished.  Then  putting  to  sea  again,  he 
proceeded  with  his  squadron  of  four  ships  to  the  port  of 
Guatlan  in  Colima,  where  he  met  the  two  vessels  which  had 
been  dispatched  by  the  government  as  before  stated.  Being 
joined  by  these,  he  again  put  to  sea  and  in  the  beginning  of 
the  year  1537,  with  six  ships,  entered  the  port  of  Acapulco; 
whither  he  was  soon  afterward  followed  by  Ulloa  with  all 
the   adventurers    that    remained    alive.1      And    thus   ended 

the  first  attempt  of  tllP  Spaniards  to  settle  the  peninsula  nf 
California. 

1  Herrera,  D.  V,  L.  VIII,  cap.  9;  Venegas,   P    II,  §  2,  p.  158. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE   SEVEN    CITIES. 

THE  belief  in  the  wealth  of  the  northwest  was  tempo- 
rarily eclipsed  as  a  result  of  the  recent  expedition;  but 
it  soon  afterwards  shone  out  with  redoubled  luster  in  con- 
sequence of  reported  discoveries  in  the  interior  of  the  con- 
tinent. The  first  of  these  reports  reached  Mexico  in  the 
early  part  of  1537  by  the  arrival  there  of  Alvaro  Nunez 
Cabeza  de  Vaca  and  his  companions  Alonzo  del  Castillo, 
Andres  de  Orantes  and  a  negro  named  Estevanico.  These 
persons,  according  to  the  account  they  gave  of  themselves, 
belonged  to  an  unfortunate  expedition  which  in  1527  had 
been  conducted  by  Panfilo  de  Narvaez  into  the  province  of 
Florida.  Escaping  the  death  suffered  by  their  leader  and 
comrades,  they  had  persuaded  the  Indians,  into  whose  hands 
they  had  fallen,  that  they  possessed  miraculous  powers  for 
healing  the  sick;  and,  as  several  fortunate  recoveries  under 
their  ministration  had  given  color  to  their  pretentions,  they 
found  means  to  subsist  and  gradually  to  pass  from  tribe 
to  tribe,  till,  after  wandering  a  distance  of  more  than  three 
thousand  miles  and  for  a  period  of  upwards  of  nine  years, 
they  finally  reached  the  Pacific  coast  at  Culiacan,  and  thence 
proceeded  to  Mexico.  In  relating  their  adventures  they 
assured  their"  hearers  that  they  had  seen  bags  of  silver  and 
arrow-heads  of  emerald  in  abundance  and  that  they  had 
passed  nations,  and  heard  of  others  still  farther  north,  which 
possessed  great  cities  and  immense  riches.1 

But  it  was  the   expedition   of  Marcos  de   Niza,  and  the 


1  Herrera,  D.  VI,  L.  I,  cap.  4-7;  Vent-gas,  P.  II,  §  3,  pp.  162,  163. 

(55) 


56  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

extraordinary  account  he  brought  back  of  what  he  had  seen, 
that  gave  the  greatest  impetus  to  the  spirit  of  adventure. 
This  individual  was  a  friar  of  the  order  of  St.  Francis.  He 
had  been  employed  with  success  in  quieting  various  dis- 
turbances among  the  Indians  of  Jalisco  and,  while  so  engaged, 
had  met  and  talked  with  the  adventurers,  who  had  come  across 
the  continent.  He  became  interested  in  their  reports  and 
animated  with  a  desire  of  seeing  the  countries  of  which  they 
spoke;  and,  being  possessed  of  a  vivid  imagination  as  well 
as  the  most  unbounded  confidence  in  himself,  he  conceived 
the  project  of  paying  a  visit,  single-handed,  to  the  great 
nations  of  whom  they  had  brought  intelligence.  With  this 
end  in  view,  having  induced  the  negro  Estevanico  to  act  as 
guide  and  taking  along  a  number  of  Indian  porters,  he  set  out 
from  Culiacan  in  the  spring  of  1539.  He  traveled  north- 
westwardly a  hundred  leagues  and  reached  a  desert  which' 
required  four  days  to  cross.  Passing  beyond  it,  he  found  that 
the  natives  had  no  knowledge  whatever  of  the  Christians 
and  that  they  believed  him  to  be  a  man  from  another  world- 
They  placed  before  him  great  quantities  of  provisions,  rever- 
ently touched  his  robes  and  were  profuse  in  their  offers  of 
service.  In  answer  to  his  inquiries,  they  assured  him  of  the 
existence  of  a  large  valley,  four  days'  journey  eastward, 
where  the  people  wore  ornaments  of  gold  in  their  ears  and 
nostrils  and  possessed  such  quantities  of  that  precious  metal 
as  to  have  large  vessels  made  of  it.  Father  Marcos  believed 
their  story;  but  the  valley  seemed  of  such  small  importance, 
in  comparison  with  the  wealth  and  splendor  which  he  sup- 
posed to  lie  before  him,  that  he  did  not  consider  it  worth 
while  to  turn  aside.  On  the  contrary,  he  hastened  on  with- 
out delay  still  farther  northward,  in  the  direction  pointed  out 
by  Estevanico;  and,  in  the  course  of  four  or  five  days'  farther 
travel,  reached  the  town  of  a  hospitable  people,  called  Va- 
capos.  where,  it  being  then  the  Easter  season,  he  determined 
to  rest  and  pray;  while  Estevanico  and  others  should  examine 
the  country  round  about  and  bring  him  reports  of  what  they 
should  find. 


THE  SEVEN  CITIES.  57 

They  accordingly  set  out  in  three  different  directions — east, 
west  and  north — and  in  due  time  their  reports  came  in.  That 
of  those  who  had  gone  eastward  was  unimportant;  and  that  of 
those  who  had  gone  westward  was  no  less  so,  with  the  excep- 
tion that  they  said  the  sea  was  only  forty  leagues  distant  in 
that  direction.  But  the  accounts  received  from  Estevanico, 
who  had  gone  northward,  were  encouraging  in  the  highest 
degree.  He  did  not  himself  return,  but  he  sent  back  word 
that,  thirty  days'  journey  farther  north,  there  was  a  country 
called  Cibola,  which  contained  seven  great  cities  lying  close 
together  and  consisting  of  houses  several  stories  high, 
arranged  in  streets  and  having  their  portals  adorned  with 
turquoise.  Considering  the  wealth  of  Mexico  and  Peru, 
there  was  nothing  fmprobable  in  this  story;  nor  is  it  in 
any  respect  to  be  wondered  at  that  Marcos  de  Niza  should 
place  implicit  confidence  m  it.  It  was  nothing  more  than 
confirmation  of  what  Cabeza  de  Vaca  had  heard  of,  and  proof 
of  what  Father  Marcos  had  come  so  far  to  discover.  He  now 
felt  assured  that  his  hopes  and  prayers  would  speedily  be 
answered  and  that  his  eyes  would  be  the  first  of  his  nation  to 
rest  upon  the  newly-found  splendors.  He  therefore,  as  soon 
as  Easter  was  past,  hastened  forward  in  the  path  Estevanico 
pointed  out.  As  he  advanced,  he  received  confirmatory 
accounts  of  the  existence  and  greatness  of  the  seven  cities 
and  also  heard  of  three  great  kingdoms  beyond  them,  called 
respectively  Marata,  Acus  and  Totonteac.  He  traveled  thus 
nearly  two  weeks  and  traversed  several  deserts,  guiding  his 
course  by  the  crosses  which  Estevanico  had  erected  to  indi- 
cate the  road.  At  one  place  he  came  to  a  populous  valley, 
well  irrigated  and  very  productive,  where  the  seven  cities 
were  as  well  known  and  as  familiarly  spoken  of  as  the  city  of 
Mexico  in  New  Spain.  The  farther  he  traveled,  in  fact,  the 
more  he  heard  of  the  magnificence  and  wealth,  which  were 
said  to  lie  before  him;  and  his  imagination  became  so  excited 
that  he  readily  accepted,  believed  and  afterwards  repeated 
many  monstrous  stories,  and,  among  others,  that  the  3ca  was 
not  far  distant  in  the  north  and  trended  to  the  eastward  and 


58  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

that  the  country  in  those  upper  regions  produced  the  fab- 
ulous animals  known  as  unicorns,  which  were  said  to  be  nearly 
twice  as  large  as  oxen  and  to  have  single  horns  of  great  length 
and  strength  projecting  from  their  foreheads. 

As  he  approached  the  neighborhood  of  the  marvelous 
cities,  Father  Marcos  learned  that  Estevanico  had  gone 
forward  with  three  hundred  Indians,  who  in  the  meanwhile 
had  joined  his  party.  But  scarcely  had  this  information  been 
received,  when  a  new  messenger  brought  the  melancholy 
intelligence  that  Estevanico  and  all  his  companions,  with  the 
exception  of  two  or  three,  had  been  seized  by  the  author- 
ities of  Cibola  and  massacred.  According  to  this  account, 
Estevanico,  upon  arriving  in  front  of  Cibola,  had  sent  forward 
presents  consisting  of  bells  and  feathers.  The  governor,  how- 
ever, upon  seeing  them  had  flown  into  a  violent  passion;  flung 
them  into  the  fire;  asseverated  that  he  knew  the  people  from 
whom  they  came,  and  exclaimed  that  they  should  not  enter 
his  city  on  pain  of  instant  execution.  Notwithstanding  these 
threats,  Estevanico  had  insisted  upon  going  forward  and  per- 
suaded his  companions  to  accompany  him.  But  they  had 
scarcely  done  so,  when  they  were  all  seized,  stripped  and 
confined  in  a  large  building.  Soon  afterward  the  people 
fell  upon  them  and  put  them  to  death;  and  only  those  few 
escaped  who  managed  to  hide  themselves  among  the  heaps 
of  slain  and  slip  away  unobserved  after  night-fall. 

This  sad  news  dashed  all  of  Father  Marcos'  brilliant  pros- 
pects. Nor  was  this  the  least  of  the  misfortunes  to  which 
he  was  now  exposed.  For  the  Indians,  who  were  left,  attrib- 
uting the  evil  plight  in  which  they  found  themselves  to  his 
rash  and  inconsiderate  projects,  charged  him  with  being  the 
author  of  their  disasters,  and  conspired  to  avenge  themselves 
by  murdering  him;  and  it  was  only  by  skillfully  representing 
that  they  would  gain  nothing  by  his  death,  and  by  giving  up 
all  the  property  he  carried,  that  he  prevailed  upon  them 
to  forego  their  treacherous  designs. 

Nothing  now  was  left,  on  account  of  the  certainty  of 
destruction  should  he  enter  Cibola  and  the  great  danger  of 


THE  SEVEN  CITIES.  59 

remaining  longer  where  he  was,  except  to  turn  about  and 
retrace  his  steps.  But,  before  doing  so,  Father  Marcos  re- 
solved at  all.  hazards  to  obtain  a  view  of  the  seven  cities, 
which  since  first  hearing  of  them  had  been  the  object  of 
all  his  hopes.  He  accordingly  made  his  way  to  the  summit 
of  a  neighboring  mountain;  and  looking  down  from  it  he 
beheld  the  cities  lying  in  the  plain  beyond.  There  were 
seven  of  them,  as  they  had  been  described  to  him,  lying  not 
far  apart,  very  similar  to  one  another,  consisting  of  high 
houses  with  flat  roofs,  apparently  built  of  stone  and  lime,  and 
inhabited  by  a  numerous  and  busy  population.  Being  regu- 
larly laid  out  and  white  in  color,  they  shone  in  the  sunlight 
and  ravished  the  sight  of  the  distant  spectator,  who  had  no 
difficulty  in  believing  the  reports  he  had  heard  that  their 
portals  were  adorned  with   precious  stones. 

To  be  thus  in  sight  of  so  much  splendor  and  yet  forbidden 
to  approach  was  hard  indeed.  For  a  little  while  Father 
Marcos  felt  tempted  to  go  on  at  all  hazards.  But  upon  re- 
flecting that  he  was  alone  and  that,  if  he  were  lost,  there 
was  no  one  to  carry  back  an  account  of  his  discoveries,  he 
refrained  and  contented  himself  with  piling  up  a  great  heap 
of  stones,  surmounted  by  a  cross,  and  claiming  possession  of 
Cibola,  Marata,  Acus  and  Totonteac  in  the  name  of  Don  An- 
tonio de  Mendoza,  viceroy  of  New  Spain,  for  the  crown  of 
Castile  and  Leon.  He  then  turned  his  face  southward  again 
and,  traveling  ten  leagues  a  day,  towards  the  middle  of  the 
summer  reached  Culiacan,  from  which  place  he  had  departed 
in  the  spring.  Thence  he  proceeded  to  Compostella,  the 
capital  of  Jalisco,  and  from  there  sent  advices  of  what  he 
had  seen  and  heard  to  Mexico. 

This  marvelous  story,1  which  was  much  more  positive  and 
circumstantial  and  seemingly  supported  by  more  credible  tes- 
timony than  the  vague  rumors  of  Sandoval's  island,  filled  all 
New  Spain,  as  might  have  been  expected,  with  novelty  and 
excitement.  The  almost  exclusive  attention  of  its  large  pop- 
ulation of  adventurers  was  now  attracted  to  the  north  and 
1  All  the  particulars  are  set  forth  in  Herrera,  D.  VI,  L.  VII,  cap.  7,  8. 


60  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

northwest,  the  latter  being,  as  it  seemed,  the  proper  direc- 
tion for  ships  to  take  in  search  of  the  reported  northern 
ocean  trending  eastward.  Now,  more  than  ever  before,  it 
was  supposed  the  discoveries  and  conquests  hitherto  made 
in  the  New  World  would  be  cast  into  the  shade.  There 
was  but  one  subject  of  thought,  but  one  theme  of  conversa- 
tion; and  that  was  the  seven  cities.  All  classes,  from  the  old 
captains,  who  had  seen  Tezcuco  and  Tenochtitlan  in  their 
pristine  magnificence,  down  to  the  half-clad  recruits  last 
from  Europe,  partook  of  the  one  absorbing  enthusiasm  to 
penetrate  and  conquer  them.1  Even  the  prudent  and  cau- 
tious viceroy  gave  to  the  narrative  of  Marcos  de  Niza  full 
faith  and  credit;  while  upon  the  mind  of  Cortes,  being  as  it 
was  the  confirmation  of  his  long  and  settled  belief  in  the 
wealth  and  splendor  of  those  distant  x'egions,  it  produced 
the  effect  of  absolute  proof.  Unfortunately  for  him,  as  it 
then  seemed,  the  story  gained  too  easy  and  general  a  cre- 
dence. It  raised  up  competitors  in  the  pursuit  which  for 
fifteen  years  and  upwards  had  engaged  so  much  of  his  atten- 
tion. For  notwithstanding  the  rights  of  discovery  and  con- 
quest supposed  to  be  secured  by  the  terms  of  his  "capitu- 
lacion,"  two  great  rivals  entered  the  field  in  opposition  to 
him.  The  first  of  these  was  Mendoza,  the  viceroy,  who  laid 
claim  to  the  new  countries  by  virtue  of  his  office  and  the 
possession  of  them  taken  in  his  name  by  Marcos  de  Niza. 
The  other  was  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  the  governor  of  Guate- 
mala, who  had  also  obtained  a  commission  to  make  discov- 
eries and  was  now  preparing  an  armament  beyond  anything 
that  had  ever  appeared  on  the  Pacific  coast.  But  before 
either  of  these  new  claimants  could  get  ready,  Cortes,  with 
characteristic  energy,2  equipped  his  fourth  expedition,  placed 
it  under  the  command  of  Francisco  de  Ulloa  and  dispatched 
it  in  search  by  water  of  the  new  El  Dorado. 

1  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  3,  p.  164. 

2  Prescott's  Mexico,  V>.  VII,  chap.  5,  where  it  is  said  he  pawned  his  wife's  jew- 
els to  raise  money. 


C  HAPTE  R     IV. 

ULLOA. 

NEXT  to  Cortes  himself,  the  chief  credit  of  the  oarly  r.y- 
plnrntionnfjJjf*  torritnry  thrn  rnHH  rnlifriniiii  i  rfiip 
to  Francisco  de  Ulloa.  It  was  he  who  first  skirted  its  east- 
ern shore;  first  doubled  Cape  San  Lucas;  first  ran  up  the 
outward  coast,  and  thus  first  ascertained  its  peninsular  char- 
acter. He  had  been  in  the  country  with  Cortes  in  1535  and 
1536;  and  it  was  he  who  brought  back  the  remnant  of  the 
people  from  Santa  Cruz  in  1537.  On  the  present  occasion 
he  sailed  from  Acapulco  about  the  end  of  July  15391  with 
three  ships.  On  September  12,  he  was  again  at  Santa  Cruz 
looking  for  one  of  his  vessels  which  had  been  lost  in  a 
severe  storm.  Failing  to  find  it,  he  crossed  over  to  Guay- 
abal  on  the  opposite  .coast  of  Sinaloa  and  immediately 
addressed  himself  to  the  work  with  which  he  had  been  com- 
missioned. The  particular  instructions  which  he  received 
are  not  known;  but  his  principle  object  -appears  to  have 
been  to  find  the  northern  ocean  reported  by  Marcos  dc  Niza. 
With  this  purpose  in  view,  California  being  still  supposed  to 
be  an  island,  his  plan  was  to  follow  the  mainland  coast;  and 
thus  he  came  to  run  up  the  eastern  side  of  the  gulf.  As  he 
advanced  from  Guayabal,  he  passed  the  mouths  of  several 
rivers,  which  appeared  to  flow  through  pleasant  regions,  with 
banks  well-wooded  and  beautiful;  but  for  a  long  distance 
beyond,  the  coast  was  low  and  unsightly,  with  lagoons  and 
long  stretches  of  sand.     He  at  length  arrived  at  a  spacious 


»  Relacion,  Intro.  XXII.  Venegas  erroneously  says  1537.— P.  II,  §  2,  p.  159. 
Duflot  de  Mofras,  in  following  the  Relacion,  substitutes  June  for  July  and  says 
"  8  juin  1539." 


62  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

and  excellent  harbor,  evidently  that  now  known  as  Guaymas,1 
where  he  landed,  erected  a  cross  upon  a  hill  and  took  pos- 
session of  the  entire  region.  Again  embarking  and  sailing 
northwesterly,  he  saw  mountains  near  the  coast;  and  steering' 
thence  more  out  to  sea  he  observed  land  to  the  westward, 
which  he  correctly  supposed  to  be  a  part  of  California.  He 
afterwards  passed  several  large  islands;  and  after  sailing  up- 
wards of  a  hundred  leagues  from  Guaymas,  with  a  barren 
country  on  his  right,  now  hilly  and  now  low  and  sandy,  he 
noticed  that  the  mountains  on  both  sides  approached  nearer 
and  nearer;  the  sea  became  shoal;  the  water  first  of  a  whitish 
color  and  then  dark,  thick  and  muddy.  Having  ascended  to 
the  mast-head,  he  saw  in  the  distant  north  lowlands  from  the 
east  and  west  stretching  out  towards  each  other,  with  a  wide 
inlet  between  them,  through  which  the  tide  ebbed  and  flowed 
with  great  violence. 

Having  thus  found  an  end  of  the  sea,  which  prevented 
him  from  proceeding  further  towards  the  latitude  of  Cibola 
and  the  supposed  northern  ocean,  Ulloa  anchored  and  took 
possession  of  the  country.  He  then  turned  around  and  ran 
down  the  western  side  of  the  gulf.  At  one  place,  observing 
much  smoke,  he  landed  and  found  .that  it  came  from  the 
earth,  which  was  covered  with  cinders.  Proceeding  south- 
easterly, with  high  and  bare  mountains  on  the  west,  he  came 
to  a  large  harbor,  where  he  again  anchored  and  again  went 
through  the  formality  of  taking  possession.  From  this  har- 
bor, after  a  stay  of  two  days,  he  sailed  on  October  8,  exam- 
ining the  coast  narrowly  in  hope  of  finding  an  outlet  to  the 
west,  and  thus  passed  through  what  is  now  known  as  Whale 
Channel;  and,  as  he  proceeded,  the  landscape  improved  in 
appearance.  Sailing  on  for  several  days,  he  came  to  a  deep 
and  spacious  bay,  where  the  country  appeared  agreeable, 
being  watered  by  a  stream,  with  hills  and  vales,  and  bearing 
wild  fruit  trees.  From  this  place,  which  is  supposed  to  be 
that  now  known  as  Mulege,  in  several  days'  sailing,  the  wind 
having   freshened,  he  on  October    ]8    reached    Santa   Cruz, 

1  Burney's  Discoveries,  Vol.  I,  chap.  9,  note. 


ULLOA.  U3 

which  he  had  left  thirty-six  days  previously.  Here  he  was 
detained  nearly  three  weeks;  when,  again  getting  under  way 
and  passing  along  a  bold  coast,  he  arrived  off  Cape  San 
Lucas,  where  he  was  troubled  for  several  days  with  opposing 
currents  and  contrary  winds.  But  doubling  the  cape  at 
last  and  making  headway  against  the  cold  northwesters,  he 
steadily  advanced  up  the  outer  coast  until  December  2,  when 
he  landed  at  what  is  now  called  Santa  Marina  bay.  At  this 
place  two  bands  of  natives,  armed  with  lances,  stones  and 
arrows,  made  a  violent  assault  and  wounded  him  and  two 
of  his  men;  nor  could  they  be. put  to  flight  until  the  Span- 
iards raised  their  battle-cry  and  let  loose  three  large  mas- 
tiffs, which,  as  the  historian  of  the  expedition  gravely 
reports,  "did  marvelous  things."1  Sailing  on  ten  leagues 
further,  he  came  to  Magdalena  bay,  where  the  country 
appeared  greener  and  pleasanter  and  better-watered  and 
more  populous  than  any  other  part  of  the  country;  but  the 
natives  were  unfriendly  and  received  the  advances  of  the 
Spaniards  with  contemptuous  gestures.2  These  Indians  did 
not  understand  the  language  of  a  native  of  Santa  Cruz,  whom 
Ulloa  had  carried  with  him. 

Continuing  his  navigation  northwesterly  forty  leagues,  in 
the  face  of  continuously  violent  and  cold  winds,  and  passing 
a  rough,  mountainous,  bare  coast,  he  arrived  on  January  20, 
1540,  at  an  island,  twenty  leagues  in  circumference,  high 
and  well  wooded,  which  he  named  Cedros,  and  which  is 
the  same  now  known  as  Cerros  Island.  Here  he  anchored 
and  landed;  but  scarcely  had  he  set  foot  on  shore,  when  he 
was  a  second  time  attacked  by  Indians.  Francisco  Pre- 
ciado,  who  had  been  the  hero  of  the  fight  at  Santa  Marina, 
proposed  going  at  them  with  sword  and  buckler  and  killing 
a  few:  but  Ulloa  preferred  letting  loose  his  mastiffs,  which 
pulled  down  several  of  the  assailants  and  put  the  rest  to 
flight.  After  supplying  his  vessels  with  wood  and  water, 
Ulloa  made    several    attempts  to    continue    his  voyage,  but 

1  Herrera,  D.  VI,  L.  IX,  cap.  9. 

2  "Bolvianlas   nalgas  por  menosprecio." — Herrera,   D.  VII,  L.  IX,  cap.  10 


64  EARLY    VOYAGES. 

was  each  time  driven  back  by  the  northwest  winds,  so  that 
he  was  compelled  to  remain  at  or  near  the  island  until  April 
5.  In  the  meanwhile,  as  the  ships  had  sustained  much 
damage,  and  the  northwesters  continued  unabated  and 
seemed  fixed,  a  portion  of  the  people  insisted  upon  turning 
back  and  finally  prevailed  upon  Ulloa  to  consent  to  their 
returning  with  the  larger  of  the  vessels.  This  being  resolved 
upon,  the  boldest  and  bravest  sailors  were  picked  out  and 
placed  in  the  smaller  vessel,  which  was  to  remain  and  prose- 
cute the  voyage.  The  division  having  been  made,  the  two 
parties  took  farewell  of  each  other  with  many  tears.  On 
April  5  they  parted,  the  larger  ship  turned  southward  and 
the  smaller,  with  Ulloa  on  board,  again  endeavored  to  pene- 
trate the  northwest.  The  former,  sailing  before  the  wind, 
made  a  rapid  run  to  Guatlan  in  Colima,  where  it  arrived  on 
April  18.  The  latter,  beating  against  the  wind,  struggled 
northward;  but  it  was  unable  to  advance  beyond  a  port 
about  twenty  leagues  north  of  Cerros,  which  Ulloa  named 
Cabo  del  Engano,  the  Cape  of  Deceit.  There  finding  his 
provisions  failing  and  that  the  wind  became  apparently  more 
and  more  violent  as  he  advanced,  he  also  resolved  to  turn 
back,  and  sailed  for  New  Spain.  He  however  lived  only  to 
reach  Jalisco,  where  he  was  basely  assassinated  by  one  of 
his  soldiers,  who,  for  some  trivial  cause,  lay  in  wait  and  gave 
him  repeated  mortal  stabs.1 

With  this  voyage  ended  Cortes'  connection  with  California. 
He  failed  to  find  its  wealth;  but  he  performed  great  and 
valuable  service  in  its  behalf.  He  may  have  been  in  one 
sense  a  freebooter;  his  enterprises  of  conquest  may  have 
been  in  many  senses  cruel  and  unjustifiable;  his  object  in 
seeking  California  may  have  been  chiefly  to  aggrandize  him- 
self; but  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  he 
accomplished  much  for  which  Californians  must  ever  grate- 
fully keep  alive  his  memory.  T.t  wns  under  his  anspires 
that  ships  first  brfflgtr^  f1~*°  "^ «-«»■• -■  -f  n^Mm-i-v.  PrjrTKr^llTMt 
thejyest  coast  of  Mexico  was  minutely  examined;  that  the 

1  Bemal  Diaz,  cap.  200. 


ULLOA.  65 

.Glllf  nf  California,  which  in  his  honor  was  long  l-nnvvn,  a<  the* 
Seaof__Cortes,  was  first  made  known  to  the  civil  irrrl  ^^.rlrl; 
that  the  peninsula  of  Cajjjbjma-wasjdisrovered  and  ^"n^ypH 
His -brilliant  carBeTln  Mexico,  the  character  ot  which  must 
be  judged  by  the  spirit  of  his  age  and  not  by  that  of  a  later 
and  more  humane  one,  entitles  him  to  a  high  rank  among 
the  conquerors  of  the  earth;  but  it  is  in  his  Californian 
expeditions  that  is  to  be  found  the  best  exhibition  of  his 
courage,  his  constancy  and  his  fortitude.  In  these  he  shows 
himself  to  have  been  a  hero  in  little,  as  all  know  him  to 
have  been  in  great  things;  in  managing  a  crazy  boat  or  sus- 
taining a  starving  colony,  as  he  was  known  to  be  in  leading 
an  advancing  army,  conducting  an  obstinate  siege  or  govern- 
ing an  extensive  empire.  In  these  it  is  plain  that,  not- 
withstanding repeated  and  almost  ruinous  disasters,  he  never 
lost  his  courage  and  that,  notwithstanding  being  hampered 
and  hindered  on  every  side,  he  yet  held  firmly  to  his  great 
purpose.  Considering  the  limited  powers  at  his  command 
and  the  opposition  he  met  with,  not  only  from  ill-wishers 
in  New  Spain  but  from  that  very  crown  which  owed  to 
him  its  brightest  jewel,  he  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  enterprising  and  persevering,  as  well  as  the  most  loyal 
of  conquerors. 

It  may  be  added  that  soon  after  the  return  of  Ulloa's  larger 
vessel,  but  before  the  melancholy  fate  of  that  able  and  de- 
voted captain  was  known,  Cortes  sailed  for  the  last  time 
to  Spain.  His  object  was  to  protest  against  the  interference 
of  the  viceroy  and  others  in  his  attempted  discoveries  and 
to  obtain,  if  possible,  some  acknowledgment  for  the  three 
hundred  thousand  pesos  of  gold,1  which  he  had  expended  in 
his  Californian  expeditions.  Had  he  succeeded  in  winning 
the  favor  and  confidence  of  the  emperor,  it  seems  to  have 
been  his  ulterior  intention  to  return  to  the  New  World  and 
resume   his  search   in    the  northwest."      But   though   he  was 

1  The  peso  of  gold  was  sixteen  Spanish  reals,  equal    to    two  silver  dollars. — 
See  Burney's  Discoveries,  Vol.  I,  chap.  17,  note. 

2  Prescott's  Mexico,  B.  VII,  chap.  5. 

5    Vol.  I. 


66  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

received,  as  on  his  former  visit,  with  great  shows  of  honor, 
he  was,  in  fact,  obliged  to  spend  the  remaining  seven  years 
of  his  life  in  vain  solicitations.  His  great  spirit  fretted 
against  his  enforced  inactivity;  and  he  died,  still  unheard 
and  unrequited,  at  a  little  village  near  Seville,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1 547.  ' 


1  Prescott's  Mexico,  B.  VII,  chap.  5. 


CHAPTER    Y. 

CIBOLA   AND   QUIVIRA. 

CORTES  sailed  for  Spain  in  1540.  In  the  meantime,  and 
in  fact  ever  since  the  return  of  Marcos  de  Niza  with  his 
marvelous  accounts  of  Cibola,  Mendoza,  the  viceroy,  had 
been  pressing  forward  with  great  vigor  his  preparations  for 
the  conquest  of  that  wonderful  country.  He  set  on  foot  two 
separate  armaments,  one  to  go  by  land,  and  the  other  by  sea. 
The  first  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Francisco 
Vasquez  de  Coronado,  governor  of  Jalisco,  and  ordered  to 
follow  the  same  course  which  Marcos  de  Niza  had  taken; 
while  the  other  was  embarked  upon  ships  and  confided  to 
Hernando  de  Alarcon,  with  instructions  to  sail  along  the 
coast  as  far  as  the  parallel  of  Cibola  and  then  co-operate 
with  the  land  army  in  making  discoveries  and  explorations. 
Coronado  marched  from  Culiacan  on  April  22,  1540,  hav- 
ing one  hundred  and  fifty  horsemen  and  two  hundred  in- 
fantry, besides  some  light  pieces  of  artillery.  Upon  reaching 
the  neighborhood  of  the  valley  reported  by  Marcos  de  Niza 
to  be  full  of  gold,  he  sent  off  a  detachment  of  ten  horsemen 
to  examine  it;  but  they  found  nothing  there  except  poor 
Indians,  who  lived  upon  corn,  beans  and  pumpkins.  Pro- 
ceeding on  across  a  bare  and  rough  country,  now  following 
creeks  and  now  crossing  mountains,  Coronado  in  about  ten 
days  reached  a  river  which,  in  honor  of  the  day  he  reached 
it,  he  called  the  San  Juan,  and  a  few  days  afterwards  a 
second  river  which,  on  account  of  the  necessity  he  was  under 
of  constructing  rafts  to  pass  it,  he  called  the  Balsas.  The 
next  day  he  came  to  a  small  stream  where  his  army  were  in 
such  straits  for   provisions  that   they  ate    unknown  vegeta- 

(67) 


68  EARLY    VOYAGES. 

hies,  which  proved  to  be  poisonous;  and  three  soldiers  died. 
Within  a  week  afterwards  he  reached  what  was  supposed  to  be 
Cibola.  The  accounts,  which  Marcos  de  Niza  had  given  of 
this  place,  had  raised  the  imaginations  of  the  expeditionists 
to  the  highest  pitch  of  enthusiasm;  but  all  they  could  now 
find  was  several  small  towns,  consisting  indeed  of  large  houses 
with  flat  roofs  but  without  splendor  or  beauty,  and  inhabited 
by  only  a  few  hundred  people.  The  country,  however,  was 
pleasant  and  the  climate  delightful.  The  soil,  though  gener- 
ally sandy,  was  fruitful  and  bore  corn,  beans  and  pumpkins 
in  great  abundance.  The  natives  were  clothed,  some  in  well- 
dressed  skins  and  some  in  cotton  garments.  But  there  was 
little  or  no  civilization;  and  neither  gold,  nor  silver,  nor 
turquoise,  nor  precious  stones  were  to  be  seen. 

Disappointed  thus  in  finding  what  he  sought  and  what 
Marcos  de  Niza  had  described,  Coronado  proceeded  north- 
eastward five  days  further  and  came  to  a  country  called 
Tucayan,  where  there  were  seven  towns  close  together,  and 
the  same  probably  that  had  given  rise  to  the  story  of  the 
famous  seven  cities ;  but  they  were  in  all  respects  similar 
to  those  which  he  had  just  left.  Continuing  on  twenty 
leagues,  he  pass.ed  fifteen  towns  of  the  same  general  character 
and  reached  a  large  river  called  Ciquique,  which  flowed 
towards  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  plains  along  the  banks 
of  this  river  were  covered  with  buffaloes  in  such  immense 
herds  as  to  be  absolutely  countless.  In  that  neighborhood 
he  received  intelligence  of  a  rich  country  still  farther  north, 
which  was  called  Quivira  and  said  to  be  governed  by  a 
king,  named  Tatarrax,  who  wore  a  long  beard,  adored  a 
golden  cross  and  worshiped  an  image  of  the  queen  of  heaven. 
It  is  not  at  all  likely  that  this  extraordinary  story  produced 
the  effect  of  belief  upon  a  man  of  so  cold,  unimpassionable 
and  incredulous  a  nature  as  Coronado;  but  it  still  excited 
his  curiosity  and  induced  him  to  search  it  out.  Choosing, 
accordingly,  an  escort  of  thirty  horsemen  and  leaving  the 
main  body  of  his  army  where  he  then  was,  he  set  out  for  the 
far  north.       He  traveled  continuously  for  thirty  days  more 


CIBOLA  AND  QUIVIRA.  (J!) 

and  during  all  this  time  was  constantly  surrounded  with 
herds  of  buffaloes.  At  length  he  arrived  at  Quivira.  But 
this  place,  which  seems  to  have  been  situated  near  the  head- 
waters of  the  Rio  Grande,  though  it  exceeded  Cibola  in  the 
fame  of  its  magnitude  and  wealth,  now  on  examination 
proved  quite  as  poor  and  inconsiderable. 

By  this  time  the  season  was  advanced  and  Coronado, 
believing  that  the  approaching  winter  would  seriously  embar- 
rass his  movements,  determined  to  hasten  back.  He  there- 
fore hurriedly  set  up  a  cross  with  an  inscription,  commemo- 
rating his  progress  thus  far,  and  then,  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
retraced  his  steps.  A  few  of  his  people,  however,  including 
Father  Juan  de  Padilla,  Father  Luis  de  Escabona  and  a 
negro  priest,  were  so  fascinated  with  the  beautiful  diversity 
of  river,  hills  and  plains  L  at  Quivira  that  they  determined 
to  remain  there.  Unfortunately,  they  kept  with  them  a  horse, 
a  few  mules,  sheep  and  poultry,  an  a  some  ornaments.  These 
tempted  the  cupidity  of  the  Ou  virans,  who  afterwards  de- 
spoiled and  killed  them;  and  only  one,  a  Portuguese,  managed 
to  make  his  escape  to  Panuco  and  tell  th~  melancholy  story 
of  the  massacre.  Coronado,  meanwhile,  having  rejoined  his 
army,  wintered  at  the  river  Ciquique  and  the  next  year  re- 
turned to  New  Spain.2 

Hernando  de  Alarcon  sailed  from  Acapulco  with  two  ships 
on  May  9.  1 540.  In  accordance  with  his  instructions  he  pro- 
ceeded up  the  coast  until  he  came  to  the  head  of  the  Gulf 
of  California;  where,  being  brought  to  a  stop  by  the  shallow- 
ness of  the  water,  he  manned  two  small  boats  and  on  August 
26  entered  the  inlet,  which  had  been  seen  by  Ulloa  the 
previous  year.  Discovering  that  it  was  the  mouth  of  a  great 
river,  which  he  named  the  Buena  Guia,  he  dragged  his  boats 
up  against  the  strong  current  and  entered  into  intercourse 
with  the  Indians  upon  its  banks.  These,  though  at  first 
hostile,  were  soon  appeased  and  bartered  corn,  mesquite 
bread  and  skin^  for  beads  and  trinkets.     Learning  that  they 

1  Herrera,  D.  VI,  L.   IX,  cap.  12. 

2  Herrera,  D.  VI,  L.  IX,  cap.  12. 


70  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

worshiped  the  sun,  Alarcon  endeavored  to  persuade  them 
that  he  had  been  sent  as  an  ambassador  from  that  luminary. 
This  story,  however,  they  would  not  at  first  believe;  for 
the  reason,  as  they  said,  that  the  sun  never  came  down  to 
earth,  and  how  could  he  come  from  it  ?  The  Spaniard  re- 
plied that  at  its  rising  and  setting,  the  sun  touched  the 
edges  of  the  world,  as  they  could  plainly  see.  He  then  told 
them  his  mission  was  to  induce  them  to  abstain  from  war. 
They  rejoined  that  if  such  was  his  purpose,  why  did  he  not 
come  in  time  to  prevent  a  bloody  conflict  which  had  raged 
some  years  previously.  To  this  the  only  answer  he  could 
think  of  to  satisfy  their  doubts  was  that  he  was  then  a  boy. 
They  proved,  indeed,  to  be  much  shrewder  than  he  had  any 
reason  to  expect;  and  he  only  partially  succeeded  in  persuad- 
ing them  of  his  supernatural  claims.  A  few  gave  him  credit 
and  paid  him  reverence.  Their  influence  and  example  pro- 
cured for  him  a  sort  of  privilege  in  the  territory  and  he 
pursued  his  voyage  up  the  river  with  confidence  in  his 
safety.  In  this  manner  he  advanced  a  considerable  dis- 
tance, when  he  learned  that  Cibola  was  thirty  days'  journey 
eastward  and  that  the  army  of  Coronado  had  reached  and 
were  then  at  that  place.  It  being  a  part  of  his  instruc- 
tions to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  land  army,  he  now 
cast  about  for  means  of  communication  with  Coronado,  but 
found  that  none  of  his  small  party  were  adventurous  enough 
to  undertake  alone  the  journey  across  the  country.  He 
therefore  returned  to  his  ships  and  brought  up  all  his  boats 
and  as  many  of  his  men  as  they  could  carry,  intending,  if 
practicable,  to  march  them  in  a  body  and  effect  the  desired 
junction.  But  after  many  endeavors,  finding  that  he  could 
not  reach  or  even  hear  anything  further  of  Coronado  and 
his  army,  he  at  length  gave  up  the  attempt;  and,  a  second 
time  dropping  down  the  river  to  its  mouth,  he  re-embarked 
in  his  vessels  and  s'oon  afterwards  returned  to  New  Spain. 
To  him  is  due  the  discovery  and  part  navigation  of  the 
Colorado  river,  called  by  him,  as  above  stated,  the  Buena 
Guia.      He  is  also  entitled  to  praise  for  having,  in  a  spirit  of 


CIBOLA  AND  QUIVIRA.  71 

philanthropy,  distributed  among  the  natives  various  European 
seeds  and  poultry.  But  so  little  did  the  results  of  his  voyage, 
though  faithfully  performed  as  far  as  he  could  safely  follow 
his  instructions,  satisfy  the  exorbitant  expectations  of  Men- 
doza,  that  upon  his  return,  he  found  himself  a  disgraced 
man.  He  thereupon  retired  to  one  of  the  estates  of  Cortes, 
far  removed  from  the  capital;  and  it  was  there  not  long 
afterwards  that  he  died.  He  was  high-spirited  and  is  said 
to  have  worried  himself  to  death  under  the  unworthy  treat- 
ment he  had  received.1 

About  the  time  of  Alarcon's  return  and  while  Coronado 
was  still  absent  at  Cibola  and  Quivira,  Pedro  de  Alvarado 
collected  his  great  fleet  at  Navidad.  The  ostentatious  splen- 
dor affected  by  this  brave  but  perfidious  officer  gained  for 
him  the  admiration  of  the  rabble  and  won  to  his  standard 
great  numbers  of  adventurers,  with  whose  means,  added  to 
those  derived  from  his  province  of  Guatemala,  he  was 
enabled  to  fit  out  twelve  ships  and  several  smaller  vessels, 
well  furnished  with  men,  horses,  arms  and  provisions.2  He 
had  been  for  some  time  corresponding  with  Mendoza  in 
opposition  to  Cortes,  and  seems  to  have  been  a  ready  and 
willing  tool  in  the  viceroy's  hands  to  thwart  the  projects 
of  his  former  chief  and  benefactor;  but,  on  account  of  the 
abhorrence  with  which  his  ingratitude  was  regarded  by  all 
decent  people,  their  negotiations  were  conducted  as  secretly 
as  possible.  Now,  however,  Cortes  having  withdrawn, 
Alvarado  openly  joined  Mendoza  and  entered  into  a  com- 
pact, by  the  terms  of  which  all  new  discoveries  and  con- 
quests were  to  be  at  their  joint  expense  and  for  their 
mutual  benefit.  The  two  visited  the  fleet  together  and 
made  arrangements  that  everything  should  be  in  readiness 
to  sail  in  the  spring  of  1541.  But  it  happened,  as  the 
appointed  time  approached,  that  an  insurrection  broke  out 
among  the  Indians  in  the  upper  part  of  Jalisco;  and,  it 
being   important  that   the  province  which  was  to  constitute 

1  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  3,  p.  171. 

2  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  3,  p.  172. 


72  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

the  base  of  their  operations  should  be  secure,  Alvarado 
marched  a  portion  of  his  forces  into  the  rebellious  region. 
While  conducting  an  attack  against  a  rocky  eminence, 
where  the  natives  had  fortified  themselves,  he  was  struck 
by  an  immense  stone  rolled  down  the  declivity,  thrown  from 
his  horse,  and  so  severely  bruised  that  he  died  in  four  days 
afterwards.  By  his  death,  the  fleet,  which  remained  at 
Navidad,  lost  its  leader;  and,  there  being  no  one  to  take 
his  place,  the  recruits  disbanded  and  the  ships  lay  idle  at 
their  moorings.  It  was  not  until  the  next  year  that  these 
ships  were  put  to  any  use,  when  Mendoza,  having  quelled  the 
disturbances  referred  to,  took  charge  of  them  and  sent  two 
under  command  of  a  Portuguese  navigator  of  great  reputation,1 
named  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo,  to  California  and  five  others 
under  Ruy  Lopez  de  Villalobos  across  the  Pacific  to  the 
Philippine  Islands. 

Domingo  del  Castillo,  the  chief  pilot  of  Alarcon's  expedi- 
tion, drew  a  map  of  the  peninsula  and  gulf  of  California 
in  1541,  which  is  the  oldest  delineation  of  this  part  of  the 
world  that  has  been  preserved.  He  must  have  had  access  to 
the  charts  of  Ulloa,  for  he  not  only  gives  the  names  of 
many  places  imposed  by  that  navigator,  but  outlines  the 
coasts  which  had  at  that  time  been  visited  by  no  one  else. 
Cabo  del  Engano,  the  farthest  northern  point  on  the  ocean 
coast  reached  by  Ulloa,  is  likewise  the  limit  of  the  country 
in  that  direction  delineated  by  Castillo.  In  the  shape  and 
size  of  headlands,  the  position  of  islands  and  bays,  and 
the  relative  distances  of  noticeable  points,  he  was  surpris- 
ingly accurate.  And  this  is  all  the  more  remarkable  when 
taken  in  connection  with  the  fact  that  for  many  years 
afterwards  the  new  maps  that  were  made  were  not  nearly  so 
correct.  Almost  all  of  them  for  a  century  and  upwards 
persisted  in^representing  California  as  an  island;  and  all  of 
them  for  two  centuries  and  upwards  gave  it  a  much  distorted 
form. 


1  "  Persona  muy  practica  y  de  conocida  intelligencia  en  las  cosas  de  la  mar."— 
Relacion,  Intro.  XXIX. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

CABRILLO. 

JUAN  RODRIGUEZ  CABRILLO  sailed  from  Navidad 
on  June  27,  1542,  with  two  ships,  the  San  Salvador  and 
the  Victoria.  On  July  2  he  reached  Santa  Cruz1  in  Lower 
California.  Passing  thence  around  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  peninsula  and  steering  northwestwardly  he  examined 
the  exterior  coast  with  great  care  and  especially  with  refer- 
ence to  its  capes  and  roadsteads.  On  July  19  he  reached 
and  gave  its  present  name  to  the  bay  of  Magdalcna.  Pro- 
ceeding thence  he  examined  and  named  various  places,  among 
which  were  Point  Abreojos,  called  by  him  Santiago;  Asuncion 
Island,  called  by  him  Santa  Ana;  Port  San  Bartolome,  called 
by  him  San  Pedro  Advincula;  Cerros  Island,  then  called 
Cedros;  Canoas  Point,  designated  by  him  as  Mai  Abrigo; 
San  Geronimo  Island,  laid  down  by  him  as  San  Bernardo; 
and  on  August  20  he  arrived  at  Cabo  del  Engano,  now  called 
Cabo  Bajo,  the  most  northerly  point  on  that  coast  reached  by 
Ulloaand  hitherto  known  to  the  Spaniards.2  From  this  place 
he  sailed  into  untraversed  waters.  At  a  distance  of  ten 
leagues  he  discovered  a  good  port  where  he  anchored  and 
took  formal  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  his 
sovereign,  on  which  account  he  called  it  Posecion,  being  the 
same  place  now  known  as  Las  Virgenes.  Pursuing  his  voy- 
age thence  he  passed  Cape  San  Quentin,  called  by  him  San 
Martin,  and  anchored  in  the  bay  of  Todos  los  Santos,  called 
by  him  San  Mateo,  where  he  again  took  formal  possession 
of  the  country.     Leaving  this  place,  he  passed  the  Coronados 

1  Herrera,  D.  VII.  L.  V,  cap.  3. 
1  Relacion,  Intro.  XXIX.  XXX. 

(73) 


74  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

Islands  and  at  the  end  of  September  entered  the  Port  of 
San  Diego,  called  by  him  San  Miguel,1  and  thus  became 
the  discoverer  of  Alta  California,  being  the  first  white  man, 
so  far  as  we  have  any  positive  information,  who  laid  his  eyes 
or  placed  his  feet  upon  its  soil. 

Leaving  the  port  of  San  Diego  after  a  short  stay  and  steer- 
ing out  into  the  ocean,  he  discovered  and  visited  the  islands 
of  San  Clemente  and  Santa  Catalina,  to  which  he  gave  the 
names  of  his  vessels,  San  Salvador  and  Victoria;  and  then, 
turning  again  to  the  mainland,  he  anchored  in  a  spacious  bay 
opposite  an  Indian  town,  which  contained  large  houses  and 
indicated  a  better  country  than  the  long  line  of  sterile  coast 
he  had  previously  passed.  The  natives  came  out  to  his  ships 
in  numerous  canoes,  for  which  reason  he  called  the  place 
Pueblo  de  las  Canoas;  and  here  again  he  went  through 
the  formalities  of  taking  possession.2  Pursuing  his  voyage 
thence,  he  discovered  several  large  islands  on  his  left,  now 
known  as  Santa  Cruz,  Santa  Rosa  and  San  Miguel;  and 
sailing  up  the  channel  between  them  and  the  mainland  found 
the  coast  along  there  to  be  charming  and  populous.3  At  one 
place  opposite  a  beautiful  valley  he  anchored  and  traded  with 
the  natives,  who  came  out  in  their  canoes  with  fresh  fish. 
But  as  he  approached  the  long,  low  projection,  afterwards 
designated  and  now  widely  known  as  Point  Concepcion,  by 
him  named  Galera,4  the  northwesterly  winds  blew  so  violently 
that  he  deemed  it  prudent  to  run  out  to  sea;  and  for  a  number 
of  days  he  beat  off  and  on,  without  being  able  to  make  head 
against  them.  In  the  meanwhile  the  temperature  fell;  the 
weather  became  dark  and  lowering,  and  the  storm  increased 
to  such  a  degree  of  severity  that  he  was  compelled  to  seek 
shelter  in  a  small  port  named  Sardinas  in  the  province  of 
Sejo,  so  called  by  the  natives,  to  the  east  of  Point  Concepcion. 

1  Relacion    Intro.  XXX. 

2  "  Parece  estaba  en  la  ensenada  de  San  Juan  Capistrano." — Relacion,  Intro. 
XXXI. 

3  "Deliciosa  y  pobladisima. " — Relacion,  Intro.  XXXI. 

4  '"Llegaron  A  una  punta  luenga,  que  hace  cabo.  i  por  ser  luenga  como  galera, 
le  llamaron  el  cabo  de  la  Galera."' — Iierrera.  D.  VII,  L.  V,  cap  3. 


CABRILLO.  75 

Here  he  was  visited  by  an  aged  Indian  woman,  said  to  be 
the  lady  of  the  land,1  who  remained  several  days  on  board 
his  ship.  She  was  attended  by  many  of  her  people;  and  it 
appears  they  all  danced  there  to  the  sound  of  the  Spanish 
pipe  and  tambour.2 

After  replenishing  his  stock  of  wood  and  water  and  the 
weather  appearing  to  moderate,  Cabrillo  proceeded  to  double 
Point  Concepcion;  but  he  had  not  advanced  far  beyond  it 
when  another  storm  came  on,  which  lasted  two  days  and 
separated  the  ships;  and  each,  supposing  the  other  lost, 
ran  in  towards  the  coast  for  shelter.  After  beating  about 
for  some  time,  during  which  the  people  on  the  Victoria 
suffered  much  on  account  of  having  no  deck,3  the  vessels 
came  together  again;  and  on  November  17,  doubling  a 
prominent  and  well-wooded  point,  then  named  and  still  called 
Point  Pinos,  they  entered  Monterey  bay.  Here  Cabrillo 
anchored  and  attempted  to  land,  with  the  object  of  taking 
possession,  but  was  prevented  by  the  violence  of  the  sea. 
Proceeding  thence  northwestwardly  along  a  rugged,  pre- 
cipitous coast,  with  high  mountains  whose  summits  were 
covered  with  snow,  he  reached  Point  Alio  Nuevo,  which  he 
named  Nieve.  He  was  now,  had  he  known  it,  almost  within 
sight  of  the  grandest  harbor  in  the  world;  but,  the  weather 
continuing  rough  and  the  prospect  gloomy,  he  turned  around 
and  ran  down  to  the  most  westerly  of  the  Santa  Barbara 
Islands,  now  known  as  San  Miguel,  called  by  him  Posecion, 
where  he  disembarked  and  determined  to  winter.  At  this 
place  on  January  3,  1543,  Cabrillo  died,*    leaving  Bartolome 

1  "Una  India  anciana,  que  era  seiiora  de  estos  pueblos." — Relacion,  Intro. 
XXXII. 

2  "  Se  fueron  al  puerto  de  Sardinas,  arribando  quarente  leguas  de  tierra  mui 
poblada  i  de  buena  gente;  i  de  un  liigar,  de  cerca  de  este  puerto,  entraron  Jos 
principales  en  el  navio,  i  bailaron  al  son  de  un  tamboril  i  una  gaite  de  los 
Castellanos,  i  durmieron  dentro,  i  entretanto  las  bateles  tomaron  agua  i  lefia, 
i  sus  casas  eran  grandes,  a  dbs  aguas,  corao  las  de  Nueva  Espafia,  i  sus  entera- 
mientos  los  tenian  cercados  de  tablas,  llamaban  Sejo  a-  esta  provincia;  comian 
bellota,  avellana  i  pescado;  dixeron  que  adelante  habia  gente  vestida." — Her- 
rera,  D.  VII,  L.  V,  cap.  3. 

3  "  Padecido  mucho  por  no  tener  puente. " — Relacion,  Intro.  XXXII. 
*  Relacion,  Intro.  XXXII. 


76  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

Ferrelo, l  the  chief  pilot,  in  command  of  the  expedition,  with 
strict  injunctions  to  continue  his  discoveries  and  examine  the 
entire  coast  as  far  as  it  was  possible  to  follow  it." 

Ferrelo,  having  buried  his  dead  commander  on  the  island 
and  given  it  the  name  of  Juan  Rodriguez  in  commemoration 
of  the  sad  event,  set  sail  for  the  mainland;  but,  finding  the 
northwesterly  winds  still  violent,  he  was  compelled  to  return 
and  remained  there  until  the  middle  of  February.  He  then 
again  set  sail  for  the  mainland  and  shaped  his  course  for  the 
port  of  Sardinas,  where  the  ships  had  before  been  so  well  en- 
tertained; but,  upon  reaching  it,  he  found  that  all  the  Indians, 
apparently  on  account  of  the  advance  of  the  season,  had 
disappeared  from  the  coast.  The  seas  also  continued  rough 
and  violent,  making  the  anchorage  unsafe;  so  that  he  was 
induced  as  a  matter  of  safety  to  turn  about  and  run  down 
to  the  Island  of  San  Clemente,  which  offered  a  better  shelter 
against  the  rigor  of  the  storm.  After  a  short  stay  at  this 
place,  during  which  the  weather  moderated,  he  ran  out  in  a 
southwesterly  direction  in  search  of  other  islands;  but,  the 
winds  suddenly  changing  and  blowing  strong  and  regular 
from  the  southward,  he  determined  to  take  advantage  of 
them  and  turned  to  the  northwestward.  On  February  25 
he  came  in  sight  of  Point  Pinos,  which  he  passed  without 
stopping.  He  was  carried  along  with  such  speed  that  on 
February  28  he  discovered  the  prominent  point  which,  in 
honor  of  the  viceroy,  he  named  Cape  Mendocino,  being  the 
same  point  that  still  bears  that  name.  There  the  winds 
shifted;  a  violent  storm  blew  up,  and  Ferrelo  experienced 
such  tumultuous  blasts  and  heavy  seas  that  the  waves  dashed 
over  the  ships;  and,  without  being  able  to  land  or  find  shelter, 
he  was  driven  to  the  northeast,  in  great  risk  and  fear  of 
being  wrecked.     There  were  signs  of  the  coast  not  far  off,  but 


'  "  Asi  le  nombra  el  diario  manuscrito  de  esta  expedicion  que  existe  en  el 
archivo  general  de  Indias,  y  de  que  tenemos  copia,  aiindiendo  que  era  natural 
Levantisco.  Herrera  le  llama  13artolome  Ferrer,  J).  VII,  L.  V,  cap.  3." — 
Re'.acion,  Intro.  XXXII. 

2  "Con  cncarecido  enrar^o  de  que  no  dexase  de  descubrir  hasta  donde  le 
fuese  posible  por  toda  aquella  costa." — Relacion,  Intro.  XXXII. 


CABR1LL0.  77 

//the  fog  was  so  thick  that  he  could  not  see  except  a  very  short 
distance  before  him.  On  March  i  the  fog  partially  lifted 
and  he  discovered  the  land  of  Cape  Blanco  in  the  southern 
part  of  what  is  now  the  State  of  Oregon.  But  at  the  same 
time,  the  weather  becoming  much  colder  and  the  winds 
more  boisterous  and  accompanied  with  rains,  the  Spaniards 
felt  obliged  to  turn  again  to  the  southward;  and  to  add  to 
their  sufferings,  caused  by  wet  and  exposure,  they  found  that 
their  provisions  were  exhausted,  with  the  exception  of  bis- 
cuits, and  that  what  they  had  of  them  was  damaged  by  sea 
water.  Soon  after  turning  to  the  southward,  they  saw  the 
mouth  of  an  apparently  large  river  emptying  into  the  sea; 
but,  without  stopping  to  examine  it  or  any  other  part  of 
the  coast,  they  hastened  on  to  the  Island  of  San  Clcmente. 
It  was  their  intention  to  run  into  and  make  a  stay  at  the 
port  of  that  island,  where  they  had  previously  landed;  but, 
it  being  night  when  they  approached  and  a  storm  coming 
on,  the  Victoria  disappeared.  Ferrelo,  believing  it  lost  yet 
deeming  it  his  duty  to  make  an  immediate  search,  sailed  at 
once  for  the  mainland  and  thence  ran  down  to  San  Diego; 
thence  to  Todos  los  Santos;  thence  to  Las  Virgcnes,  and 
thence  to  Cerros  Island,  where  he  arrived  on  March  24  and 
found  the  Victoria  ahead  of  him.  That  vessel,  as  it  ap- 
peared, had  run  over  the  rocks  into  the  port  of  San  Clemente 
on  the  night  of  the  separation  and  afterwards,  finding  the 
San  Salvador  gone,  had-  pursued  its  voyage  alone  as  far  as 
Cerros.  From  this  place  the  two  vessels  departed  on  April 
2,  sorely  in  want  of  provisions,  and  on  April  18  entered  the 
port  of  Navidad,  from  which  they  had  sailed  the  previous 
June. 

A  remarkable  circumstance  connected  with  this  expedition, 
which,  as  has  been  seen,  comprehended  the  discovery  of  the 
entire  coast  of  Alta  California,  was  the  fact  that  Cabrillo 
heard  on  several  occasions  of  armed  Spaniards  in  the  interior 
of  the  country.  The  first  information  he  received  was  from 
the  Indians  at  Las  Virgenes  in  Lower  California.  Again  at 
San   Diego  he  heard  of  them;  again  at  San  Clemente;  and 


78  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

again  at  Pueblo  de  las  Canoas,  where  they  were  said  to  be 
only  seven  days'  journey  inland.  He  at  one  time  thought 
of  dispatching  some  of  his  people  to  communicate  with  them; 
but  on  second  thought  contented  himself  with  sending  letters 
by  the  Indians,  none  of  which,  however,  if  they  were  received, 
were  ever  answered.  Who  these  armed  Spaniards  were, 
if  the  accounts  of  their  existence  were  true,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  tell.  It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  believe  that  Fortuno 
Ximenes  and  his  twenty  mutineer  companions,  who  landed 
at  La  Paz  in  1534,  could  have  been  slaughtered  so  easily 
as  Venegas  relates  by  the  then  peaceable  Indians  of  that 
place;  while  on  the  other  hand  it  is  not  difficult  to  believe 
that,  if  they  were  not  slaughtered,  they  had  no  desire  of  ever 
again  entering  the  Spanish  dominions  or  subjecting  them- 
selves to  the  justice  which  Cortes  would  surely  have  visited 
upon  their  crimes.  It  is  also  to  be  observed  that  we  have  no 
account  of  any  other  Spaniards  in  all  the  expeditions  of  those 
days,  who  would  have  been  likely  to  penetrate  so  far  and 
permanently  remain  in  a  region,  however  inviting,  so  remote 
from  their  countrymen.  But  whether  Ximenes  or  any  of  his 
companions  in  fact  ever  escaped  the  fate  popularly  supposed 
to  have  befallen  them,  or  ever  found  a  refuge  within  the 
boundaries  of  this  State,  to  Cabrillo  belongs  the  honor  of  the 
discovery  of  Alta  California.  The  nature  of  his  expedition; 
the  vessels,  inadequate  for  such  a  task,  in  which  he  undertook 
it;  the  rigid  season  in  which  he  executed  it;  the  fortitude  dis- 
played and  the  success  attained;  all  stamp  him  as  a  daring 
and  intrepid,  as  well  as  a  careful  and  prudent,  navigator.  His 
death  in  the  midst  of  his  undertaking  imparts  a  melancholy 
interest  to  his  memory;  and  the  touching  solicitude  for  the 
prosecution  of  his  enterprise,  exhibited  in  his  dying  injunc- 
tions to  Ferrelo,  justify  posterity  in  rendering  the  tribute  of 
admiration  to  the  heroic  sense  of  duty  which  must  have 
animated  him. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE    PHILIPPINE   TRADE. 

THE  information  acquired  by  Cabrillo,  being  set  forth 
with  scrupulous  exactness  in  the  journal  of  his  voyage,1 
dissipated  any  hopes,  which  may  have  remained  in  the  minds 
of  the  Spaniards,  of  finding  a  second  Mexico  or  Peru  on  the 
northwest  coast.  There  were  no  indications  in  any  of  the 
places  he  examined  of  the  almost  unlimited  mineral  wealth 
with  which  the  mountains  and  hills  of  the  interior  abounded; 
the  miserable  natives  wore  no  ornaments  of  gold,  silver  or 
precious  stones,  and  there  were  no  exhibitions  in  the  remotest 
degree  pointing  to  rich  kingdoms  to  be  searched  out  or  bar- 
baric splendor  to  be  won.  Though  the  adventurers,  while 
beating  up  along  the  sea-board,  noticed  the  beauty  of  the 
country  and  caught  glimpses  here  and  there  of  its  delightful 
valleys;  though  they  might  have  guessed  from  what  they  saw 
that  the  land  was  unrivaled  in  its  adaptability  for  coloniza- 
tion; though  they  could  not  have  failed  to  observe,  notwith- 
standing the  winds  to  which  they  were  sometimes  exposed, 
the  general  equability  of  the  temperature  and  the  glories  of 
the  climate,  they  could  not  appreciate  such  advantages,  be- 
cause these  were  not  what  they  sought.  The  country  was 
remote;  and  as  it  promised  nothing  to  tempt  the  cupidity 
or  satisfy  the  avarice  of  the  Spaniards,  no  further  attention, 
perhaps,  would  have  been  paid  to  California,  had  it  not  been 
for  other  interests  springing  up  in  an  entirely  different  quarter 
of  the  globe,  thousands  of  miles  away. 

The  interests  referred  to  were  those  of  the  commerce  grow- 

1  Relacion,  Intro.   XXXVI. 

(79) 


80  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

ing  out  of  the  opening  of  a  passage  to  the  Spice  Islands,  and 
the  establishment  of  the  Spanish  supremacy  in  the  neighbor- 
ing Philippines.  The  Portuguese  had  already  taken  posses- 
sion of  Ternate  and  Tidore,  having  reached  them  by  the  way 
of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  when  Magellan,  in  the  course  of 
his  navigation  across  the  Pacific,  discovered  the  Islas  de  Pon- 
iente,  or  Islands  of  the  Setting  Sun,  afterwards  called  the 
Philippines,  which  he  claimed  in  the  name  and  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Spanish  crown.  Here  at  last  was  not  only  accom- 
plished the  sublime  idea  conceived  by  Columbus,  and  always 
deemed  of  paramount  importance  by  the  Spanish  court,  of 
reaching  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia  by  sailing  to  the  west;  but 
here  also  was  afforded  to  the  Spaniards  an  opportunity  of 
effecting  a  lodgment  in,  and  maintaining  a  claim  to,  the  East 
Indies.  Nor  were  they  backward  in  taking  advantage  of  it. 
With  this  purpose  in  view,  they  sent  out  expedition  after  ex- 
pedition. While  Cortes  was  allowed  at  his  own  expense  and 
with  little  or  no  encouragement,  except  what  he  derived  from 
his  own  unconquerable  spirit,  to  search  the  waters  of  Califor- 
nia, the  crown  was  lavish  of  treasure  to  extend  its  dominion 
in  the  East  Indies.  Hardly  had  Magellan's  discovery  been 
announced,  when  several  fleets  were  sent  to  follow  his  course 
and  prosecute  the  Spanish  claims  in  that  quarter. 

The  first  of  these  was  that  of  Loaysa,  already  mentioned. 
He  sailed  with  seven  ships  from  Corunna  in  Spain  in  1525, 
but  died  on  his  voyage  across  the  Pacific;  and  his  ships  were 
afterwards  scattered  and  lost.  The  second  was  that  of  Sebas- 
tian Cabot,  who  followed  Loaysa  with  four  ships  in  1526;  but 
his  fruitless  voyage  extended  only  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the 
Rio  de  la  Plata  in  South  America,  from  which  he  returned 
an  unsuccessful  and  thenceforth  a  disgraced  man.  The  third 
was  that  of  Saavedra  Ceron,  whom  Cortes,  in  obedience  to 
the  imperial  command,  sent  out  in  1527  in  three  of  the  ships, 
which  he  had  built  with  so  much  trouble  and  under  such  un- 
toward circumstances  at  Zacatula.  This  expedition  was  as 
unfortunate  as  that  of  Loaysa;  for,  although  Ceron  reached 
the  Philippines,  he  did  not  live  to  accomplish  anything;  and 


THE  PHILIPPINE  TRADE.  81 

his  vessels  were,  shipwrecked  and  destroyed.  The  next  or 
fourth  expedition  was  that  of  Ruy  Lopez  de  Villalobos,  who 
was  dispatched  in  1542  by  the  viceroy  Mendoza.  Sailing 
from  Navidad  in  Jalisco,  only  a  few  months  after  Cabrillo  had 
left  the  same  port,  and  keeping  within  the  tropics,  in  pursu- 
ance of  his  instructions,  Villalobos,  after  a  long  and  tedious 
passage,  reached  the  Ladrones.  Thence  he  passed  to  Min- 
danao and  others  of  the  Islas  de  Poniente,  which  in  honor  of 
Prince  Philip  of  Spain  he  named  the  Philippines*  He  en- 
tered, among  the  first  things  he  did,  into  advantageous  rela- 
tions with  the  natives  and  established  alliances,  which  might 
have  availed  much  in  circumventing  the  Portuguese  and  main- 
taining the  Spanish  mastery  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago;  but 
he  appears  in  the  end  to  have  proved  unequal  to  the  task 
assigned  him.  He  failed  to  support  the  credit  of  the  flag  he 
carried;  he  betrayed  his  allies;  he  became  involved  in  contro- 
versies with  his  men,  who  loudly  protested  against  his  actions; 
he  lost  the  best  portion  of  his  fleet;  and  finally,  finding  him- 
self obliged  to  seek  refuge  and  succor  among  his  adversaries 
at  Ternate  and  Tidore,  who  received  him  ungraciously,  he 
died  of  disappointment  at  Amboyna  in  1 546.  His  men  were 
scattered;  and  only  after  years,  and  only  then  by  favor  of  the 
Portuguese  and  in  their  ships,  were  they  enabled  to  return 
to  their  own  country.  The  fifth  expedition,  and  that  which 
finally  succeeded  in  establishing  the  Spanish  supremacy  in  the 
Philippines,  was  that  of  Miguel  Lopez  de  Legazpi.  It  was 
sent  out  under  the  orders  of  Philip  II.,  who  mounted  the 
throne  of  Spain  upon  the  retirement  of  his  father,  Charles  V., 
in  1556.  Legazpi  sailed  from  Navidad  with  four  ships  in 
November,  1 564;  arrived  at  his  destination  the  next  February, 
and  by  means  of  negotiation,  not  unmixed  with  the  bad  faith 
common  amongst  conquerors,  managed  to  impose  the  Spanish 
sway  upon  the  Islands.  No  sooner  had  this  lodgment  been 
effected  than  that  extensive  trade  across  the  Pacific  by  means 
of  Spanish  galleons  began,  which  continued  for  over  two 
hundred  years  and  enriched  the  Spanish  treasury.      In  1566 

a  galleon,  called  the  San  Geronimo,  was  sent  from  Mexico 

6    v  l.  1 


82  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

and  the  next  year  one  of  Legazpi's  vessels  returned  thither. 
The  navigation  thus  commenced  soon  ceased  to  be  regarded 
as  extraordinary  and  in  a  few  years,  as  the  winds  and  currents 
became  better  known,  communication  became  regular  and 
frequent.  The  annual  galleons  out  from  Mexico  carried  men, 
arms,  unscrupulousness,  chicanery  and  administrative  ability; 
returning  they  brought  spices,  silks,  oriental  treasures,  jewels 
and  gems. 

Why  was  there  a  struggle  between  the  Portuguese  and 
the  Spaniards  in  reference  to  the  East  Indies?  and  why  did 
the  Philippine  trade  take  the  way  of  America  instead  of  the 
Indian  Ocean  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope?  The  answer 
to  these  questions  is  a  curious  one.  It  was  on  account  of 
the  respect  paid  by  both  nations  to  the  authority  of  the 
pope.  The  Portuguese,  when  about  initiating  their  voyages 
of  discovery  along  the  coast  of  Africa  in  search  of  a  way  to 
the  Orient,  had  solicited  and  obtained  from  the  Roman  pon- 
tiff a  grant,  so  far  at  least  as  he  could  make  it,  of  all  the 
countries  that  should  be  discovered  in  the  ocean  as  far  as 
India,  inclusive.1  Afterwards,  when  Columbus  by  sailing 
west  discovered  those  islands  of  America,  which  he  and  all 
the  world  supposed  to  be  a  part  of  India,  and,  took  possession 
of  them  for  the  crown  of  Castile,  a  contest  as  to  their  title  im- 
mediately arose  between  the  Portuguese  and  Spaniards;  and 
the  result  was  a  reference  to  the  power,  upon  whose  donation 
the  Portuguese  founded  their  claims.  Alexander  VI.,  then 
occupying  the  papal  chair,  unwilling  to  offend  either  party 
and  apparently  deeming  the  world  wide  enough  for  both, 
divided  it  between  them  and  drew  the  famous  line  of  demar- 
cation north  and  south  one  hundred  leagues  west  of  the  Cape 
de  Verde  and  Azores  Islands,  giving  the  Portuguese  all  east 

and  the  Spaniards  all  west  of  it.     This  lin**  "t^  oA_~ ards 

at  the  instance  of  the  Portuguese,  fixed  b 
dred  and  seventy  leagues  further  west.  S 
The  Portuguese  pursued  their  discoveries  to' 
took  possession  of  everything  they  could  :.:i; 

1  Venegas.  P.  II,  §  i,  p.  127. 


THE  PHILIPPINE  TRADE.  83 

tion,  while  the  Spaniards  did  the  same  towards  the  west. 
But  they  met  in  the  East  Indian  Archipelago;  and  the  old 
strife  was  then  renewed  When  Magellan  discovered  the 
Philippines,  the  Portuguese  claimed  them  to  be  within  their 
half  of  the  world  while  the  Spaniards  insisted  to  the  contrary. 
Charts  and  maps  were  produced  and  longitudes  calculated; 
but  it  was  found  that  to  arrive  at  anything  like  a  settlement 
of  the  line  in  that  part  of  the  world,  it  was  necessary  to  ascer- 
tain the  precise  position  of  the  line  on  the  other  side  of  the 
globe,  from  which  they  counted.  Here  a  new  difficulty  pre- 
sented itself.  The  Portuguese  claimed  that  it  was  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy  leagues  west  of  the  most  easterly  of  the 
Cape  de  Verde  Islands;  the  Spaniards  that  it  was  to  be  cal- 
culated from  the  most  westerly.  But,  instead  of  resorting 
to  the  pope  on  this  occasion,  both  nations  agreed  to  refer  the 
dispute  to  a  convention  of  Spanish  and  Portuguese  lawyers 
and  cosmographers,  who  met  at  Badajoz  on  the  borders  of 
Spain  and  Portugal  in  1524.  The  result  as  might  have  been 
anticipated,1  was  a  disagreement.  The  Spanish  judges  de- 
cided in  favor  of  Spain,  and  the  Portuguese  protested — thus 
leaving  the  question  of  title  in  the  East  Indies  as  between  the 
two  nations  a  fruitful  source  of  long  and  bitter  contention. 

In  addition  to  the  rights  of  discovery  east  and  west  thus 
insisted  upon,  the  same  two  nations  also  claimed  the  rights 
of  exclusive  navigation;  the  Portuguese  of  the  route  east- 
ward around  Africa  and  the  Spaniards  of  that  westward  by 
the  way  of  America.  Each,  asserting  such  monstrous  claims, 
felt  itself  obliged  to  pay  a  certain  sort  of  respect  to  those  of 
the  other;  and  thus  it  was  that  not  only  the  title  of  Spain  to 
her  American  and  East  Indian  provinces  rested  upon  the 
assumed  power  of  Alexander  VI.,  as  the  vicegerent  of  Christ, 
to  give  them  away;  but  it  followed,  as  a  consequence  from 
such  assumption  and  the  division  of  the  world  in  accordance 
with  it,  that  the  Spaniards  were  excluded  from  the  Indian 
Ocean  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  their  commerce  with 
the  East  Indies  was  compelled  to  cross  the  Pacific. 

1  Burney's  Discoveries,  I,  1^3  and  note. 


84  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

It  may  next  be  inquired,  what  had  all  this  to  do  with  Cal- 
ifornia? The  answer  is,  A  very  great  deal.  It  was  soon 
found  from  experience  and  observation  that  the  prevailing 
winds  and  currents  of  the  ocean  between  America  and  Asia, 
while  they  favored  a  course  within  the  tropics  for  vessels 
westward  bound,  rendered  a  much  more  northerly  course 
almost  a  matter  of  necessity  for  their  return.  It  was  for  this 
reason  that  the  richly  freighted  galleons  from  the  Philippines 
had  no  other  way,  after  leaving  port,  but  to  run  up  beyond 
the  tropics;  then,  taking  advantage  of  the  westerly  winds 
and  currents,  cross  in  about  the  latitude  of  Cape  Mendocino, 
and  then  run  down  the  coast  of  California. 

The  commerce  so  established  produced,  among  others, 
three  results  very  important  to  California.  First,  it  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  English  privateers,  who  were  nothing 
loth  to  seize  any  favorable  opportunity  of  depredating  upon 
the  Spanish  colonies  and  trade.  Secondly,  it  occasioned  a 
renewal  of  the  search  for  the  straits,  which  were  still  sup- 
posed to  connect  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  to  the  north  of 
America.  And,  thirdly,  it  rendered  the  occupation  and  as 
far  as  practicable  the  defense  of  the  Californian  coast,  along 
which  the  Philippine  galleons  were  obliged  fo  pass,  a  matter 
of  very  considerable  concern. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

DRAKE. 

THE  English,  for  various  reasons  growing  out  of  differ- 
ences of  blood,  religion,  habits  and  interests,  regarded  the 
Spaniards  as  enemies.  Their  government,  then  in  the  hands 
of  Elizabeth,  shared  in  the  popular  antipathy.  Though 
there  was  as  yet  no  national  rupture,  a  number  of  predatory 
expeditions  by  private  adventurers  were  fitted  out. against 
the  Spanish  establishments  in  the  West  Indies;  and  the 
English  government,  without  expressly  authorizing,  tacitly 
sanctioned  and  encouraged  them. 

Among  these  English  adventurers  the  boldest  and  ablest 
was  Francis  Drake.  He  was  born  within  sight  of  the  ocean, 
near  Tavistock  in  Devonshire,  and  from  very  early  years  was 
apprenticed  to  the  sea.  While  serving  as  a  cabin  boy  on 
board  a  bark,  he  performed  his  duties  with  so  much  faithful- 
ness and  displayed  so  much  determination  and  zeal  that  his 
master,  upon  dying,  bequeathed  him  his  vessel.  Though  but 
a  youth  of  eighteen  years,  he  immediately  engaged  in  trade 
on  his  own  account  and  gradually  became  one  of  the  expert- 
est  seamen  of  his  day.  In  1567,  on  a  venture  with  Captain 
John  Hawkins  to  Mexico,  he  was  attacked  by  the  Spaniards 
and  barely  escaped  with  his  life.  Returning  to  England,  he 
demanded  reparation  for  the  losses  he  had  sustained;  but 
the  Spanish  government  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  his  complaints. 
Being  a  man  not  to  be  trifled  with,  he  resolved  to  take  the 
matter  of  satisfaction  into  his  own  hands  and  found  no  diffi- 
culty in  fitting  out  a  privateering  expedition,  with  which  in 
1572  he  sailed  for  vengeance  against  the  Spanish  colonists. 


86  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

Laying  his  plans  with  consummate  ability  and  showing  him- 
self a  good  soldier  as  well  as  an  expert  sailor,  he  attacked, 
took  and  plundered  their  town  of  Nombre  de  Dios  on  the 
eastern  coast  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  returned  home 
laden  with  spoil  much  greater  in  value  than  all  he  had  lost. 

On  this  expedition  he  acquired  considerable  knowledge  of 
the  South  Sea,  as  the  Pacific  was  still  called,  and  of  the 
Spanish  settlements  and  trade  along  its  shores.  While  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Nombre  de  Dios,  he  had  been  con- 
ducted by  some  of  the  natives  to  a  tall  tree  on  the  summit  of 
a  mountain,  from  which  he  beheld  the  waves  of  the  Pacific 
and  he  was  "so  vehemently  transported  with  desire  to  navi- 
gate that  sea  that,  falling  down  upon  his  knees,  he  implored 
the  Divine  assistance  that  he  might  at  some  time  or  other 
sail  thither  and  make  a  perfect  discovery  of  the  same."  1  The 
opportunity  came  sooner  than  he  could  have  expected.  No 
sooner  had  he  returned  to  England  than  he  found  himself  a 
famous  man.  His  merits  were  quickly  recognized  by  Eliza- 
beth and  he  was  sedulously  courted  by  those  of  her  ministers 
who  knew  her  secret  mind.  The  queen  herself  received  him 
privately.  The  attentions  shown  him  expanded  his  mind 
and  quickened  his  ambition.  When  he  conceived  and  sug- 
gested the  practicability  of  sailing  into  the  Pacific  and  attack- 
ing the  Spaniards  in  the  most  vulnerable  part  of  their 
domains,  he  was  listened  to  by  willing  hearers.  When  he 
broached  the  project  of  himself  leading  such  an  expedition, 
he  met  with  ready  and  hearty  encouragement.  Not  only  the 
courtiers  and  several  of  the  ministers  but  Elizabeth  herself 
covertly  contributed  to  the  enterprise.  The  royal  venture 
amounted,  as  afterwards  appeared,  to  a  thousand  crowns.2 

Drake  sailed  from  Plymouth,  England,  on  December  13, 
1 577,  with  five  small  vessels  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-four 
men.  Upon  standing  out  to  sea,  he  shaped  his  course  to  the 
Cape  de  Verde  islands,  where  he  took  and  destroyed  a  few 
inconsiderable   Spanish  fishing  boats,  and  thence  ran  south- 

1  World  Encompa    ed,  Intro.  IX. 

'i  World  Encompassed.   App.   IV,  216. 


DRAKE.  87 

westwardly  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata.  He  thence 
ran  to  Port  St.  Julian  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Patagonia, 
where,  finding  a  dangerous  insubordination  among  his  peo- 
ple, he  beheaded  one  of  them,  a  gentleman  named  Thomas 
Doughty,  who  appears  to  have  unduly  interfered  with  his 
authority.  By  this  act  of  severity,  which  he  doubtless  found 
necessary  for  the  eventual  success  of  his  undertaking,  he  put 
a  stop  to  disobedience  and  carelessness  and  established  the 
discipline  that  enabled  him  to  make  a  voyage  of  unprece- 
dented length  and  success. 

From  Port  St.  Julian,  having  reorganized  his  forces  and 
reduced  the  number  of  his  vessels  to  three,  he  proceeded  to 
the  Straits  of  Magellan;  and  after  a  long  and  tedious  pas- 
sage, during  which  one  if  not  both  of  his  attendant  ships 
became  separated  from  him  and  returned  home,  he  ran  out 
into  the  South  Sea.  There  the  winds  and  storms  for  a  time 
drove  him  in  the  direction  contrary  to  that  which  he  designed 
to  take;  and  he  discovered  that  the  land  south  of  Magellan's 
Straits  was  an  island  at  whose  extremity  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  oceans  broadly  met.  After  great  and  persistent 
efforts,  running  many  dangers  and  making  many  narrow 
escapes,  he  finally  succeeded  in  beating  up  to  the  northward 
again;  and,  though  he  now  had  but  a  single  vessel  and  that 
of  only  one  hundred  tons  burden,  the  name  of  which  he  had 
changed  from  that  of  the  Pelican  to  that  of  the  Golden  Hind, 
he  boldly  steered  for  the  Spanish  settlements,  determined  to 
attack  and  plunder  wherever  he  found  an  opportunity.  His 
first  important  prize  was  in  the  harbor  of  Valparaiso  and 
consisted  of  a  Spanish  ship  laden  with  wines  of  Chili  and 
carrying  also  some  fine  gold  of  Valdivia  and  a  great  golden 
cross  beset  with  emeralds.  Proceeding  up  the  coast  and 
landing  on  every  favorable  occasion,  at  one  place  he  took 
thirteen  bars  of  silver  from  a  Spaniard  whom  he  found  lying 
asleep,  and  at  another  captured  a  caravan  of  eight  llamas 
with  their  burdens  of  a  hundred  pounds  of  silver  each.  At 
Arica  he  took  two  small  vessels  and  seized  upwards  of  forty 
bars  of  silver  "  of  the  bigness  and  fashion  of  a  brickbatte 


88  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

and  twenty  pounds  weight  each.  Sailing  up  the  coast  of 
Peru,  he  heard  of  a  richly-laden  ship  called  the  Cacafuego  a 
few  days  ahead  of  him;  and,  immediately  pressing  all  sail,  he 
started  in  pursuit  and  overtook  it  just  as  it  was  about  enter- 
ing the  harbor  of  Panama.  After  a  short  conflict  the  Spanish 
ship  surrendered,  and  Drake  took  out  of  it,  besides  fruit, 
sugar,  meal  and  other  provisions,  eighty  pounds  weight  of 
gold,  thirteen  chests  of  silver  coin,  twenty-six  tons  of  unre- 
fined silver  and  a  quantity  of  jewels,  plate  and  precious 
stones,  the  whole  valued  at  three  hundred  and  sixty  thou- 
sand pesos,  equivalent  to  our  dollars.1  From  the  scene  of 
this  conflict  he  sailed  up  the  coast,  captured  on  his  way 
several  vessels  carrying  spices,  silks  and  velvets,"  and  landed 
at  the  port  of  Guatulco  in  Oaxaca,  where  he  took  a  pot  of 
silver  coin  "of  about  a  bushel  in  bigness,"  a  golden  chain  and 
a  quantity  of  jewels/ 

Being  laden  with  spoil  and  having  thus  accomplished  the 
principal  object  of  his  voyage,  Drake  began  to  think  of  his 
return  to  England.  In  the  meanwhile  he  was  not  forgetful 
of  another  object,  that  of  finding  the  much-talked-of  northern 
passage  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic.  If  he  could  dis- 
cover that  passage,  he  would  not  only  perform  a  notable 
service  to  his  country  but  would  have  a  comparatively  short 
and  safe  voyage  homeward.  Having  taken  a  favorable 
opportunity,  that  presented  itself  in  an  island  near  the  coast 
of  Nicaragua,  of  overhauling  and  restoring  his  ship,  and  it 
being  now  the  middle  of  the  spring  and  the  season  for  north- 
ern navigation  approaching,  he  stood  far  out  to  sea  and  then, 
changing  his  course,  turned  towards  the  pole.  But,  after  a 
run  of  nearly  two  months,  he  experienced  such  bitterly, cold 
weather,  his  people  suffered  so  severely  and  his  heavily-laden 
ship,  illy  adapted  for  buffeting  the  constant  head-winds, 
leaked  so  badly  that  he  deemed  it  prudent  to  abandon  any 
further   search    for    a    northern    strait,    and    he    accordingly 


1  World  Encompassed,  m. 

2  World  Encompassed,  App.  V,  1'.  I;  Hackluyt's  Voyages,  V.  III.  791-79: 
8  World   Encompassed,  1  [3. 


DRAKE.  89 

sought  the  land,  which  he  struck  in  latitude  430.  From  this 
point,  which  was  about  the  same  reached  by  Ferrelo  in  1  543, 
he  turned  to  the  southward  and,  running  down  the  coast  in 
search  of  a  stopping  place,  passed  the  long  projecting  prom- 
ontory of  Point  Reyes  and  under  its  lee  discovered  "a  con- 
venient and  fit  harbor,"  in  which  he  came  to  anchor  on  June 

1.7,  I579-1 

At  this  place,  which  is  now  known  as  Sir  Francis  Drake's 
Bay,  he  remained  thirty-six  days.  During  that  period,  which 
it  required  to  thoroughly  repair  and  refit  his  vessel,  he  had  a 
number  of  interviews  and  some  very  remarkable  intercourse 
with  the  natives.  Upon  sailing  into  the  harbor  he  found  a 
wild,  desolate-looking  beach;  but  the  next  day  Indians 
appeared  in  considerable  numbers.  One  of  them  paddled 
out  in  a  canoe  to  within  hailing  distance  of  the  ship,  where 
he  made  a  long  oration  accompanied  with  violent  gestures, 
after  which  he  returned  to  the  shore.  In  a  short  time  he 
came  again  in  like  manner;  and  so  likewise  a  third  time, 
when  he  brought  with  him  a  head-dress  of  black  feathers 
tastefully  arranged  and  a  small  basket,  neatly  woven,  filled 
with  an  herb  called  "  tabah."  These  he  tied  to  a  short  rod 
and  threw  into  the  boat  of  the  English,  which  was  sent  to 
meet  him;  but  he  could  not  be  induced  to  receive  any  of  the 
presents  offered  in  return,  with  the  exception  of  a  hat,  that 
was  cast  towards  him.  All  his  actions,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  people  on  shore,  indicated  respect  and  reverence  for  the 
English,  as  if  they  were  a  superior  race  of  beings;  but  Drake, 
careful  and  prudent  as  he  had  always  shown  himself,  was 
unwilling  to  trust  to  mere  appearances  and  took  measures  to 
insure  his  safety.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days  accordingly, 
having  well  surveyed  the  place,  he  brought  his  ship  to  anchor 
near  the  shore  and  landed  his  men  with  arms  and  provisions 
to  set  up  tents  and  build  a  barricade.  The  Indians  at  this 
collected  on  the  neighboring  hills  and  looked  on  with  wonder 
and  amazement,  so  much  so  that  the  English  supposed  them- 
selves taken  for  gods.* 

1  World  Encompassed.  115. 

2  World  Encompassed.  120. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

NEW    ALBION. 

DRAKE,  having  set  up  his  tents  and  surrounded  them  with 
walls  of  stone  and  thus  provided  a  sufficient  defense  in 
case  of  hostility,  disembarked  with  all  his  company;  removed 
his  cargo  within  the  fortification;  drew  up  his  ship  upon  the 
beach,  and  commenced  the  necessary  work  of  overhauling 
and  repairing  damages.  In  the  meanwhile  the  Indians  had 
disappeared;  but  in  a  few  days  they  came  back  in  very  large 
numbers,  men,  women  and  children,  apparently  as  if  the  whole 
neighborhood  had  been  aroused  and  all  its  people  had  come 
together  to  see  the  wonderful  strangers.  They  brought  with 
them  numerous  articles,  such  as  feather  ornaments,  net-work, 
quivers,  skins  and  bags  of  "  tabah,"  which  were  intended  for 
presents  or  rather,  as  the  English  thought,  for  offerings,  upon 
the  persuasion  that  their  visitors  were  divine.  Upon  their 
arrival  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  at  the  foot  of  which  the  English 
were  encamped,  they  halted  and  one  of  their  number,  as  the 
man  in  the  canoe  had  previously  done,  delivered  a  long  ora- 
tion, gesticulating  violently  all  the  time;  his  voice  raised  to 
the  highest  pitch  and  his  words  falling  so  thick  and  fast  upon 
one  another  that  he  could  scarcely  catch  his  breath.  At  the 
end  of  his  harangue  all  the  others  bowed  their  bodies  rev- 
erentially and  drawled  out  at  great  length  the  word  "oh,"  in 
apparent  assent  to  all  their  orator  had  said  for  them.  The 
men  then,  laying  down  their  bows  and  other  weapons  and 
leaving  the  women  and  children  behind  them,  came  down 
with  their  offerings  and  approached  in  the  attitude  of  sup- 
pliants ;  while  the  women  on  the  hill  began  crying  and 
(90) 


NEW  ALBION.  91 

shrieking  piteously,  tearing  their  flesh  and  casting  themselves 
repeatedly,  with  unnatural  and  desperate  violence,  upon  the 
rocks  and  stones.  At  the  sight  of  this  bloody  and  horrid 
spectacle  and  to  prevent,  if  possible,  its  repetition  by  disa- 
busing the  minds  of  the  natives  of  their  assumption  that  the 
English  were  gods,  Drake  ordered  religious  services  to  be  per- 
formed in  their  presence;  and  he  and  all  his  company  joined 
in  prayers,  thus  ind  icating  that  they  too  were  but  creatures  of 
the  Everlasting  God  above.  After  prayers  psalms  were  sung, 
which  especially  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Indians.  Music 
was  a  language  they  could  understand,  being  a  universal  lan- 
guage, intelligible  to  every  human  heart;  and  they  were  so 
delighted  that  at  every  pause  they  testified  their  pleasure. 
During  the  entire  stay,  whenever  the  Indians  came  down  to 
the  English,  their  first  request  was  invariably  "guaah,"  which 
was  soon  understood  to  mean  an  entreaty  that  the  strangers 
should  sing  for  them.1 

A  few  days  afterwards,  on  June  26,  the  Indians  appeared 
in  still  greater  numbers  than  before  and  amongst  them  was  a 
tall,  well-knit,  good-looking  personage,  who  seemed  to  be 
their  king.  Before  approaching  they  halted;  and  two  heralds 
came  down  and  made  the  customary  oration,  by  which  they 
were  understood  to  announce  that  their  "hioh"  or  chief  was 
at  hand.  Drake  made  them  a  present  for  him  and  signified 
by  gestures  that  he  should  be  welcome;  and  in  a  short  time, 
the  messengers  having  returned,  the  hioh  with  all  his  train, 
making  as  princely  a  show  as  possible,  approached.  In  the 
front  came  a  large  Indian  bearing  a  stick  of  black  wood,  a 
yard  and  a  half  long,  to  which  were  attached  two  wreaths  or 
crowns  of  net-work  and  variegated  feathers,  three  very  long 
strings  of  wampum  and  a  bag  of  tabah.  This  the  English 
interpreted  to  be  the  royal  mace  or  scepter.  Next  this  person 
came  the  hioh  himself  attended  and  followed  by  a  hundred 
warriors.  His  attire  consisted  of  a  head-dress  of  exquisite 
workmanship  and  a  mantle  of  squirrel  skins,  which  was 
thrown  over  his  shoulders  and  hung  down  to  his  waist.      His 

1  World  Encompassed,  124. 


92  EARLY   VOYAGES. 

immediate  attendants  also  had  head-dresses,  some  of  feathers 
and  some  of  down,  and  wore  coats  of  fur,  but  in  no  respect  so 
rich  and  fine  as  that  of  their  master.  After  them  followed  a 
multitude  of  men  entirely  naked,  with  their  long  hair  gath- 
ered at  the  back  of  the  head  and  pinned  with  plumes  or 
single  feathers,  each  according  to  his  fancy.  All  had  their 
faces  painted,  some  with  white,  some  with  black,  some  with 
other  colors;  and  each  one  bore  in  his  hand  a  present.  In 
the  rear  came  the  women  and  children,  each  woman  bearing 
against  her  bosom  a  basket  filled  with  various  articles,  such 
as  bags  of  tabah,  roots  called  by  them  "  petah,"  of  which  they 
made  bread,  broiled  fish  and  different  kinds  of  seeds. 

Upon  the  approach  of  the  procession,  Drake  in  the  mean- 
while having  as  a  matter  of  precaution  armed  his  men  and 
drawn  them  within  the  stone  barricade,  the  Indians  gave  a 
general  salutation  and  halted,  while  he  who  bore  the  scepter 
pronounced  in  a  loud  voice  an  oration,  prompted  by  one  of 
the  warriors  who  seemed  to  have  been  appointed  to  that 
office  by  the  hioh.  The  procession  then  came  nearer,  leav- 
ing the  small  children  behind.  When  in  front  of  the 
fort,  the  scepter-bearer,  as  master  of  the  ceremonies,  began  a 
song  and  dance,  in  which  the  hioh  and  all  his  attendants 
joined.  Thus,  dancing  and  singing  but  at  the  same  time 
preserving  the  utmost  gravity,  they  came  on;  and  Drake, 
who  was  soon  convinced  of  their  peaceable  intentions, 
admitted  them  all  within  his  enclosure.  The  women  with 
their  baskets,  but  with  their  bodies  bruised,  their  faces 
torn  and  their  breasts  bespattered  with  blood,  were  also 
admitted.  They  likewise  danced,  but  kept  their  mouths 
closed.  After  several  turns  about  the  camp,  the  hioh  and 
several  of  those  about  him  turned  to  Drake  and  addressed 
him  at  great  length,  from  which  the  English  understood  that 
they  offered  him  their  province,  resigned  their  right  and  title 
to  the  country  and  made  themselves  and  their  posterity 
vassals  to  the  English  crown.  They  appear  in  fact  to  have 
placed  a  feather  crown  upon  Drake's  head;  to  have  thrown 
about  his  neck  their  strings  of  wampum;    saluted   him  with 


NE IV  ALBION.  93 

the  name  of  hioh,  and  added  a  song  and  dance  of  so  loud 
and  lively  a  character  that  it  was  deemed  one  of  triumph.1 

The  whole  ceremony  appears  to  have  been  nothing  more 
than  an  expression  of  desire  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  to 
make  the  English  commander  a  chief  amongst  them,  includ- 
ing his  investiture  with  the  honors  and  dignities  of  the  sta- 
tion. The  English  could  not  understand  their  language;  nor 
was  it  possible  for  the  Indians  to  communicate  or  intend  to 
communicate  the  ideas  of  dominion  and  vassalage,  which 
were  beyond  their  experience  or  knowledge.  The  English, 
on  the  other  hand,  knew  nothing  of  the  Indian  tribal  regula- 
tions; but,  bringing  with  them  only  their  experience  of  En- 
glish institutions,  they  supposed  the  country  to  be  a  kingdom 
and  the  chief  of  one  of  its  numerous  rancherias  to  be  its 
king.  Whatever  may  have  been  Drake's  personal  opinion  as 
to  the  meaning  of  their  actions,  he  was  not  disposed  to  neg- 
lect so  favorable  an  opportunity  of  construing  them  into  a 
tender  of  the  sovereignty  of  a  vast  territory,  which  might  at 
some  day  be  of  value  and  importance  to  his  native  land;  and 
accordingly,  he  willingly  accepted  the  supposed  scepter,  crown 
and  royal  dignity,  and  took  formal  possession  of  the  country 
in  the  name  of  Queen  Elizabeth  for  the  use  and  benefit  of 
the  English  nation." 

When  these  ceremonies  were  over  the  Indians  dispersed 
themselves  about  the  camp  and  devoted  their  attentions  to 
such  of  the  English  subordinates  as  best  pleased  their  fancy, 
selecting  as  a  general  rule  the  youngest  and  most  vigorous. 
They  offered  presents  and  testified  their  admiration  by  loud 
outcries;  the  women,  ever  violent  in  their  passionate  demon- 
strations, tearing  open  afresh  their  already  scarred  and  bleed- 
ing faces.  After  some  time  thus  spent,  they  exhibited  their 
bodily  ailments;  some,  aching  limbs;  some,  shrunken  sinews; 
some,  ulcerated  sores;  others,  wounds  and  injuries  of  various 
descriptions;  upon  which  the  English  turned  to  their  medical 
stores  and  applied  such  lotions,  plasters  and  salves  as  were 

5  World  Encompassed,  125-128. 
2  World  Encompassed,  129. 


94  EARLY    VOYAGES. 

calculated  to  remove  or  assuage  their  pains.  At  length  the 
natives  withdrew,  evidently  well  pleased  with  their  reception. 
They  repeated  their  visit  almost  every  subsequent  day  that 
Drake  remained  in  the  country.  Particularly  after  they  found 
the  English  to  be  excellent  providers  of  food,  they  resorted 
to  the  camp  and  reveled  in  the  banquets  of  seal-blubber, 
plentifully  supplied  by  the  English  firearms.  Their  own 
weapons,  consisting  almost  exclusively  of  bows  and  arrows, 
were  of  weak  construction  and  little  force,  calculated  only  for 
the  killing  of  small  game.  Their  skill  in  archery,  however, 
was  remarkable  and  especially  in  the  taking  of  fish,  which 
they  seldom  missed.  (They  were  swift  of  foot  and  of  great 
bodily  strength,  being  able  without  apparent  difficulty  to  bear 
for  a  long  distance  and  over  uneven  ground  burdens  which  it 
required  several  Englishmen  to  lift.  They  seemed  of  good 
disposition  and  tractable  nature,  without  guile  among  them- 
selves or  treachery  toward  their  visitors. 

The  business  of  repairing  and  refitting  the  vessel  being  at 
length  finished  and  the  cargo  re-embarked,  and  the  peaceable 
character  of  the  Indians  being  now  so  well  understood  that 
no  trouble  from  them  was  to  be  apprehended,  Drake  with  a 
number  of  his  company  made  a  short  excursion  inland. 
They  found  the  country  there  very  different  from  the  barren 
coast.  Its  green  slopes  were  covered  with  thousands  of  large 
and  fat  deer  and  almost  infinite  numbers  of  burrowing 
animals,  probably  squirrels,  but  called  by  them  conies.1  The 
soil  was  rich  and  fertile,  full  of  promise  for  the  residence  of 
an  industrious  people  who  could  turn  its  advantages  to  use. 
Though  the  weather  on  the  immediate  coast  was  in  general 
raw,  cold  and  foggy;  here,  at  a  short  distance  inland,  it  was 

1  "  Infinite  was  the  company  of  very  large  and  fat  Deere  which  there  we  sawe  by 
thousands,  as  we  supposed,  in  a  heard;  besides  a  multitude  of  a  strange  kinde  of 
Conies,  by  farre  exceeding  them  in  number:  their  heads  and  bodies,  in  which  they 
resemble  other  Conies,  are  but  small;  his  tayle,  like  the  tayle  of  a  Rat,  exceed- 
ing long;  and  his  feet  like  the  pawes  of  a  want  or  moale;  under  his  chinne,  on 
eithei  side,  he  hath  a  bagge,  into  which  he  gathereth  his  meate,  when  he  hath 
filled  his  belly  abi  I  he  may  with  it,  either  feed  his  young,  or  feed  himself 

when  he  lists  not  to  travaile  from  his  burrough;  the  people  eate  their  bodies,  and 
make  great  account  of  their  skinnes,  for  their  kings  holidaies  coat  was  made  of 
them." — World  Encompassed,  132. 


NEW  ALBION.  95 

comparatively  moderate  and  pleasant.  On  the  immediate 
coast. everything  seemed  desolate;  here  herbage  throve  and 
the  landscape  smiled  with  luxuriance.  Some  of  the  pine 
woods  and  perhaps  some  of  the  redwood  forests  were  seen 
and  some  of  the  sheltered  valleys;  but  the  excursion,  being 
necessarily  made  on  foot,  extended  but  a  few  miles  and  did 
not  afford  any  wide  or  distant  view,  and  the  English,  like  the 
Spaniards  under  Cabrillo,  though  within  less  than  a  day's 
travel  of  the  most  spacious  and  magnificent  bay  in  the  world, 
had  no  idea  of  its  existence. 

Drake  was  now  ready  to  set  sail;  but  before  doing  so  he 
set  up,  by  way  of  monument  and  memorial  of  his  having 
been  there  and  taken  possession  of  the  country,  a  large  post, 
firmly  planted,  upon  which  he  caused  to  be  nailed  a  plate  of 
brass,  engraven  with  the  name  of  the  English  queen,  the  day 
and  year  of  his  arrival,  the  voluntary  submission  of  the  coun- 
try by  both  king  and  people  to  English  sovereignty  and, 
underneath  all,  his  own  name.  Fastened  to  the  plate  was  an 
English  sixpence  of  recent  coinage,  so  placed  as  to  exhibit 
her  majesty's  likeness  and  arms.  At  the  same  time,  partly 
on  account  of  the  possession  so  taken  but  more  especially 
because  of  "the  white  banks  and  cliffs  which  lie  towards  the 
sea,"  Drake  named  the  country  New  Albion.  He  supposed 
himself  to  be  its  discoverer,  and  was  not  aware  that  thirty-six 
years  previously  the  Spaniards  had  passed  along  the  same 
coast  and  anticipated  him.1 

It  is  uncertain  at  what  time  Drake  conceived  the  project  of 
crossing  the  Pacific  and  returning  home  by  the  way  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  But  finding  no  northern  passage  to  the 
Atlantic  and  making  up  his  mind  that  if  one  existed  it  was 
too  far  north  to  be  practicable,  he  was  obliged  either  to  return 
by  the  route  he  had  come  or  follow  the  course  pointed  out  by 
Magellan's  ship  and  circumnavigate  the  globe.  The  latter 
suited  him  best.  He  was  laden  with  spoil  and  had  no  desire 
to  run  the  risks  of  meeting  Spanish  vessels,  which  would 
probably  be  waiting,  prepared  to  give  him  a  lively  reception 
1  World  Encompassed,  132. 


96  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

upon  his  reappearance  upon  the  Mexican  or  Peruvian  coast. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  was  nothing  to  fear  from  the  Por- 
tuguese, who  held  the  East  Indies.  The  navigation  in  that 
direction  was  unknown  to  him;  but  this  consideration  was  of 
little  moment  to  the  daring  sailor  who  had  already  come  so 
many  thousands  of  miles  and  braved  the  dangers  of  so  many 
a  stormy  sea.  At  whatever  period  he  came  to  this  determi- 
nation, it  must  have  been  after  he  abandoned  the  search  for 
a  northern  passage  and  before  he  left  the  shores  of  California. 
Before  again  bending  his  sails,  he  knew  the  path  he  was  to 
pursue  and  took  it  and  kept  it  with  the  precision  of  the 
needle  to  the  pole.  On  July  23,  after  many  ceremonies  of  a 
religious  character,  singing  of  psalms  and  taking  appropriate 
farewell  of  the  sorrowful  natives,  he  stood  out  to  sea.  As  his 
ship  lessened  in  the  distance,  following  the  golden  sun  over 
the  trackless  waste  of  waters,  the  Indians  ran  to  the  tops  of 
their  hills  to  keep  it  in  view  as  long  as  possible  and  lighted 
fires,  which  indicated,  long  after  they  themselves  could  be 
distinguished  from  the  vessel,  that  they  were  still  watchful  and 
still  doubtless  turning  their  straining  eyes  and  uplifted  arms 
towards  the  departing  strangers. 

The  next  morning  Drake  found  himself  near  the  Faral- 
lones,  called  by  him  Islands  of  St.  James,1  at  one  of  which  he 
stopped  and  killed  seals  and  birds.  He  then  ran  directly  for 
the  Spice  Islands  and,  crowding  his  canvass,  sailed  sixty-eight 
days  without  sight  of  land.  He  stopped  at  Ternate.  After 
leaving  that  island  and  while  passing  near  Celebes,  his  vessel 
ran  upon  a  rock  and  her  rescue  called  into  requisition  all  his 
resources.  It  was  a  time  of  great  peril  and  great  despair. 
The  men  gave  themselves  up  for  lost  and  received  the  com- 
munion in  expectation  of  speedy  death.  But  Drake  watched 
every  wave  and  every  wind.  With  a  line  he  measured  the 
depth  of  water  on  every  side  His  vessel  drew  thirteen  feet.2 
On  the  windward  there  was  that  depth  of  water.  Fortunately 
it   had    struck  while  the   tide  was   low;    and,  the  wind  after- 

1  World  Encompassed,  p.  134. 
*  World  Encompassed,  p.  156. 


NEW  ALBION.  97 

wards  abating  at  a  time  of  full  water,  he  with  a  great  effort 
forced  it  off  on  the  deeper  side  and  thus  saved  it.  From  this 
place  he  sailed  to  Java  and  thence  through  the  Indian  Ocean 
and  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  England.  He  arrived  at 
Plymouth,  the  port  from  which  he  started,  on  September  26, 
1580.  after  an  absence  of  nearly  three  years,  and  brought  with 
him  all  his  treasures.  His  ship,  the  Golden  Hind,  which  had 
thus  encompassed  the  world  and  safely  brought  back  its 
master  and  crew,  with  booty  hitherto  almost  unheard  of,  was 
long  preserved  as  a  relic,  honored  and  revered  by  the  British 
seaman  though  its  timbers  were  racked  and  in  decay. 

The  length,  novelty  and  success  of  this  expedition;  the 
blow  inflicted  and  the  new  field  thereby  opened  for  attacks 
upon  the  Spaniards;  the  satisfaction  felt  by  the  nation,  and 
the  private  interests  involved  of  several  of  the  first  persons  in 
the  kingdom,  all  conspired  to  cause  Drake  to  be  received 
with  extraordinary  honors.  Four  months  after  his  return,  he 
was  knighted  and  thus  became  Sir  Francis  Drake;  and  the 
queen  dined  on  board  his  ship.  His  great  exploit  rendered 
him  famous  throughout  the  civilized  world.  Recognized  as 
one  of  the  first  of  naval  heroes,  he  thenceforth  occupied  a 
front  place  in  the  maritime  affairs  of  his  native  isle.  Soon 
afterwards  he  plundered  Carthagena  and  burned  San  Anto- 
nio and  San  Augustine.  In  1587  he  sailed  to  Cadiz  and 
destroyed  a  hundred  ships  in  its  very  harbor,  thus  "  singe- 
ing the  king  of  Spain's  beard,"  as  he  expressed  it.  In  1588, 
as  vice-admiral,  he  fought  some  of  the  scattered  remnants 
of  the  Invincible  Armada  and  the  next  year  ravaged  the 
coast  of  Spain.  In  1592  he  sat  as  a  member  of  the  English 
parliament.  In  1595  he  sailed  again  to  the  West  Indies  and 
plundered  and  burned  a  number  of  places  and  among  them 
Nombre  de  Dios,  the  scene  of  his  first  vengeance  against  the 
Spaniards.  There,  where  his  career  may  be  said  to  have 
opened,  it  also  closed.  He  sickened  and  died  on  shipboard; 
and  his  body  received  a  sailor's  burial  in  the  waves  within 
sight  of  Porto  Bello. 

7     Vol.  I. 


CHAPTER    X. 

CAVENDISH   AND   WOODES    ROGERS. 

THOMAS  CAVENDISH,  whose  fame  as  a  bold  and  suc- 
cessful depredator  upon  the  Spanish  commerce  in  the 
Pacific  is  second  only  to  that  of  Drake,  was  a  gentleman 
of  Suffolk.  He  enjoyed  a  position  of  high  consideration  at 
the  English  court;  but,  in  acquiring  and  maintaining  it,  he 
had  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  means.  At  the  time  of 
Drake's  return  from  California,  Cavendish  was  in  compar- 
atively reduced  circumstances.  But  he  possessed  in  full 
measure  the  enterprise  and  skill  necessary  to  retrieve  his 
shattered  fortunes  by  following  in  the  track  pointed  out  by 
his  famous  predecessor.  He  however  did  not,  like  Drake, 
require  the  secret  connivance  of  the  English  ministry  to 
shield  his  project  from  the  imputation  of  piracy;  for  before 
he  sailed,  war  had  broken  out  between  England  and  Spain; 
and  it  was  lawful  for  him  to  despoil  the  Spaniards,  wherever 
he  could  find  them,  as  the  open  and  declared  enemies  of  his 
sovereign  and  country. 

Having  fitted  out  three  small  vessels,  he  set  sail  from 
Plymouth  on  July  21,  1586,  with  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
three  men.  He  passed  the  Straits  of  Magellan  and- entered 
the  Pacific  towards  the  end  of  February.  On  his  way  up  the 
western  coast  of  South  America  he  took  several  small  vessels, 
and  at  A?ica  seized  a  wine  ship.  At  Payta  he  landed,  de- 
stroyed several  ships,  set  fire  to  the  town  and  burned  two 
hundred  houses,  but  obtained  only  twenty-five  pounds  of 
silver.  Proceeding  up  the  coast,  and  making  attacks  wher- 
ever he  had  a  prospect  of  winning  booty  or  damaging  the 
(98) 


THOMAS  CAVENDISH.  S9 

enemy,  he  lost  a  number  of  his  men;  but,  nothing  disheart- 
ened by  his  losses,  he  boldly  pursued  his  course  into  the 
northern  ocean.  On  July  27,  he  landed  at  and  burned 
Guatulco,  and  probably  would  have  attacked  Acapulco,  but 
missed  finding  it.  At  Navidad  he  again  landed  and  de- 
stroyed two  large  ships,  which  were  building  on  the  stocks 
there.  On  September  20,  he  was  at  Mazatlan,  where  he 
abandoned  the  smaller  of  his  vessels;  and  from  this  place, 
with  two  ships,  the  larger  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  tons 
and  the  smaller  of  sixty,  he  sailed  over  to  Lower  California 
to  lie  in  wait  for  the  annual  galleon  from  the  Philippines. 
He  arrived  at  Cape  San  Lucas  on  October  14  and  remained 
there  till  November  4,  when  the  object  of  his  search  hove  in 
sight,  bearing  down  before  the  northwestern  winds.  Caven- 
dish immediately  gave  chase  and  after  a  long  run  and  a 
severe  conflict  succeeded  in  capturing  it.  The  prize  proved 
to  be  a  rich  one,  called  the  Santa  Anna,  a  vessel  of  seven 
hundred  tons  burden,  belonging  to  the  king  of  Spain  and 
carrying  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  thousand  pesos  of 
gold,  besides  large  quantities  of  satin,  silk,  musk  and  East 
Indian  merchandise.  It  was  commanded  by  Tomas  de 
Alzola  and  had  on  board,  besides  its  cargo,  one  hundred  and 
ninety  persons,  mostly  passengers,  including  a  number  of 
women.  After  securing  their  prisoners,  the  captors  carried 
the  prize  into  a  port  on  the  easterly  side  of  Cape  San  Lucas, 
where  at  their  leizure  they  transferred  the  most  valuable  part 
of  its  wealth  to  their  own  vessel.  The  prisoners,  all  but  two 
boys  from  the  Philippines  and  a  Spanish  and  a  Portuguese 
pilot,  whom  Cavendish  took  on  his  own  ship,  were  placed  on 
shore.  On  November  19,  about  a  fortnight  after  the  capture, 
the  galleon,  with  five  hundred  tons  of  merchandise  still  on 
board,  was  set  on  fire;  and  as  it  burned  down  towards  the 
water's  edge  the  English  fired  a  final  gun  as  a  parting  knell 
and  sailed  away  with  their  plunder. 

Upon  leaving  Cape  San  Lucas  Cavendish  bore  directly  for 
the  East  Indies;  but  scarcely  had  he  lost  sight  of  the  port 
where  he  had  left  the  burning  prize,  when   a  violent  storm 


100  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

came  on,  which  separated  his  ships  and  doubtless  wrecked 
the  smaller  one,  as  it  was  never  afterwards  heard  of.  This 
storm,  so  unfortunate  for  him,  proved  lucky  for  the  poor 
Spaniards,  who  had  been  left  on  shore.  It  drove  the  burning 
prize  upon  the  beach  and  thus  afforded  them  an  unexpected 
opportunity  of  escaping  their  forlorn  situation  on  a  remote 
and  desolate  coast.  The  English  had  left  them  such  scanty 
provisions  as  could  be  spared  and  a  few  arms  for  their  pro- 
tection; but  their  prospects  under  any  circumstances  seemed 
almost  hopeless.  There  was  among  them,  however,  at  least 
one  man  of  marked  ability,  well  fitted  to  take  advantage  of 
any  turn  of  fortune  in  his  favor.  This  was  Sebastian  Vis- 
caino,1  of  whom  there  will  be  occasion  to  speak  at  some 
length  hereafter.  Though  there  is  no  particular  account  of 
his  action,  it  can  well  be  imagined  how  prompt  his  measures 
must  have  been,  as  he  beheld  the  flaming  hulk  driving  in 
towards  him.  He  at  once  organized  the  forces  at  hand;  ran 
out  to  meet  the  promised  rescue;  boarded  the  fiery  pile  and, 
aided  by  the  rain,  soon  extinguished  the  flames.  He  found 
a  sound  hull  and  in  a  short  time  made  out  of  it  a  sufficiently 
safe  conveyance  to  transport  himself  and  his  companions 
across  the  Gulf  of  California  to  the  Spanish  settlements  on 
the  other  side.  Thus  they  were  all  saved  and  finally  reached 
their  destination. 

Cavendish,  in  the  meanwhile,  made  an  almost  straight  line 
across  the  Pacific.  On  January  3,  1588,  he  arrived  at  the 
Ladrones  and  ten  days  afterwards  at  the  Philippines.  This 
being  dangerous  ground,  he  was  under  the  necessity  of  con- 
cealing the  history  of  his  exploits  on  the  coasts  of  America 
and  found  himself  obliged  to  hang  his  Spanish  pilot  for 
secretly  writing  letters  to  the  governor  of  Manila,  which 
however  never  reached  their  address.  After  a  short  stay  at 
the  Philippines,  Cavendish  passed  to  Java;  on  May  18 
doubled  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope;  and  on  September  9,  1588, 
arrived  with  his  spoil  at  Plymouth,  after  an  absence  of  two 

J  Greenhow,  77. 


THOMAS  CAVENDISH.  w  101 

years  and  fifty  days.1  Upon  his  return  he  wrote,  giving  an 
account  of  his  achievements,  to  Hunsdon,  Lord  Chamberlain, 
as  follows:  "I  navigated  along  the  coast  of  Chili,  Peru  and 
Nueva  Espana,  where  I  made  great  spoils.  I  burned  and 
sunk  nineteen  sail  of  ships,  small  and  great.  All  the  villages 
and  towns  that  ever  I  landed  at,  I  burned  and  spoiled." " 
These  few  words,  so  terse  and  soldier-like,  so  indicative  of  a 
man  who  could  see  clearly  and  might  have  described  well 
what  he  saw,  make  one  regret  that  he  has  not  left  a  full 
record  of  his  visit  to  California.  As  it  is,  the  accounts  are 
scanty;  and  of  his  experience  with  the  Indians  nothing  is 
known.  He  made  a  second  voyage  in  1591,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  again  visiting  the  scenes  of  his  former  exploits  and 
doubtless  of  outdoing  them;  but  upon  reaching  the  Straits  of 
Magellan  his  fleet  separated  and  he  was  obliged  to  turn  back. 
He  then  changed  his  plans;  with  two  vessels  ran  up  the 
coast  of  Brazil  and  attacked  the  Portuguese;  but,  being 
deserted  by  one  of  his  ships  and  thus  left  diminished  in  force, 
he  lost  most  of  his  men  in  the  attempts  he  made;  and,  after 
great  but  fruitless  exertions  to  retrieve  his  fortunes,  died  on 
shipboard  before  he  could  get  back  to  England.3  He  too, 
like  his  predecessor,  was  knighted  by  the  English  queen. 

Had  a  sovereign  like  Elizabeth  succeeded  upon  her 
demise  to  the  English  throne  and  the  natural  bent  of  the 
English  people  been  allowed  full  play,  it  is  more  than  likely 
that  Drake  and  Cavendish  would  soon  have  had  many  imita- 
tors and  the  Spanish  commerce  in  the  Pacific  have  suffered 
severely.  The  result  probably  would  have  been  that  Califor- 
nia would  have  been  settled  much  earlier  than  it  was,  and  its 
history  been  entirely  different.  But  when  the  great  queen 
succumbed,  the  crown  of  England  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  Stuarts,  a  family  which  had  neither  the  ability  to  lead, 
the  intelligence  to  understand,  nor  even  the  wish  to  improve 
the  spirited  people,  over  whom  it  was   placed.     During  the 

1  Burney's  Discoveries,  I,  64.-94. 

*  Hackluyt,  III,  837. 

3  Burney's  Discoveries,  III.  9S-107. 


102  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

reigns  of  the  Jameses  and  the  Charleses,  one  looks  in  vain 
for  anything  like  enterprise,  except  such  as  was  in  opposition 
to  the  court  and  found  its  proper  field  at  home.  For  a  hun- 
dred years  and  upwards,  therefore,  with  the  exception  of  the 
glorious  days  of  Cromwell,  there  was  no  English  expedition 
into  Spanish  waters  worthy  of  notice,  and  none  at  all  into  the 
Pacific.  Though  Spain  declined  during  all  that  time  and 
rapidly  fell  from  the  first  rank  among  European  nations 
almost  to  the  last,  the  Spanish  ships  in  the  Pacific  pursued 
their  courses  and  carried  their  treasures  undisturbed  by 
English  privateers.  It  was  not  until  after  the  expulsion  of 
the  Stuarts  and  the  subsequent  declaration  of  war  against 
Spain  in  the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  that  a 
successor  to  Drake  and  Cavendish  appeared.  This  was  Cap- 
tain Woodes  Rogers,  who,  no  less  than  Drake  and  Cavendish, 
"  filled  with  terror  all  the  coasts  of  the  South  Sea."  1 

Woodes  Rogers  sailed  from  Bristol  with  two  ships  and 
three  hundred  and  thirty-three  men  on  August  i,  1708.  The 
larger  vessel  was  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  tons  burden 
and  carried  thirty  guns;  the  smaller  of  two  hundred  and 
sixty  tons  and  twenty-six  guns.  The  enterprise,  although 
undertaken  under  commission  from  the  English  government, 
was  a  private  one  of  Bristol  merchants.  The  officers  were 
chiefly  adventurers,  who  gladly  embraced  the  opportunity  of 
replenishing  their  exhausted  exchequers,  among  whom  were 
Thomas  Dover,  a  doctor  of  physic,  from  whom  the  medicine 
known  as  "  Dover's  powders  "  is  said  to  have  taken  its  name, 
and  William  Dampier,  famous  as  a  navigator  on  his  own 
account  but  at  this  time  reduced  to  a  subordinate  position. 
The  men  consisted  of  a  heterogeneous  multitude,  collected 
from  all  sides;  some  were  tinkers,  some  tailors,  some  farm- 
hands, some  peddlers,  some  fiddlers;  and  more  than  one-third 
were  foreigners.'2  Unfortunately  for  the  complete  success  and 
peaceful  conduct  of  the  expedition,  a  controlling  power  over 

1  "  Havia  llenado  de  terror  todas  las  castas  del  Mar  del  Sur." — Yenegas  P.  II, 
§  3.  P-  183. 

2  Woodes  Rogers'  Cruising  Voyage,  S. 


WO  ODES  ROGERS.  103 

its  movements  was  vested  in  a  council  of  all  the  officers,  to 
be  convened  whenever  occasion  required  and  presided  over 
by  Doctor  Dover.  The  result,  as  might  have  been  foreseen, 
was  frequent  disagreement;  but  Rogers  appears  to  have  acted 
with  great  command  of  temper  and  brought  the  voyage  to  a 
much  more  successful  issue  than  under  the  circumstances 
could  reasonably  have  been  anticipated. 

The  ships  doubled  Cape  Horn  about  the  beginning  of 
1709,  and  at  the  end  of  January  of  that  year  reached  the 
island  of  Juan  Fernandez.  There  the  English  found  and 
rescued  the  celebrated  Alexander  Selkirk,  a  Scotch  sailor, 
who  had  been  abandoned  on  the  island  four  years  and  four 
months  previously  by  the  captain  of  an  English  vessel, 
named  Stradling.  He  came  on  board  clothed  in  goat  skins, 
looking  wilder  than  the  animals  whose  coats  he  wore,  and 
told  the  affecting  story  of  his  desolation,  his  melancholy,  his 
griefs,  his  terrors;  how  he  gradually  came  to  recover  his 
spirits;  his  shifts  and  contrivances;  how  by  the  life  he  was 
compelled  to  lead  he  was  "  cleared  of  all  gross  humors  "  and 
became  as  agile  and  active  as  the  wild  goats  which  he  pur- 
sued; how  he  caught  kids,  tamed  them  to  be  his  companions, 
taught  them  to  dance  with  him  and  thus  while  away  the 
tedious  hours  of  his  solitude;1  in  fine,  his  narrative,  as  is  well 
known,  was  the  original  upon  which  Defoe  founded  his 
romantic  story  of  "Robinson  Crusoe."  From  this  place,  hav- 
ing taken  Selkirk  in  his  ship  and,  on  the  recommendation  of 
Dampier  who  had  known  him  in  former  days,  made  him  a 
mate,  and  having  provided  his  company  with  a  full  stock  of 
such  provisions  as  the  island  afforded,  Rogers  sailed  for  the 
coast  of  Peru  and  addressed  himself  to  the  work  for  which  he 
had  set  sail.  On  March  15  he  took  his  first  prize,  a  small 
vessel  of  Payta  with  a  small  sum  of  money  on  board;  on 
March  26,  he  likewise  took  a  vessel  of  fifty  tons  bound  from 
Guayaquil  to  Truxillo,  loaded  with  timber,  cocoa-nuts  and 
tobacco;  on  April  1  a  galleon-built  ship  of  five  hundred  tons, 
carrying  timber,  dry-goods,  fifty  negroes  and  several  passen- 

1  Woodes  Rogers,  125-131. 


4 


104  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

gers,  bound  from  Panama  to  Lima;  on  April  2  a  vessel  of 
thirty-five  tons  laden  with  timber  from  Guayaquil  for  Lima, 
and  on  April  16  a  ship  with  fifty  Spaniards  and  one  hu-ndred 
Indians,  negroes  and  mulattoes. 

By  this  time  the  English  had  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
river  running  up  to  Guayaquil,  which  then  had  about  two 
thousand  inhabitants  and  was  supposed  to  contain  much 
wealth.  Rogers  was  for  at  once  attacking  and  taking  the 
place  by  surprise;  but  he  was  hampered  by  the  council,  with- 
out whose  concurrence  he  could  not  act.  As  it  turned  out, 
delays  occurred ;  and  by  the  time  he  and  his  men,  who 
had  left  their  ships  and  taken  to  boats,  arrived  abreast  the 
town,  which  was  midnight  of  April  21,  they  found  the  place 
alarmed;  a  great  fire  flamed  on  the  top  of  an  adjoining  hill, 
and  numerous  lights  were  seen  passing  rapidly  to  and  fro 
in  the  streets.  Even  then  effective  measures  could  not  be 
taken;  negotiations  had  to  be  gone  through  with  as  to  the 
conduct  of  the  attack;  and  finally  parleyings  with  the 
authorities  of  the  town  were  resorted  to;  during  all  which 
time  the  inhabitants  were  removing  or  concealing  their  val- 
uables and  the  majority  of  them  betaking  themselves  to  the 
woods.  On  April  23,  finding  that  parley  was  ineffective,  the 
English,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  taking 
several  loaded  cannon  and  putting  a  bold  front  upon  their 
perilous  undertaking,  made  a  violent  assault.  The  Spaniards 
in  return  fired  one  volley;  then  threw  down  their  arms, 
abandoned  their  ordnance  and  fled,  leaving  their  handful  of 
assailants  masters  of  the  town.  The  English  immediately 
fortified  themselves  in  the  largest  building  they  could  find, 
which  proved  to  be  a  church,  and  began  to  gather  up  the 
plunder  that  was  left.  It  consisted  of  two  hundred  and  thirty 
bags  of  flour,  beans,  peas  and  rice;  fifteen  jars  of  oil;  one 
hundred  and  sixty  jars  of  liquors;  one  hundred  and  fifty  bales 
of  dry-goods;  cordage,  iron-ware,  nails,  powder,  pitch,  tar, 
clothing  and  other  necessaries;  about  sixteen  thousand  dol- 
lars' worth  of  plate,  golden  chains,  car-rings  and  jewelry,  four 
cannon,  and  two  hundred  worthless  Spanish  muskets.     Many 


WOODES  ROGERS.  105 

of  the  golden  chains  were  found  concealed  upon  the  persons 
of  the  Spanish  ladies.1  On  April  27,  after  the  English  had 
held  the  town  for  four  days  with  threats  of  burning  unless 
their  demands  for  ransom  were  complied  with,  a  bond  for 
thirty  thousand  dollars  was  executed  by  the  authorities  and 
hostages  given  for  its  payment.  Thereupon  Rogers  and  his 
men  withdrew,  re-embarked  in  their  boats  and  dropped  down 
the  river  to  their  ships,  from  which  they  had  been  gone  twelve 
days.  In  a  short  time  afterwards  twenty-five  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars  of  the  ransom  were  paid;  and  on  May  8  the 
English  sailed  away,  having  released  most  of  their  prisoners.' 
Rogers  calculated  that,  if  he  had  succeeded  in  surprising  the 
town,  he  would  have  obtained  about  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  in  money  besides  jewelry  and  other  plunder.3 

From  Guayaquil  the  English  sailed  to  the  Gallapagos 
Islands,  near  which  they  took  three  small  prizes  with  about 
fifty  Spaniards,  forty  negroes  and  several  thousands  of  dol- 
lars in  gold.  Thence  they  set  out  for  the  coast  of  California, 
it  having  been  resolved  in  council  to  cruise  for  the  Manila 
ship,  which  was  expected  about  the  end  of  the  year.  A 
hundred  years  and  upwards  had  now  elapsed  since  the  time 
of  Drake  and  Cavendish;  and  the  Philippine  trade  had 
increased  to  such  an  extent  that  the  annual  galleon  or 
galleons,  for  there  w^re  often  more  than  one,  carried  very 
larger  amounts  of  treasure  and  merchandise,  amounting  in 
value  sometimes  to  ten  millions  of  dollars.  The  captain  or 
general  in  charge  of  a  galleon  seldom  received  less  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  as  his  compensation  for 

1  "  Some  of  their  largest  gold  chains  were  concealed  and  wound  about  their  mid- 
dles, legs  and  thighs,  etc.;  but  the  gentlewomen  in  these  hot  countries  being  very 
thinly  clad  with  silk  and  tine  linen  and  their  hair  dressed  with  ribbons  very  neatly, 
our  men,  by  pressing,  felt  the  chains,  etc.,  with  their  hands  on  the  outside  of  the 
ladies' apparel,  and  by  their  linguist  modestly  desired  the  gentlewomen  to  take 
them  off  and  surrender  them.  This  I  mention  as  a  proof  of  our  sailors'  modesty 
and  in  respect  to  Mr.  Connely  and  Mr.  Selkirk,  the  late  governor  of  Juan  Fer- 
nandez, who  commanded  this  party;  for  being  young  men  I  was  willing  to 
them  this  justice;  hoping  the  fair  sex  will  make  them  a  grateful  return  when  we 
arrive  in  Great  Britain  on  account  of  their  civil  behavior  to  these  charming  prison- 
ers." — Woodes  Rogers,  179. 

-  Woodes  Rogers,  1 53-195. 

3  Woodes  Rogers,  185. 


106  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

the  round  voyage;  and  the  chief  officers  as  a  rule  cleared 
from  twenty  to  thirty  thousand  dollars  each.1  It  was,  there- 
fore, for  a  prize  worth  the  looking  after  that  the  English  ran 
up  from  the  equator  to  Cape  San  Lucas,  where  they  arrived 
on  November  I,  1709.  They  had  three  vessels,  the  Duke, 
the  Duchess  and  the  Marquis,  the  last  named  being  one  of 
their  captures,  which  they  had  transformed  into  a  consort. 
But  they  were  compelled  to  wait  longer  for  the  expected 
prize  than  they  anticipated.  Their  provisions  began  to  run 
short,  so  much  so  that  they  had  scarcely  enough  to  carry 
them  to  the  nearest  of  the  Ladrones,  which  they  intended  to 
make  their  next  place  of  supply.  On  December  21,  they 
were  in  fact  preparing  to  abandon  the  cruise,  when  to  their 
"great  and  joyful  surprise,  about  nine  o'clock,  the  man  at 
mast-head  cried  out  he  saw  a  sail,"  which  proved  to  be  a 
Manila  galleon  distant  about  seven  leagues.  Rogers  in  the 
Duke  at  once  hoisted  his  ensign  and  bore  away  after  it, 
followed  by  the  Duchess.  They  pursued  all  night,  signaliz- 
ing each  other  with  lights  as  previously  concerted;  and  at 
day-break  the  Duke  was  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
Spanish  ship;  but  the  Duchess  was  far  to  leaward.  Rogers 
noticed  that  the  Spaniards  had  hung  out  powder  barrels  at 
each  yard-arm,  intended  to  deter  any  attempt  at  boarding; 
but,  paying  no  attention  to  these,  he  resolutely  attacked; 
and  a  desperate  conflict  ensued.  The  English  at  first  fired 
from  their  forward  guns,  which  the  Spaniards  answered  from 
their  stern.  As  they  came  nearer  the  English  poured  in 
several  broadsides,  which  the  Spaniards  returned;  but  it  was 
observed  that  they  did  not  ply  their  guns  so  fast  or  with  so 
much  effect  as  the  English.  As  they  came  very  near,  the 
small  arms  were  brought  into  requisition.  The  English  then 
ran  a  little  ahead  "  thwart  her  hawse,  close  aboard,"  so  as  to 
be  in  a  position  to  rake  fore  and  aft,  when  the  Spaniards 
struck  their  colors  and  gave  up  the  contest.  By  this  time 
the  Duchess  came  up  and  fired  a  few  guns,  which  were  not 
answered:  the  fight  was  over;  the  Spaniards  had  surrendered. 

1  Woodes  Rubers,  331. 


WO  ODES  ROGERS.  107 

Upon  clearing  up,  it  was  found  that  Rogers  himself  had  been 
severely  wounded  by  a  musket  ball,  which  had  struck  away 
a  great  part  of  his  upper  jaw  and  remained  for  six  months 
imbedded  in  his  cheek-bone;  and  one  of  his  men  was  slightly 
injured  in  the  back.  The  Spaniards  lost  nine  men  killed,  had 
ten  wounded  and  several  blown  up  and  burned  with  powder.1 
The  English  immediately  carried  their  prize,  which  proved 
to  be  the  Nuestra  Senora  de  la  Incarnacion  y  Desengano,  a 
vessel  carrying  twenty  guns,  twenty  pedereros"  and  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-three  men  under  command  of  a  French 
chevalier  named  John  Pichberty,  into  Aguada  Segura,  a 
port  at  the  east  of  Cape  San  Lucas  and  the  same  where 
Cavendish  had  fired  and  abandoned  the  Santa  Anna.  There 
they  learned  from  their  prisoners  that  two  galleons  had 
sailed  from  the  Philippines  at  the  same  time,  one  their  own 
and  the  other  a  much  larger  and  more  richly  freighted  ship; 
that  after  running  a  long  time  in  company  they  had  sepa- 
rated, and  that  in  all  probability  the  second  vessel  could  not 
be  far  behind  and  must  soon  make  its  appearance.  Upon  re- 
ceiving this  intelligence  the  English  determined  to  go  in  search 
of  it.  Rogers  counseled  securing  the  treasure  and  prisoners 
already  taken  and  sailing  out  in  full  force;  but  the  officers 
of  the  Duchess  and  Marquis,  who  had  taken  no  part  in  the 
recent  engagement,  claimed  the  first  places  in  the  new  enter- 
prise; and  the  council  resolved  that  the  Duke  should  remain 
in  port  until  its  services  should  be  found  indispensably  requi- 
site. The  Duchess  and  Marquis  thereupon  put  to  sea.  As 
they  did  so  Rogers  posted  a  watchman  with  a  flag  upon  a 
high  hill  overlooking  the  ocean  to  give  him  intelligence  of 
what  took  place.  In  a  short  time  the  flag  was  seen  in  violent 
agitation;  and  it  was  found  that  the  second  Manila  ship,  a 
galleon  called  the    Bigonia,  of  nine   hundred   tons    burden, 

1  Woodes  Rogers,  291-294 

2  "Pederero,  or  peterero,  (pierrier,  Fr. ) — a  small  piece  of  ordnance,  formerly 
used  on  board  some  foreign  ships,  for  the  discharging  of  nails,  broken  iron,  or  par- 
tridge shot  on  an  enemy  attempting  to  board.  It  is  generally  open  at  the  breech 
ami  the  chamber  made  to  take  out,  to  be  loaded  that  way  instead  of  at  the  muz- 
zle. This  species  o  ordnance  i~  managed  by  a  swivel  and  was  formerly  much  in 
use  among  the  Spaniards." — Falconer's  Marine  Dictionary. 


108  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

carrying  twice  as  many  guns  as  the  other  and  more  than 
twice  the  number  of  men,  had  sailed  past  and  that  the 
Duchess  and  Marquis  were  pursuing  and  keeping  up  a  run- 
ning fight.  Rogers,  having  secured  his  prisoners,  immediately 
flung  his  sails  to  the  breeze  and  started  in  chase.  After 
running  all  night  and  a  portion  of  the  next  day,  he  came  up 
and  engaged  in  the  combat,  which  had  been  very  unequally 
maintained  by  his  consorts.  But  the  Spaniards  were  well 
prepared  and  fought  with  desperate  valor.  This  was  partly 
due,  as  it  afterwards  appeared,  to  the  fact  that  a  number  of 
the  men  on  board  had  formerly  been  pirates  and  were  accus- 
tomed to  desperate  encounters,  but  principally  to  the  spirit 
of  the  gunner,  an  unnamed  hero  of  extraordinary  courage, 
who  had  not  only  taken  every  precaution  to  put  his  vessel  in 
good  trim  for  the  fight,  but  compelled  his  associates  to  keep 
up  the  conflict  by  stationing  himself  in  the  powder-room  and 
taking  an  oath  that  he  would  blow  the  ship  and  all  on  board 
into  atoms  rather  than  allow  it  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
assailants.1 

The  chase  and  fight,  which  commenced  on  December  25, 
was  kept  up  throughout  the  night  and  all  the  next  day.  At 
one  time  the  Marquis  engaged  the  Spaniard;  at  another  the 
Duchess,  and  at  another  the  Duke.  Had  they  attacked 
together  at  the  start,  it  is  likely  they  would  have  overpowered 
the  galleon;  but  at  every  new  attack  it  seemed  the  gunner  had 
called  into  requisition  new  measures  of  defense  and  had 
finally  rigged  up  a  netting  deck,  which  rendered  any  attempt 
at  boarding  futile.  Towards  the  end  of  the  contest  the  Duke 
and  Duchess  were  on  opposite  sides;  and  the  shots  of  the  one 
were  as  dangerous  to  the  other  as  to  the  Spaniards;  so  that 
the  Duke  was  compelled  to  haul  around  and  in  doing  so  came 
into  such  close  quarters  that  a  fire-ball  was  thrown  upon  its 
deck,  which  exploded  a  quantity  of  powder  and  did  much 
damage.  Among  other  things  it  seriously  burned  several 
men  and  carried  off  a  portion  of  one  of  Rogers'  heels.  The 
English  had  thirty  men  killed  and  wounded  and  their  masts 

1  Woodes  Rogers,  p.  331. 


WO  ODES  ROGERS.  109 

badly  shattered.  Of  the  Spaniards  only  two  were  known  to 
have  been  killed,  picked  out  of  the  maintop  by  musket  balls; 
but  their  rigging  was  completely  riddled  and  at  least  five 
hundred  shots  were  placed  in  their  hull.  Though  they  had  a 
"  brave,  lofty,  new  ship,  the  admiral  of  Manila,"  they  were 
glad  to  be  left  alone  and  made  no  offer  to  turn  upon  or  pursue 
the  English  when  the  latter  drew  off  and  made  their  way,  in 
'crippled  condition,  back  to  the  port  from  which  they  had  set 
out.1  Arrived  there,  they  immediately  repaired  their  vessels; 
accepted  the  bonds  of  Monsieur  Pichberty  for  six  thousand 
dollars,  payable  in  London,  as  ransom;  released  their  hostages 
and  prisoners,  and  sailed  away,  carrying  their  prize  with  them. 
They  proceeded  to  the  Ladrones;  thence  to  Batavia  in  Java; 
thence  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  from  which  they  sailed  in 
company  with  a  Dutch  fleet,  and  in  October  171 1  reached 
England. 

From  first  to  last  Rogers  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cape 
San  Lucas  upwards  of  two  months.  He,  however,  saw  but 
little  of  the  country.  The  account  he  gives  of  the  natives, 
was  derived  almost  exclusively  from  some  of  his  men,  who 
had  been  sent  ashore  to  look  for  fresh  water.  These  men, 
as  their  boat  approached  the  land,  were  met  by  Indians,  who 
paddled  out  to  them  on  small  rafts,  called  "  bark  logs,"  and 
by  their  actions  and  demeanor  extended  a  hearty  welcome. 
The  surf  being  rough,  they  took  the  English  sailors  on  their 
floats  and  throwing  themselves  into  the  water  guided  them 
through  the  breakers  to  the  beach.  They  then  conducted 
them,  an  Indian  on  each  side  of  an  Englishman,  up  the  bank 
and  through  a  narrow  path  to  their  huts,  which  were  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  distant.  There  the  English  found  a  dull 
musician  rubbing  two  jagged  sticks  across  each  other  and 
humming  a  song,  apparently  in  honor  of  their  arrival.  They 
were  next  invited  to  squat  upon  the  ground  and  presented 
with  broiled  fish.  After  partaking  of  a  scanty  repast  thus 
offered,  they  were  escorted  back  in  the  same  manner  they  had 
come,  with   the  addition  of  the  music,  such  as  it  was,  and 

1  Woodes  Rogers,  296-302 


110  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

thence  through  the  surf  again  to  their  boat.  Nothing  was 
seen  of  any  European  commodities;  not  a  word  of  Spanish 
was  heard  spoken.  With  the  exception  of  fish  and  a  few 
wild  fruits,  seeds  and  roots,  the  Indians  appeared  to  have 
nothing  to  eat;  they  were  quite  naked,  they  had  no  property 
except  some  curious  implements,  specimens  of  which  were 
"  preserved  to  show  what  shifts  may  be  made; "  they  were  in 
fine  "the  poorest  wretches  in  nature  "  * 

In  further  description  of  the  Indians,  Rogers  says  they 
were,  though  old  and  miserably  wrinkled,  large  of  limb, 
straight  and  tall.  Their  hair  was  black  and  so  long  that  it 
hung  down  to  their  thighs.  Their  language  was  as  unpleas- 
ant as  their  aspect,  being  harsh  and  broad  and  so  pronounced 
as  if  their  words  choked  them.  Some  wore  necklaces  and 
bracelets  of  pearls,  which  were  notched  and  fastened  with 
strings  of  grass,  intermixed  with  red  berries,  sticks  and 
pieces  of  shell;  and  these  they  seemed  to  prefer  to  the  colored 
beads  and  toys  offered  them  by  the  English.  The  only 
European  articles  they  seemed  to  prize  were  knives,  their  own 
cutting  instruments  being  made  exclusively  of  sharks'  teeth. 
Even  knives  they  did  not  sufficiently  covet,  or  else  they  were 
too  honest,  to  steal;  the  cooper's  and  carpenter's  tools,  when 
carelessly  left  ashore,  were  always  found  in  their  places  un- 
touched. Their  houses  were  made  of  brush  and  grass,  very 
low  and  insufficient  to  keep  out  wind  and  rain.  There  was 
no  cultivation  of  any  kind  and  no  store  of  provisions  on 
hand.  They  seemed  to  pay  a  sort  of  respect  to  one  man, 
whose  head  was  adorned  with  feathers;  but  as  far  as  could  be 
seen  they  had  all  things  in  common;  so  much  so  that  if  one 
received  a  knife  he  handed  it  to  any  other  that  stood  near 
him.  Most  of  the  time  they  stood  or  sat  or  lay  around  doing 
nothing,  solicitous  only  for  a  present  subsistence  and  care- 
less of  the  future.  But  in  one  or  two  respects  they  exhibited 
wonderful  skill  and  agility.  They  could  shoot  flying  birds 
with  their  arrows  and  they  were  expert  fishermen  and  aston- 
ishing divers.      Rogers  threw  old   rusty  knives,  one  after  the 

1  Woodes  Rogers,  284,  285. 


WOODES  ROGERS.  1 1 1 

other,  into  deep  water  and  they  seldom  missed  catching  them 
before  they  sank  more  than  three  or  four  fathoms  Some  of 
the  sailors  said  they  saw  an  Indian  dive  with  a  wooden  spear 
and,  whilst  under  water,  stick  up  his  instrument  with  a  fish 
on  the  point  of  it.  which  was  taken  off  by  another  that  accom- 
panied him  on  a  raft. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

SHELVOCKE. 

THE  only  other  English  privateersrnan  of  note,  that 
touched  on  the  coast  of  California,  though  there  were 
various  others  who  sailed  into  the  Pacific  and  depredated  upon 
the  Spaniards,  was  Captain  George  Shelvocke.  He  had  been 
a  lieutenant  in  the  English  navy.  On  this  occasion  he  was 
fitted  out,  together  with  Captain  John  Clipperton,  by  an 
English  company,  known  as  the  Gentlemen  Adventurers. 
The  two,  each  in  command  of  a  separate  ship,  sailed  from 
Plymouth  on  February  13,  17 19;  but,  soon  after  leaving  port, 
Shelvocke  seized  the  welcome  occasion  of  a  storm  to  separate 
from  Clipperton;  and  thenceforward  each  pursued  an  inde- 
pendent course.  Though  they  met  a  number  of  times  after- 
wards in  the  Pacific,  the  result  was  invariably  disagreement 
and  quarrel  and  never  anything  approaching  the  co-operation 
so  much  needed  under  the  circumstances.  Far  from  having 
the  resolute  and  commanding  spirit  of  a  Drake,  the  strong 
and  determined  energy  of  a  Cavendish  or  the  unremitting, 
indefatigable  tact  of  a  Rogers,  Shelvocke  was  a  bickerer  and 
a  blusterer;  and  his  vessel  appears  to  have  been  a  scene  of 
almost  continual  dissension  and  disobedience. 

A  notorious  fellow,  of  morose  and  gloomy  disposition, 
named  Simon  Hatley,  was  first  officer  or  mate  on  board  Shel- 
vocke's  ship.  He  had  previously  been  in  the  South  Sea  with 
Captain  Woodes  Rogers  '  and  from  that  fact  presumed  to  know 
more  about  the  navigation  of  the  waters  to  which  they  were 
bound  than  his  superior  and  to  dispute  with  him  the  conduct 

1  Woodes  Rogers,  207,  20S. 
(112) 


SHELVOCKE.  113 

of  the  voyage.1  It  was  this  same  Hatley,  and  upon  this  same 
voyage,  who  shot  the  albatross,  afterwards  rendered  famous 
by  Coleridge  in  his  "  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner."  When 
the  ship  had  run  down  beyond  the  Straits  of  Le  Maire  and 
was  buffeting  against  continuous  storms  of  rain  and  sleet,  a 
solitary  black  albatross,  which  had  apparently  lost  its  way, 
hovered  round  and  for  many  days  accompanied  the  vessel  in 
its  struggles  through  those  dreary  and  desolate  seas.  Hatley 
in  a  dismal  fit  of  melancholy,  either  regarding  the  bird  as  a 
breeder  of  storm  and  a  portent  of  further  ill  fortune  or  more 
probably  actuated  by  a  spirit  of  wanton  cruelty,  destroyed 
the  poor  creature.  But  his  expectations  of  more  favorable 
winds,  if  he  in  fact  entertained  any,  were  not  realized  by  its 
destruction:  the  blasts  continued  to  blow  as  fiercely  and  the 
waves  to  roll  as  tumultuously  as  before;  and  for  a  long  time 
it  seemed  doubtful  whether  the  ship  would  be  able  to  weather 
the  Cape.  However,  after  a  rough  and  protracted  run  and 
suffering  great  hardships,  which  were  rendered  still  more 
poignant  by  the  state  of  feeling  existing  on  shipboard,  the 
adventurers  finally  succeeded  in  reaching  the  Pacific  and 
meeting  with  smoother  waters. 

About  the  end  of  November  they  reached  the  Island  of 
Chiloe.  There  Shelvocke  pretended  that  his  vessel  was 
French  and  that  he  himself  was  Le  Janis  Le  Breton,  a 
French  captain  well  known  by  reputation  on  that  coast.  In 
this  name  he  wrote  threatening'  letters  to  the  governor  and 
assumed  a  domineering  tone;  his  object  being,  as  he  gravely 
relates,  to  give  the  inhabitants  a  dislike  for  French  traders 
and  a  disgust  for  the  French  name.  But  in  carrying  out  this 
sorry  fraud,  as  in  almost  everything  else  that  he  attempted, 
Shelvocke  made  a  miserable  failure;2  and  all  he  was  able  to 


1  Shelvocke's  Voyage  round  the  World  by  the  way  of  the  Great  South  Sea, 
7,8. 

2  "  I  did  not  think  fit  to  tell  him  in  plain  terms  we  were  English;  for  I  had  two 
views  in  concealing  it;  the  first  to  hinder  them  from  alarming  the  coast,  and  the 
other  to  give  them  a  dislike  to  the  French  traders,  who  have  considerable  inter- 
est with  the  Spaniards  in  these  kingdoms.  This  would  certainly  have  had  in 
some  measure  the  desired  effect,  if  we  had  not  had  the  ill  luck  to  be  discovered." 
— Shelvocke,  97. 

8    Vol.  I. 


I 


114  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

accomplish  was  to  steal  a  canoe  full  of  provisions  from  the 
Indians,  with  whom  he  had  no  cause  of  quarrel,  and  make  off 
with  it  up  the  coast.  It  then  became  a  question  to  what 
point  to  go  next,  Shelvocke  being  in  favor  of  Juan  Fernandez 
and  his  crew  in  favor  of  the  bay  of  Concepcion  on  the  coast 
of  Chili.  The  crew,  as  might  have  been  expected  from  the 
character  of  the  captain  and  the  state  of  discipline  main- 
tained by  him,  carried  the  day;  and  to  Concepcion  accord- 
ingly the  vessel  went.1  At  that  place  a  party  of  the  English, 
in  making  an  ill-advised  attempt  to  seize  a  house  near  the 
water's  edge  supposed  to  be  full  of  valuable  merchandise, 
was  surprised  by  the  Spaniards  and  run  into  the  sea,  and 
several  of  them  were  slain.  One  was  caught,  like  an  ox,  by 
a  lasso  thrown  over  his  head  when  he  had  almost  reached  the 
ship's  boat  and  drawn  back  to  the  slaughter  in  sight  of  his 
companions,  who  could  do  nothing  to  assist  him.  In  a  short 
time  after  this  misadventure,  a  Spanish  ship,  with  several 
passengers,  a  small  cargo  of  provisions  and  about  six  thou- 
sand dollars  in  money  and  plate,  came  up  and  after  a  few 
volleys  was  taken  by  the  English.  Its  captain  offered  to  pay 
ransom;  but,  on  account  of  some  delay  in  raising  the  neces- 
sary funds,  Shelvocke,  who  in  the  meanwhile  had  transferred 
all  the  valuables  to  his  own  vessel  and  even  rifled  the  pockets 
of  all  its  passengers,"  precipitately  set  fire  to  the  prize  and 
then  set  sail  for  Juan  Fernandez. 

Another  notorious  character  of  this  ill-starred  expedition, 
besides  Simon  Hatley  was  William  Betagh,  the  master  of 
marines.  After  a  rapid  run  to  and  a  short  stay  at  the  island 
of  Juan  Fernandez,  upon  the  return  of  the  vessel  to  the  main- 
land, Hatley  and  Betagh  were  placed  in  charge  of  a  small 
bark,  which  had  been  taken  from  the  Spaniards,  and  sent  to 

1  "  I  was  however  still  divided  betwixt  the  difficulty  I  felt  within  myself  to  dis- 
pense with  my  instructions  and  the  danger  of  giving  way  to  the  remonstrances 
and  advice  of  these  gentlemen;  but  considering  how  easily  they  might  be  brought 
to  throw  off  command  and  how  little  I  should  be  able  to  help  myself,  alone  and 
by  myself  as  I  might  be  said  to  be,  if  they  came  to  that  extremity,  I  complied 
with  them  and  resolved  to  spend  two  or  three  days  in  going  to  Concepcion." — 
Shelvocke,  125. 

'  Shelvocke,  135. 


SHELVOCKE.  115 

cruise  along  the  coast  close  in  shore.  They  succeeded  in 
taking  a  number  of  prizes  and  in  such  rapid  succession  that 
their  exploits  for  the  short  time  they  kept  the  sea,  bring  to 
mind  the  crowded  incidents  of  Drake's  or  Cavendish's  voy- 
age. But,  as  it  happened,  a  Spanish  man-of-war  overtook  and 
made  them  prisoners.  If  Shelvocke  is  to  be  believed,  Hatley 
and  Bctagh  had  made  up  their  minds  to  desert  with  their 
prizes  and  had  in  fact  set  sail  for  India  before  they  were  thus 
taken;  and,  on  the  same  authority,  Betagh  afterwards  ac- 
cepted service  under  the  Spaniards  and  urged  them  to  attack 
and  destroy  his  former  companions.  But  on  this  point, 
involving  so  serious  a  charge,  Shelvocke  is  hardly  worthy  of 
credit.  A  man  who  is  himself  without  honor  is  not  a  credi- 
ble witness  to  impugn  the  honor  of  another. 

Shelvocke  in  the  meanwhile  sailed  to  Payta  and  set  fire  to 
the  town;  but  before  he  could  plunder  it,  as  he  had  intended, 
he  was  surprised  by  a  Spanish  man-of-war,  which  unexpect- 
edly arrived,  and  compelled  to  cut  loose  and  ignominiously 
leave  his  anchor  and  boats.  It  was  by  the  merest  chance 
that  he  succeeded  in  escaping  utter  destruction.  From  Payta 
he  sailed  a  second  time  for  Juan  Fernandez.  As  he  ap- 
proached the  island  a  storm  arose,  his  vessel  became 
unmanageable,  was  thrown  upon  the  rocks,  and  completely 
wrecked.  He  and  his  men,  however,  rescued  themselves  and 
most  of  their  stores;  took  up  their  abode  upon  the  shore,  and, 
after  providing  themselves  with  shelter,  proceeded  to  build  a 
new  vessel  out  of  the  fragments  of  that  which  had  been 
broken  to  pieces  and  lay  scattered  along  the  foot  of  the 
precipices.  This  was  completed  in  about  four  months.  It 
was  thirty  feet  in  length,  sixteen  in  breadth  and  carried  one 
unmounted  gun,  that  had  been  fished  out  of  the  water  where 
the  old  vessel  had  broken  up.  Upon  this  craft,  after  filling 
it  with  the  stores  that  had  been  saved  and  such  new  supplies 
as  could  be  obtained  upon  the  island,  including  a  number  of 
live  hogs,  Shelvocke  and  forty-six  others,  leaving  behind  a 
number  who  were  unwilling  to  venture  upon  such  a  voyage, 
committed  themselves  to  the  ocean  and  sailed  ap;ain  for  the 


116  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

American  coast.  After  a  run  of  several  days,  a  Spanish 
vessel  was  descried  to  which  the  English  gave  chase  and 
made  a  desperate  attempt  to  take  it,  glad  at  almost  any  risk 
to  have  a  chance  to  better  their  terrible  condition.  They 
loaded  their  gun  with  the  only  two  shot  they  had  and  then 
put  in  the  clapper  of  their  bell,  a  lot  of  bolt-heads  and  chain- 
bolts  and  some  pebbles,  such  as  were  used  in  those  days  for 
shooting  partridges;  but  they  were  compelled  to  discharge  it 
as  it  lay  along  the  deck;  and  it  did  no  execution.  The 
Spaniards  returned  the  fire  with  greater  effect,  killing  one 
and  wounding  several  of  the  assailants;  and  then  escaped. 
After  this  encounter  the  English  continued  their  voyage  as 
best  they  could  and  finally  succeeded  in  reaching  Iquique, 
where  they  obtained  provisions  and  soon  afterwards  took  a 
Spanish  vessel  of  two  hundred  tons,  laden  with  pitch,  tar, 
copper  and  timber,  into  which  they  immediately  transferred 
themselves  and  refused  to  accept  ransom.  Having  now  a 
Spanish  vessel,  they  were  enabled  by  displaying  Spanish 
colors  to  sail  unsuspected  up  to  Payta  a  second  time  and 
make  themselves  masters  of  it;  but  the  Spaniards,  meeting 
stratagem  by  stratagem,  pretended  that  an  overwhelming 
force  was  at  hand;  and  the  English  beat  a  precipitate  and 
inglorious  retreat,  saving  very  little  booty. 

From  this  point  Shelvocke  ran  up  to  the  north,  and 
towards  the  latter  part  of  January,  1721,  met  the  ship  of 
Captain  Clipperton,  from  which  he  had  separated  nearly  two 
years  previously.  The  meeting  was  not  a  cordial  one,  and 
the  next  day  Clipperton  sailed  off,  refusing  to  associate  or 
have  anything  to  do  with  Shelvocke.  Both,  however,  pro- 
ceeded northward;  and  three  times  subsequently,  before 
crossing  the  Pacific,  they  met  again.  On  the  last  occasion, 
which  was  in  March,  they  seemed  to  be  better  reconciled 
towards  each  other  and  there  was  an  agreement  between 
them  to  cruise  together  for  the  next.  Philippine  galleon. 
In  pursuance  of  this  project  they  sailed  for  some  days, 
Clipperton  being  accustomed  after  running  ahead  to  wait 
for  Shelvocke  to  come  up;  but  one  evening,  after  thus  run- 


SHELVOCKE.  117 

ning  ahead,  Clipperton  did  not  stop:  on  the  contrary,  with- 
out notice  or  intimation  of  his  intentions,  he  sailed  off  for 
China.  Shelvocke  searched  for  him  for  some  time  in  vain, 
and  then,  realizing  the  true  state  of  the  case,  ran  into  Son- 
sonnate  on  the  coast  of  Guatemala.  There  he  took  a  vessel 
laden  with  provisions,  called  the  Sacra  Familia,  and  trans- 
ferred himself  and  his  men  into  it  as  a  better  vessel  than 
that  which  he  then  had. 

As  soon  as  this  exploit  became  known  at  Sonsonnate,  the 
governor  of  that  place  sent  off  messengers  with  information 
of  the  peace,  which  had  by  that  time  been  concluded  between 
England  and  Spain,  and  requested  a  restoration  of  the  cap- 
ture. But  Shelvocke  demanded  the  production  of  the  proc- 
lamation and  articles  of  peace  and  evaded  giving  up  the 
vessel.  The  governor,  finding  that  his  requests  would  not 
be  complied  with,  resolved  to  seize  the  Sacra  Familia  by 
force  and  proclaim  Shelvocke  and  his  companions  pirates; 
but  the  latter  found  means  to  temporize  and  finally  sailed 
away  with  their  new  ship.  The  existence  of  peace,  however, 
seems  to  have  been  sufficiently  well  known  to  the  English; 
for  they  next  sailed  for  Panama,  with  the  intention  of  deliv- 
ering themselves  up  and  in  that  mode  getting  back  to 
England.  On  their  way  they  fell  in  with  a  Spanish  vessel 
and  could  not  forego  the  opportunity  of  making  themselves 
masters  of  its  wealth,  which  appears  to  have  been  over  a 
hundred  thousand  dollars1  besides  flour,  sugar,  marmalade 
and  sweetmeats.  The  acquisition  of  this  booty,  together 
with  the  fact  that  they  were  sailing  in  a  different  bottom 
from  that  in  which  they  had  left  England  and  the  pre- 
tended claim  that  this  rendered  them  entirely  independent 
of  the  "Gentlemen  Adventurers,"  who  had  fitted  them  out, 
induced  them  to  alter  their  intention  of  going  to  Panama; 
and  turning  round  they  resolved  to  sail  for  China.  It  is  to 
this  change  in  their  fortunes  and  this  use  they  made  of  it, 
that  Lower  California  was  indebted  for  the  visit  which  they 
made  to  its  shores. 

1  Burney's  Discoveries,  IV,  549. 


118  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

On  August  ii,  1721.  Shelvocke  arrived  at  Cape  San 
Lucas;  and  he  remained  there  one  week.  He  sailed  into  the 
same  bay,  then  called  Puerto  Seguro,  where  Cavendish  had 
lain  and  where  Woodes  Rogers  had  been  only  a  little  more 
than  ten  years  previously.  The  remembrance  of  the  latter 
seemed  to  be  fresh  in  the  memories  of  the  natives,  who  hailed 
the  new-comers  with  delight.  They  pressed  around  in  great 
numbers  and  assisted  the  sailors  in  carrying  wood  and  rolling 
down  casks  of  fresh  water  for  the  supply  of  the  ship;  so  that 
in  a  much  shorter  time  than  the  English  alone  could  have 
furnished  themselves  they  were  ready  to  proceed  on  their 
voyage. 

Shelvocke's  account  of  the  natives  agrees  in  almost  all  par- 
ticulars with  that  of  Woodes  Rogers;  but  he  adds  various 
additional  circumstances,  which  are  of  interest.  When  the 
Indians  first  came  on  board  his  ship  and  saw  negroes 
standing  around  promiscuously  with  the  white  men,  they 
became  greatly  excited  and  endeavored  to  separate  and  drive 
away  the  blacks.  Their  repugnance  to  them  continued  until 
a  negro  cook  was  sent  ashore  with  Utensils  and  materials  for 
boiling  hasty  pudding  on  a  large  scale,  which,  being  sweet- 
ened with  sugar  and  liberally  distributed  among  the  swarming 
natives,  acquired  for  him  and  his  color  their  universal 
favor.1  They  also  became  excited  whenever  they  perceived 
the  English  taking  snuff  or  looking  through  a  spy-glass,  and 
endeavored  to  prevent  these  actions,  though  for  what  reason 
Shelvocke  could  not  determine.'2  In  aiding  the  sailors  at 
their  labors,  they  followed  the  example  of  their  chief,  who 
was  the  first  to  lend  a  hand;  but  in  all  they  did,  the  presence 
and  encouragement  of  a  white  man,  though  he  took  no  part, 
was  necessary  to  keep  up  their  interest  in  the  work.3  From 
the  fact  of  their  thus  assisting  the  sailors,  Shelvocke  con- 
cluded that  they  were  not  naturally  as  idle  and  lazy  as  they 

1  Shelvocke,  399,  405,  406. 

'  Shelvocke,  419. 

3  "  They  rolled  our  casks  down  to  the  boat  hut  always  expected  a  white  face 
to  assist  them,  who  if  he  did  but  touch  it  with  his  fingers,  it  was  sufficient  encour- 
agement for  them  to  persevere  in  their  labor." — Shelvocke,  406. 


SHELVOCKE  11!) 

appeared  to  Woodes  Rogers,  but  that  their  slothfulness  pro- 
ceeded rather  from  inability  to  perceive  the  usefulness  of 
work  than  from  any  disinclination  to  labor.1 

Their  manner  of  living  was  rude  in  the  extreme.  They 
sometimes  baked  in  hot  sand  the  fish,  which  they  speared 
with  great  skill,  but  frequently  ate  them  raw.  They  had  no 
boats,  but  made  rafts,  composed  of  five  logs  of  light  wood,  fast- 
ened side  by  side,  and  propelled  with  a  double-bladed  paddle.2 
They  also  had  bows  and  arrows,  which  seemed  to  be  used  by 
the  women  quite  as  much  if  not  more  than  by  the  men,  as  if 
hunting  were  a  part  of  their  ordinary  occupation.  The 
strings  of  their  bows  were  made  of  the  sinews  of  deer,  and 
their  arrows  were  tipped  with  pieces  of  flint  or  agate,  worked 
down  so  that  the  edges  were  indented  like  the  teeth  of  a  saw 
and  the  points  very  sharp.3  Their  bread  consisted  of  black 
lumps  or  rolls,  made  by  grinding  up  small  black  seeds  of  an 
oily  nature,  which  though  uninviting  to  the  eyes  of  the 
English  were  not  very  disagreeable  to  their  taste.  When 
they  wished  to  drink,  they  would  go  up  to  their  middles  in 
a  pool  or  stream  and  dip  up  the  water  with  their  hands  or 
stoop  down  and  suck  it  up  like  cattle.  Upon  this  simple  and 
apparently  healthy  diet,  their  lives  seemed  to  be  prolonged 
to  great  length,  and  many  of  both  sexes  attained  to  extraor- 
dinary old  age.4 

The  men  were  tall,  straight,  well-made,  large  of  limb,  and 
had  coarse  black  hair  reaching  to  about  their  shoulders. 
The  women  were  smaller,  but  with  much  longer  hair,  which 
in  some  instances  almost  covered  their  faces.  Some  of  both 
sexes  had  good -countenances;  but  all  were  of  much  darker 
complexions  than  any  other  Indians,  which  the  English  had 
seen  in  the  New  World.  The  men  were  naked  and  wore 
nothing    but    strings    of   mother-of-pearl,  shells    and    berries 

1  "  It  is  in  a  manner  certain  that  they  can  be  practiced  in  no  sort  of  labor,  but 
that  of  fishing  and  hunting.  If  they  are  slothful,  it  appeared  to  us  to  proceed 
more  from  disuse  than  disinclination  to  work." — Shelvocke,  419. 

2  Shelvocke,  420. 

3  Shelvocke,  422,  423. 
1  Shelvocke,  422. 


120  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

about  their  necks  and  sometimes  shells  and  hawk's  feathers 
in  their  hair.  The  women  wore  a  thick  fringe  of  grass  about 
their  hips;  some  had  a  deer  skin  carelessly  thrown  over  their 
shoulders;  others  the  skin  of  some  large  bird.  The  men  were 
all  more  or  less  painted;  some  daubing  or  smearing  only  their 
faces  and  breasts  with  black,  while  others  were  regularly 
painted  from  the  face  to  the  navel  with  black  and  from  the 
navel  to  the  feet  with  red.  From  the  different  styles  of  paint- 
ing thus  exhibited,  Shelvocke  was  of  opinion  that  men  of  dif- 
ferent tribes  were  present.  But  however  this  may  have  been, 
and  however  wild  and  savage  they  were  to  look  upon,  the 
greatest  harmony  and  affection  appeared  to  prevail  amongst 
them,  and  they  were  very  talkative  with  one  another.1  When 
anything  to  eat  was  given  to  one,  he  always  shared  with  those 
that  were  about  him,  commonly  reserving  very  little  for  him- 
self. "  They  seldom  walked  single,  but  went  mostly  in  pairs 
and  hand  in  hand."  2  They  seemed  to  be  entirely  tractable, 
faithful,  scrupulously  honest;  and  there  were  no  indications 
of  cruelty  either  in  their  aspect  or  actions.  In  respect  to 
peace  and  concord  they  seemed  to  live  in  a  state  of  innocent 
simplicity,  such  as  was  once  fancifully  supposed  to  character- 
ize the  earliest  ages  of  the  world.  In  all  things,  which  could 
be  noticed  in  a  short  stay  amongst  them,  they  showed  them- 
selves to  be  amiable,  affectionate,  good-natured  creatures;  but 
in  the  scale  of  intelligence  and  in  all  that  is  designated  under 
the  term  civilization,  they  were  among  the  lowest  of  human 
beings. 

Shelvocke  saw  nothing  of  the  country  but  the  vicinity  of 
Puerto  Seguro  on  the  eastern  side  of  Cape  San  Lucas;  and 
he  describes  it  as  mountainous,  barren  and  sandy.  Upon 
turning  up  and  examining  the  soil  of  the  valley,  however,  he 
found  a  rich  black  mould,  intermingled  with  shining  particles, 
which  he  supposed  to  be  gold-dust.  Some  of  this  he  carried 
away  with  him,  but  afterwards  lost  during  the  troubles  and 
confusion,  to  which  he  was  subjected   in  the  subsequent  por- 

1  Shelvocke,  420. 

2  Shelvocke,  417. 


SHEL  VOCKE.  121 

tions  of  his  voyage.  However  much  mistaken  he  may  have 
been  as  to  these  glittering-  particles,  he  had  no  doubt  the 
country  afforded  metals  of  the  most  precious  kinds.1  In 
addition  to  the  barren  and  desolate  aspect  of  the  country 
natural  to  it  at  all  times,  it  was  at  the  time  of  his  visit  ren- 
dered much  more  so  by  what  he  describes  as  inconceivable 
swarms  of  locusts,  which  stripped  the  trees  and  bushes  of 
their  foliage  and  ate  up  every  green  thing,  giving  the  land- 
scape the  appearance  of  winter.  These  insects  during  the 
day  time  were  perpetually  on  the  wing  and  were  very  troub- 
lesome and  offensive.  When  his  ship  dropped  anchor  in  the 
port,  they  came  off  towards  it  in  such  immense  numbers  that 
the  sea  around  the  vessel  for  a  great  distance  was  covered 
and  discolored  with  their  dead  bodies.3 

As  has  been  already  stated,  Shelvocke  remained  but  one 
week  at  Cape  San  Lucas.  On  August  18,  172 1,  he  sailed  for 
Canton.  Three  days  afterwards  he  discovered  an  island, 
seven  or  eight  leagues  in  circumference,  about  one  hundred 
and  ten  leagues  west  of  Cape  San  Lucas,  to  which  his  people 
gave  the  name  of  Shelvocke's  Isle;3  but  it  seems  to  have 
been  previously  seen  by  Villalobos  and  called  Roca  Partida.4 
Thence  Shelvocke  sailed,  by  the  way  of  the  Ladrones  and 
Formosa,  to  Macao.  At  Whampoo  one  of  his  sailors  shot  a 
Chinese  custom-house  officer;  and  the  Chinese  authorities 
retaliated  by  seizing  and  abusing  the  first  considerable  En- 
glishman upon  whom  they  could  lay  their  hands.5    The  result 

1  ''  Some  of  this  glittering  soil  we  endeavored  to  wash  and  purify  and  separate 
from  the  dirt;  and  the  more  we  attempted  it  the  more  what  so  shone  and  glittered 
seemed  to  be  gold,  which  made  us  bring  away  some  of  it,  to  make  some  better 
assay  and  trial  of  it  with  persons  of  more  skill  and  judgment  than  ourselves.  We 
did  so,  but  what  we  brought  away  was  lost  in  the  midst  of  our  troubles  and  con- 
fusion afterwards  in  China.  However  illusive  the  shining  particles  in  this  soil 
may  have  been,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  this  country  affords  metals  of  the 
most  precious  kinds." — Shelvocke,  412. 

2  Shelvocke,  413. 

3  Shelvocke,  443. 

4  Burney's  Discoveries,  IV,  551. 

5  "The  corpse  was  laid  at  the  door  of  one  of  the  English  factories  and  officers 
waited  for  the  first  considerable  Englishman  that  should  come  out  or  make  his 
appearance,  without  any  regard  had  to  whom  in  particular  this  act  of  violence  and 

murder  was  to  be  imputed.     A    Mr.   C k,  a  supercargo  of  another  vessel, 

happened  to  be  the  first  that  came  out.  He  was  seized,  carried  away  and  led 
about  the  suburbs  of  Canton  in  chains,  and  was  not  released  till  the  real  mur- 
derer was  delivered  up  to  the  Chinese  authorities." — Shelvocke,  459,  460. 


122  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

was  a  breach  between  Shelvocke,  who  was  held  to  a  great 
extent  responsible  for  the  bad  conduct  of  his  man,  and  the 
other  Englishmen  then  at  Whampoo.  In  the  course  of  the 
quarreL  that  ensued,  the  ill  feeling  that  had  existed  among  his 
own  people  broke  out  with  redoubled  violence;  and  both  his 
officers  and  crew  sided  against  and  finally  deserted  him.  But 
while  he  thus  fell  out  with  his  own  countrymen,  he  seems  to 
have  come  to  a  full  understanding  with  the  Chinese  officials. 
By  some  means  not  explained  they  were  induced  to  charge 
his  vessel  exorbitant  port  duties,  which  he  willingly  paid;  but 
it  is  said  that  this  was  done  in  accordance  with  a  preconcerted 
arrangement  in  fraud  of  his  employers  and  that  he  secretly 
received  on  his  own  account  a  large  portion  of  the  money 
thus  charged  him.1  However  this  may  be,  it  is  certain  he 
afterwards  sold  his  ship  for  about  one-third  the  sum  so 
charged  under  the  name  of  duties  and  that  all  his  country- 
men in  Chinese  waters  regarded  his  conduct  with  disgust. 
They  denied  him  their  company  and  for  a  long  time  refused 
him  transportation  in  any  of  their  ships  back  to  England. 
He,  however,  finally  succeeded  in  securing  a  passage  and 
arrived  in  London,  by  the  way  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
in  August,  1722.  And  "thus  ended,"  he  writes,  "a  long  and 
unfortunate  voyage  of  three  years,  seven  months  and  some 
days,  after  having  sailed  very  considerably  more  than  round 
the  circumference  of  the  earth,  and  having  gone  through  a 
great  variety  of  dangers  and  distresses,  both  on  sea  and 
shore."  2 

In  England,  Shelvocke  was  arrested  and  charged  with 
several  acts  of  piracy,  the  principal  one  being  the  taking  of 
the  Spanish  ship  Sacra  Familia  after  notification  of  the  peace 
existing  between  England  and  Spain.  He  was  also  prose- 
cuted for  defrauding  his  employers;  but,  on  account  of  the 
difficulty  of  procuring  evidence  and  by  disgorging  a  portion 
of  his  ill-gotton  gains,  he  managed  to  escape  conviction  in 
cither  case  and  fled  the  kingdom.3     Besides  these  prosecu- 


1  Burney's  Discoveries,  IV,  552. 

1  Shelvocke,  476- 

3  Burney  's  Discoveries,  IV,  553. 


SHELVOCKE.  123 

tions,  there  would  probably  have  been  another  by  the  South 
Sea  Company;  but  that  lately  powerful  corporation  was  now 
reduced  to  the  lowest  stage  of  depression  and  ruin,  and  its 
directors  had  more  to  do  in  defending  themselves  from  vari- 
ous charges  that  had  been  brought  against  them  than  to  be 
able  to  bring  others  to  justice. 

The  famous  South  Sea  Company,  originally  organized  in 
171 1  rather  for  banking  purposes  than  with  any  special 
object  of  trading  in  the  South  Seas,  had  managed  to  obtain 
an  assignment  of  a  contract,  known  as  the  "  Asiento,"  for  the 
supply  of  the  Spanish  West  Indies  with  negro  slaves.  It 
had  also  procured  from  the  English  government  the  exclu- 
sive right  to  trade  and  traffic  from  "  Tierra  del  Fuego  through 
the  South  Seas  to  the  northernmost  part  of  America,  not 
exceeding  three  hundred  leagues  in  distance  from  the  conti- 
nent of  America  on  the  west  side."  l  Shelvocke's  voyage,  as 
well  as  that  of  Clipperton,  in  so  far  as  it  was  an  English 
undertaking,  was  therefore  in  strictness  of  law  an  infringe- 
ment upon  the  privileges  of  the  company.  But,  as  has  been 
said,  the  company  was  now  reduced  to  ruin.  It  had  gone 
beyond  the  purposes  for  which  it  had  been  organized  and 
become  involved  in  projects  of  vast  magnitude,  which  it 
could  not  carry  out.  In  less  than  ten  years  after  its  incor- 
poration it  had  entered  into  competition  with  the  Bank  of 
England  for  the  management  and  control  of  the  English 
funds;  and  for  a  while  its  schemes  had  seemed  to  succeed 
beyond  its  own  expectations. 

In  April,  1720,  by  a  bill  which  passed  the  British  parliament, 
its  power  had  been  enlarged  and  its  capital  stock  increased, 
for  the  purpose  of  enabling  it  to  carry  out  various  new 
plans,  which,  among  other  things,  embrace  1,  according  to 
industriously  circulated  rumors,  an  exchange  of  Gibraltar 
and  Minorca  for  a  portion  of  Peru  and  the  acquirement 
thereby  of  control  over  the  American  mines  and  the  grad- 
ual absorption  of  all  the  most  profitable  commerce  of  the 
Pacific      Under   these   circumstances    the   most  extravagant 

1  Burney's  Discoveries,  IV,  514-516. 


124  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

prospects  had  been  suggested  and  entertained  and  by 
adroit  management  fostered  and  encouraged;  visions  of  sud- 
den wealth  became  the  excitement  of  the  day;  its  stock 
rose  to  fabulous  prices;  people  of  all  classes  were  induced 
to  subscribe,  and  many  risked  their  whole  fortunes.  Such 
was  the  rise  of  the  South  Sea  Scheme  or,  as  it  was  after- 
wards more  appropriately  called,  the  South  Sea  Bubble. 
It  was  the  great  prototype  of  inflated  projects,  conceived  in 
fraud  and  carried  on  by  misrepresentation,  and  was  the  most 
gigantic  and  famous  of  them  all.  But  at  length  the  bubble 
burst;  its  fraudulent  practices  were  discovered  and  dragged 
into  the  light;  its  stock  fell;  its  privileges  were  revoked;  pros- 
ecutions for  felony  were  instituted  against  its  directors  and 
their  effects  sequestrated;  the  government  funds  were  trans- 
ferred to  the  Bank  of  England;  thousands  of  families  were 
reduced  from  independence  and  the  anticipation  of  affluence 
to  abject  penury;  and  over  the  whole  kingdom  there  was 
wailing  and  despair.1  In  the  general  crash  and  wide-spread 
desolation,  Shelvocke  and  his  misdeeds  were  entirely  for- 
gotten. 

After  Shelvocke  the  next  and,  it  may  be  said,  the  only 
other  notable  Englishman,  who  ravaged  the  Spanish  coasts 
in  the  Pacific,  was  Commodore  George  Anson.  He  was 
dispatched  by  the  British  government  in  1740,  soon  after  the 
breaking  out  of  a  new  war  with  Spain,  with  a  squadron  of 
armed  ships  to  damage  the  Spanish  commerce,  which  he  did 
very  effectually.  He  took  Payta  and  other  places,  also  a 
rich  Philippine  galleon  and  many  other  prizes  and  seized 
immense  spoils.  He  was  a  man  of  the  Drake  and  Cav- 
endish stamp;  but,  as  he  did  not  touch  upon  the  coast  of 
California,  mention  is  made  of  him  merely  as  the  last  of  the 
great  English  sea-kings,  who  vexed  the  Spanish  rule  in  the 
South  Seas.  And  thus  closed  the  projects  of  the  English, 
other  than  those  in  the  legitimate  pursuits  of  discovery,  col- 
onization or  commerce,  in  the  Pacific. 

1  Burney's  Discoveries,  IV,  554,  555. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE   STRAITS   OF   ANIAN. 

THE  Spanish  commerce  in  the  Pacific  and  more  especially 
the  Philippine  trade  not  only  attracted  the  English  pri- 
vateers, as  has  been  seen,  but  occasioned  a  renewal  of  the 
search  for  the  straits,  supposed  to  connect  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific,  to  the  north  'of  America.  This  supposed  passage, 
called  the  "  Straits  of  Anian,"  was  reported  to  have  been  first 
discovered  by  Gaspar  Cortereal,  a  Portuguese  navigator,  who 
explored  the  coasts  of  Labrador  in  1499  and  1500.  From 
that  time  forward  for  many  years,  notwithstanding  repeated 
attempts  to  find  it  and  repeated  failures,  everybody  believed 
in  its  existence;  and  full  faith  and  credit  were  given  to  every 
new  story,  however  extraordinary,  that  adventurers  or  vision- 
aries could  invent  concerning  it.  Where  facts  failed,  imagi- 
nation supplied  fancies;  and,  as  the  importance  of  such  a 
passage  was  universally  recognized,  such  ideas  as  that  a 
proper  balancing  of  the  earth  required  such  straits,  and  that 
the  author  of  the  world  would  not  have  Omitted  a  thorough- 
fare so  much  needed  by  his  creatures,  were  by  no  means  too 
fantastical  for  acceptance.1 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  discovery  of  these  straits 
had  been  one  of  the  objects  of  the  various  Californian  expedi- 
tions of  Cortes.  In  his  time  the  passage  was  supposed  to  ex- 
tend from  Newfoundland  on  the  one  side  to  the  East  Indies 
on  the  other;  and  he  even  possessed  a  chart  upon  which  it  was 

1  See,  for  instance,  Relacion,  Intro.  XL,  note  3,  where  the  historian  Acosta 
repeats  the  reasoning  of  Pedro  Menendez  as  follows:  "  Otros  indicios  tambien 
referia  concluyendo  rinalmente,  que  a  la  sabiduria  del  Hacedor  y  buen  orden  de 
la  naturaleza  pertenecia  que  como  habia  comunicacion  y  paso  los  dos  mares  al 
polo  Antartico,  asi  tambien  la  hubiese  al  polo  Artico,  que  es  mas  principal." 

(125) 


126  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

so  delineated.  Afterwards,  when  Marcos  de  Niza  traveled 
up  into  New  Mexico  in  search  of  the  famous  Seven  Cities,  he 
supposed  that  he  saw  the  northern  ocean  trending  eastward. 
It  was  the  main  object  of  the  voyage  of  Alarcon  to  sail  into 
that  northern  sea  and  thence  co-operate  with  Coronado,  who 
had  marched  overland  into  the  interior  of  the  continent. 
Cabrillo  also  looked  upon  this  as  the  objective  point  of  his 
expedition;  and  it  was  doubtless  in  the  hope  and  anticipation 
of  its  eventual  discovery  that,  when  he  found  himself  stricken 
by  the  hand  of  death,  he  so  earnestly  adjured  his  second  in 
command  to  prosecute  and  complete  his  discoveries.      ' 

After  Cabrillo's  time,  for  many  years,  there  were  no  more 
voyages  of  discovery  in  the  North  Pacific;  but  this  only  gave 
greater  circulation  and  credence  to  fictitious  accounts  of  the 
position,  character  and  navigation  of  the  supposed  straits- 
Among  these  one  of  the  earliest  was  a  report  that  Andres  de 
Urdaneta,  who  though  a  priest  was  at  the  same  time  a  nav- 
igator of  skill  and  a  man  of  great  capacity  and  worth,  had 
about  the  year  1556  discovered  the  wished-for  passage  and 
that  he  had  traced  its  course  with  great  particularity  upon 
a  map.  This  report  further  added  that  Urdaneta  had  men- 
tioned his  discovery  to  the  king  of  Portugal;  that  the  king  of 
Portugal  had  charged  him  with  secrecy,  as  its  knowledge 
would  expose  the  Portuguese  as  well  as  the  Spanish  estab- 
lishments in  the  Pacific  to  repeated  disturbances  from  the 
English;  and  that  for  these  reasons  the  knowledge  acquired 
by  Urdaneta  had  been  kept  from  the  public.  A  Portuguese 
navigator,  named  Martin  Chaque,  was  also  said  to  have  dis- 
covered the  straits  about  the  same  time;  and  it  was  added 
that  his  account  of  them  had  been  withheld  for  the  same 
reason  as  that  of  Urdaneta.1  In  1574  Juan  Fernandez  de 
Ladrillero,  a  pilot  of  reputation,  over  sixty  years  of  age,  who 
had  navigated  the  Pacific  for  twenty-eight  years,  affirmed,  in 
the  course  of  a  judicial  examination  in  Spain,  the  existence 
of  the  straits  opening  into  the  Atlantic  about  the  parallel  of 
Newfoundland  and  offered,  in   spite  of  being  aged  and  worn 


1  Relacion,  Intro.  XI. II. 


THE  STRAITS  OF  ANJAN.  127 

out,  to  go  in  search  of  them  and  colonize  and  fortify  them  as 
he  might  find  practicable.1  In  1582  Francisco  Gali  sailed 
from  the  Philippines  much  further  to  the  northward  than  the 
track  usually  taken  by  the  galleons,  intending  by  skirting 
the  coast  from  China  all  the  way  round  to  Mexico  to  ascer- 
tain whethe  it  was  continuous  or  not.  Had  he  followed  the 
course  proposed,  he  would  have  done  great  service,  and  his 
almost  forgotten  name  might  have  come  down  proudly  in 
the  first  rank  of  discoverers;  but  the  north  remained  almost 
as  completely  unknown  after  his  voyage  as  before.  He 
merely  found,  in  the  course  he  took,  a  spacious  extent  of  sea, 
of  great  depth,  with  strong  currents  from  the  north  and  filled 
with  whales  and  other  fish,  which  were  said  to  frequent  canals; 
from  all  which  circumstances  he  affirmed  the  existence  and 
expressed  his  belief  in  the  straits;2  but  he  did  not  pretend  to 
have  seen  them.  Besides  these  reports,  there  were  many 
others  to  the  same  effect;  so  that  throughout  the  maritime 
world  the  Straits  of  Anian,  though  there  were  as  yet  no  maps 
or  particular  descriptions  of  them,  except  such  as  were  sup- 
posed to  be  filed  away  in  the  secret  archives  of  the  courts  of 
Spain  and  Portugal,  were  implicitly  believed  in. 

It  was  reserved  for  an  individual,  said  to  be  a  Portuguese 
and  named  Lorenzo  Ferrer  de  Maldonado,  to  put  the  finishing 
touch  of  fabrication  upon  these  reports.  He  did  so  with  such 
a  degree  of  plausibility  that  long  after  his  death  his  stories, 
which  for  a  long  time  were  discredited  and  almost  forgotten, 
were  revived  and  believed  in  by  many  learned  and  intelligent 
geographers  and  were  the  cause,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel, 
of  several  expensive  expeditions,  sent  out  to  ascertain  the 
real  truth.  This  Munchausen  of  history  pretended  to  have 
sailed  from  Lisbon  to  Labrador  in  1588  and  thence  by  a 
direct  passage  into  the  Pacific  and  back  again.  According 
to  his  account  the  navigation  from  Spain  to  China  by  this 
route  could,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  be  made  in  three 
months.      He  was  by  no  means  chary  of  particulars:    on  the 


1  Relacion,  Intro.  XLIII. 

a  Relacion,  Intro.  XLVII,  XLVIII. 


128  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

contrary  he  gave  every  crook  of  his  reputed  channel,  with 
courses,  distances,  widths,  currents  and  winds,  and  a  minute 
description  of  the  land  on  both  sides.  He  located  it  between 
the  sixtieth  and  seventy-fifth  degrees  of  north  latitude,  hav- 
ing both  its  entrances  in  sixty  and  making  in  its  course  three 
great  bends.  He  even  pretended  to  have  met  a  Dutch  ship 
laden  with  Chinese  merchandise  passing  by  it  from  the 
Pacific  into  the  Atlantic.  This  account  he  afterwards,  in 
1609,  presented  to  the  Spanish  Council  for  the  Indies  and 
pointed  out  the  positions  adapted  for  occupation,  at  the  same 
time  asking  for  means  and  forces  to  take  possession  and 
fortify  them  in  the  name  of  the  Spanish  crown.  But  the 
Council,  upon  an  examination  of  the  man  himself,  thought 
proper,  though  they  kept  his  papers,  to  reject  his  proposition; 
and  thereupon  Maldonado  for  the  time  being  sank  into 
obscurity.  Nearly  two  hundred  years  afterwards  two  copies 
of  his  memorial  were  resurrected,  one  in  Spain  and  the  other 
in  Italy;  and,  being  brought  forward,  they  found  readers,  who, 
as  before  stated,  advocated  their  correctness.  In  1790  sev- 
eral members  of  the  French  Academy  startled  the  world  by 
declaring  themselves  believers  in  these  old  stories;  and  a 
public  controversy  arose  in  respect  to  the  supposed  straits, 
by  means  of  which  the  name  of  Maldonado  at  length  became 
famous.  Drake,  upon  a  certain  occasion  of  quarrel  with  his 
chaplain  in  the  course  of  his  voyage  across  the  Pacific,  com- 
pelled the  poor  parson  to  wear  a  badge  with  the  inscription, 
"  Francis  Fletcher,  ye  falsest  knave  that  livcth."  '  A  badge 
and  inscription  of  this  kind  would  have  been  much  more 
appropriate  for  Maldonado,2  unless,  perhaps,  he  ought  rather 
to  be  supposed  a  man  of  unsettled  mind  and  more  an  object 
of  pity  than  reproach. 

Next  in  celebrity  of  those  who  pretended  to  have  navi- 
gated and  to  give  a  particular  description  of  the  supposed 

1  World  Encompassed,  Appendix  II,  pp.  176,  177. 

2  The  author  of  the  Introduction  to  the  Voyage  of  the  Sutil  and  Mexicana  says 
that  an  examination  of  the  Spanish  archives  proved  Maldonado  to  have  been"un 
proyectistaembiador,  un  alquimista  estafador,  y  un  charlatan  novelero — a  scheemer 
and  swindler,  an  alchemist  and  sharper,  an  upstart  charlatan.'" — Relacion,  Intro. 
LI,  LII. 


THE  STRAITS  OF  ANIAN.  129 

straits,  was  a  Greek  pilot,  named  Apostolos  Valerianus  but 
more  commonly  known  as  Juan  de  Fuca.  According  to  the 
account  he  gave  of  himself,  he  had  followed  the  sea  for 
nearly  forty  years  in  the  service  of  Spain  until  the  fall  of 
1587,  when,  with  Sebastian  Viscaino,  he  was  taken  by  Cav- 
endish in  the  Philippine  galleon  Santa  Anna  off  Cape  San 
Lucas.  He  pretended  to  have  been  robbed  on  that  occasion 
of  all  his  property,  consisting  of  goods  worth  sixty  thousand 
ducats,  Immediately  after  that  misadventure,  he  proceeded 
to  Mexico;  and,  it  being  then  supposed  that  Drake  and  Cav- 
endish had  reached  the  South  Sea  by  the  Straits  of  Anian, 
three  vessels,  carrying  one  hundred  soldiers,  were  dispatched 
by  the  viceroy  to  re-discover  those  straits,  fortify  them  and 
prevent  any  further  ingress  by  English  privateers;  and  he,  Juan 
de  Fuca,  being  an  experienced  seaman,  was  engaged  as  pilot 
of  the  expedition.  As  it  turned  out,  however,  the  captain 
of  those  vessels,  according  to  his  account,  was  guilty  of  some 
great  misconduct;  a  mutiny  occurred  among  the  sailors  and 
soldiers,  and  the  ships  were  compelled  to  return  without  having 
accomplished  anything.  Afterwards  in  1 592  the  viceroy  fitted 
out  a  second  expedition  of  two  vessels  for  the  same  purposes 
and  placed  them  under  the  command  of  Juan  de  Fuca  himself. 
He  professed  to  have  sailed  in  them  along  the  coasts  of  New 
Spain  and  California  until  he  came  to  the  latitude  of  470 
north,  and  to  have  there  found  an  inlet  thirty  or  forty  leagues 
wide,  which  he  entered  and  navigated  eastwardly  for  twenty 
days.  He  passed  a  number  of  islands  and  found  the  natives 
clothed  in  the  skins  of  beasts;  and  the  country  was  fruitful 
and  rich  in  gold,  silver  and  pearls.  He  finally  reached  the 
Atlantic  Ocean;  and  then,  having  thus  accomplished  his  mis- 
sion, he  turned  round,  returned  to  Mexico,  and  claimed  remu- 
neration for  his  valuable  services.  But  the  viceroy,  though  he 
received  him  graciously,  delayed  paying  the  promised  reward 
and  finally  referred  him  to  the  king  in  Spain,  who  upon  his 
going  there,  received  him  with  like  graciousness,  but  in  the 
same  manner  put  him  off  with  promises,  which  were  never 
fulfilled.     After  waiting  in  vain  for  several  years,  he  finally 

9    Vol.  I. 


130  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

in  1595  withdrew  unobserved  from  the  court  and  passed  into 
Italy  with  the  intention  of  returning  to  his  native  country  of 
Cephalonia.  He  was  then  an  old  man,  sixty  years  of  age. 
On  his  way  through  Venice  he  met  an  English  merchant, 
named  Michael  Lock,  to  whom  he  told  his  story.  Lock 
interested  himself  in  the  account  given  by  the  old  pilot  of 
his  voyages  and  afterwards  endeavored  to  induce  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh  and  other  eminent  persons  in  England  to  fit  out  an 
expedition  for  the  occupation  of  the  reported  passage.  The 
project,  however,  failed;  and  in  1602  Juan  de  Fuca  died, 
apparently  in  destitute  circumstances.  Lock  subsequently 
wrote  and  published  an  account  of  their  "  talks  and  confer- 
ences." l  Some  two  hundred  years  afterwards,  when  the  sub- 
ject of  the  geography  of  the  northwest  coast  of  America  was 
very  largely  discussed  on  account  of  the  discovery  of  the 
great  inlet  leading  into  Puget  Sound,  which  was  found  to 
correspond  in  many  respects  with  the  old  Greek's  account  of 
the  western  end  of  his  passage,  the  name  of  Juan  de  Fuca 
was  rescued  from  oblivion;  and  it  will  go  down,  in  connection 
with  the  straits  called  after  him,  to  a  late  posterity.2 

Of  the  same  general  character  was  a  voyage  reported  to 
have  been  made  by  Admiral  Pedro  Bartolome'  de  Fonte. 
He  was  said  to  have  sailed  from  Callao  with  four  ships  under 
authority  of  the  viceroy  of  Peru  in  the  spring  of  1640.  His 
special  purpose  was  the  interception  of  certain  vessels  from, 
the  recently-founded  town  of  Boston  in  New  England,  which 
were  said  to  be  sailing  into  the  Pacific  by  the  northern  pas- 
sage. He  proceeded,  according  to  report,  first  to  Cape  San 
Lucas,  and  from  that  point  one  of  his  vessels  explored  the 
Gulf  of  California.  Finding  no  passage  through  the  gulf,  he 
doubled  the  Cape  and  proceeded  up  the  coast  to  a  high 
latitude  and  reached  a  collection  of  islands,  with  narrow  and 
crooked  channels  between  them,  which  he  called  the  Archi- 
pelago of  Sail  Lazaro.  Beyond  this,  in  latitude  530,  he  dis- 
covered the   mouth  of  a  great  river,  to  which  he  gave  the 


1  urccnhow,  86-89;  4°7~411;  Kelacion,  Intro.  LII-LVI. 
a  Greenhow,  176. 


THE  STRAITS  OF  ANIAX.  131 

name  of  Rio  de  los  Reyes.  Sending  one  of  his  vessels  to 
explore  the  coasts  further  north,  he  with  the  others  entered 
the  Rio  de  los  Reyes  and  ascended  it  in  a  northeasterly  direc- 
tion to  a  large  and  beautiful  lake,  containing  many  islands 
and  surrounded  by  a  delightful  country.  On  the  south  shore 
of  this  lake  there  was  a  large  town,  called  Conasset,  the 
inhabitants  of  which  were  kind  and  hospitable.  There  Fonte 
left  his  vessels  and  proceeded,  in  what  manner  is  not  stated, 
down  a  river  flowing  eastward  into  another  lake,  and  thence 
through  a  passage,  called  the  Straits  of  Ronquillo  into  the 
Atlantic.  There  he  found  one  of  the  Boston  ships  of  which 
he  was  in  search,  which  was  bound  up  the  passage  he  had 
just  descended.  Instead,  however,  of  attempting  to  make  a 
prize  of  the  Yankees,  as  had  been  his  purpose,  he  preferred 
to  treat  them  with  the  highest  respect,  made  them  magnifi- 
cent presents,  and  in  return  received  their  charts  and  journals. 
He  then  turned  round,  retraced  his  way  to  his  ships,  and 
passed  down  the  Rio  de  los  Reyes  to  the  Pacific.  In  the 
meanwhile  the  ship  he  had  sent  up  the  coast,  when  he  him- 
self entered  the  Rio  de  los  Reyes,  had  returned  and  reported 
the  discovery  of  another  large  river,  called  Rio  de  Haro  and 
another  large  lake  in  latitude  6i°,  whence  his  lieutenant  went 
in  canoes  as  far  north  as  latitude  79°.  From  that  point  the 
land  was  seen  extending  still  further  north  until  it  could  not 
be  distinguished  from  the  polar  ices.  One  of  the  sailors 
went  as  far  as  8o°  and  found  there  a  fresh  water  lake,  con- 
stituting the  head  of  Davis'  Straits;  and  beyond  it  there 
were  prodigious  mountains.  From  all  this,  Fonte  is  said  to 
have  concluded  that  there  was  no  practicable  communication 
for  ships  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  by  a  northwest 
passage;  but  it  is  plain  that  he  never  made  the  voyages 
ascribed  to  him.1 

In  1 595,  thirteen  years  after  the  voyage  of  Gali  from  the 
Philippines,  there  seems  to  have  been  sent  out  from  the  same 
islands  by  the  governor,  at  the  instance  of  the  king  of  Spain, 
a  ship  called  the  San  Agustin.     The  object  was  to  examine 

1  Greenhow,  84-86. 


132  EARLY   VOYAGES. 

the  same  coasts,  which  it  had  been  Gali's  purpose  to  skirt 
along  and  investigate.  This  vessel  was  intrusted  to  the  com- 
mand of  Sebastian  Rodriguez  Cermeilon.  All  that  can  be 
affirmed  with  certainty  in  regard  to  its  voyage,  is  that  the  ship 
was  lost.1  Long  afterwards  it  was  reported  to  have  reached 
the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  and  to  have  been  there  driven  on 
shore  and  broken  to  pieces.  It  was  also  said  that  Viscaino 
entered  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  in  1603  for  the  purpose  of 
seeing  if  he  could  not  find  the  remnants  of  the  old  ship  thus 
wrecked.  But  when  it  is  considered  that  the  bay  of  San 
Francisco  was  not  known  until  nearly  two  hundred  years 
after  the  voyage  of  the  San  Agustin,  and  that  Viscaino,  if 
he  had  ever  entered  it,  would  surely  not  have  omitted  men- 
tion of  the  most  glorious  sight  upon  which  his  eyes  had  ever 
rested,  it  is  plain  that  the  supposed  .wreck  of  the  San  Agus- 
tin in  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  must  be  classed  with  the 
stories  of  Maldonado  and  De  Fuca.  It  may  be  remarked, 
however,  in  this  connection  that  the  Indians  of  the  Island  of 
Santa  Catalina  off  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel  exhibited  to 
Viscaino,  on  the  occasion  of  his  visit  there,  pieces  of  damask 
which  they  said  had  come  from  a  Spanish  vessel  that  had 
been  wrecked  to  the  northward  of  them;  and  this  fact  may 
have  given  rise  to  the  above  mentioned  report  about  the 
wreck  of  the  San  Agustin.2 

Of  all  the  foregoing  reported  voyages  into  the  higher  lat- 
itudes of  the  North  Pacific  none  are  entitled  to  credit,  how- 
ever much  they  may  have  been  talked  about  and  however 
often  repeated  and  republished,  except  that  of  Gali  and  the 
bare  facts  that  there  had  been  a  San  Agustin,  that  it  had 
sailed  from  Manila  for  the  California  coast  and  that  it  was  lost. 
Urdaneta  clearly  never  sailed  into  those  seas.  Whatever 
Ladrillcro  and  Gali  may  have  said  as  to  the  existence  of  the 
straits  was  merely  the  expression  of  an  opinion,  which  was 
very  generally  entertained  not  only  among  navigators  but 
also  among   the  most    learned    cosmographers    of   England, 

1  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  4,  p.  194;  Relacion,  Intro.  LVII. 

2  Relacion,  Intro.  LXIV. 


THE  STRAITS  OF  ANIAN.  133 

Spain,  Portugal  and  Italy.1  It  is  doubtful  whether  Chaque 
ever  made  the  report  attributed  to  him;  and  as  to  Maldo- 
nado,  his  story  was  clearly  a  fabrication.  The  same  seems 
also  to  have  been  the  case  with  that  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  for 
the  reason  that  no  record  exists  in  the  archives  of  Spain  of 
any  such  navigator  or  of  any  such  expeditions  from  Mexico 
as  he  describes;-'  nor  is  it  at  all  probable,  if  his  story  had 
any  truth  about  it,  that  the  Spanish  chroniclers  would  have 
omitted  mention  of  an  enterprise,  calculated  to  redound  so 
much  to  the  credit  of  the  Spanish  name.  His  account  of 
the  manner  in  which  he  was  treated,  first  by  the  viceroy  and 
afterwards  by  the  king  of  Spain,  indicates  that  he  was  looked 
upon  as  an  innocent  enthusiast  and  perhaps  as  a  harmless 
old  man,  who  had  suffered  many  hardships  and  was  therefore 
entitled  to  kind  words.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  re- 
markable that  he  described  with  so  much  accuracy  the  inlet 
which  bears  his  name;  and  there  are,  on  this  account,  many 
who  suppose  that  his  voyage  really  took  place  and  that  his 
account  of  having  sailed  into  the  Atlantic  and  of  the  rich- 
ness of  the  countries  bordering  on  his  straits  in  gold,  silver 
and  pearls  were  mere  errors,  no  greater  than  those  com- 
mitted by  various  other  navigators,  in  respect  to  whose  voy- 
ages there  is  no  question. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  and  even  supposing,  as  was  probably 
the  case,  that  the  accounts  of  Maldonado  and  Fuca  were  not 
made  public  until  years  after  their  respective  voyages  pur- 
ported to  have  been  performed,  the  fact  remains  that  the 
public  mind  was  very  generally  impressed  with  a  belief  in  the 
existence  of  the  straits.  Theretofore  this  belief-  had  been 
vague;  no  one  had  found  or  navigated  the  supposed  passage; 
but  when  its  position,  directness  and  easy  navigation  were 
so  positively  and  repeatedly  asserted,  it  became  plain  to  the 
Spaniards  that,  if  these  reports  were  correct,  their  commerce 
in  the  Pacific  would  be  exposed  to  great  dangers.  If  the 
English  and  other  enemies  of  Spain  could  find  so  short  a 


1  Relacion,  Intro.  LII. 

*  Relacion,  Intro.  LIII,  LIV. 


134  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

way  into  the  Pacific,  as  would  be  afforded  by  the  reputed 
communication,  it  was  obviously  of  the  first  importance  to 
provide  stations  for  the  protection  of  ships  engaged  in  trade, 
or  still  better,  to  seize  upon  and  fortify  the  straits  them- 
selves. As  yet  there  was  no  settlement  along  the  entire 
coast  of  California;  but  now  the  importance  of  the  occupa- 
tion of  that  coast  became  more  and  more  apparent.  If 
Drake  and  Cavendish  had  come  into  the  South  Sea,  as  was 
supposed,  by  the  passage  so  often  spoken  of;1  there  was 
nothing  to  prevent  others  from  following  in  their  track;  and 
the  occupation  by  the  English  of  New  Albion,  of  which 
they  claimed  the  dominion,'2  might  be  expected  at  any  time. 
The  Spaniards  therefore  found  it  to  be  a  matter  of  necessity, 
which  could  not  be  much  longer  deferred,  to  turn  their  at- 
tention again  to  the  northwest  coast  and  to  take  measures 
for  its  further  exploration  and,  if  practicable,  for  its  perma- 
nent occupation  under  the  Spanish  flag. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  a  new  expedition 
was  determined  on,  including  a  new  attempt  to  settle  Cali- 
fornia. Orders  to  this  effect  were  received  at  Mexico  from 
Philip  II.,  who  still  filled  the  Spanish  throne;  and  the  per- 
son named  for  the  leader  of  the  proposed  new  enterprise  was 
Captain  Sebastian  Viscaino,  the  same  who  had  been  taken 
prisoner  by  Cavendish  and  escaped  in  so  remarkable  a  man- 
ner, with  his  companions,  when  left  in  an  apparently  helpless 
condition  upon  Cape  San  Lucas.  Three  well-provided  ships 
were  placed  under  his  command  and  he  sailed  with  them 
from  the  port  of  Acapulco  in  the  spring  of  1596.  Of, the 
number  of  men  he  carried  there  seems  to  be  no  certain  infor- 
mation; but  it  appears  that  there  were  many  soldiers  and 
four  priests.3  He  proceeded  up  the  coast  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  what  is  now  Mazatlan  and  thence  crossed  over  to 
Lower  California.  The  place  at  which  he  first  landed  was 
very  sterile;  and  he  proceeded  to  another,  where  he  erected 


1  Relacion,  Intro.  LVII. 

J  Wnegas,  P.  II,  §  3,  p.   184. 

»  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  3,  p.  185. 


THE  STRAITS  OF  AM  AN.  135 

the  royal  standard  and  took  possession.  This  place  also 
proved  upon  examination  to  be  barren;  and  he  therefore 
coasted  along  till  he  came  to  the  place  known  as  Santa  Cruz, 
where  Cortes  had  attempted  to  make  a  settlement  sixty- 
years  before  and  where  various  memorials  of  him  and  his 
people  were  still  found  scattered  around.  Here  Viscaino 
established  a"  camp,  built  a  stockade,  erected  a  small  church, 
put  up  a  number  of  huts  and  made  the  beginning  of  his  set- 
tlement, which  it  was  intended  should  be  permanent.  From 
the  pleasantness  of  the  place  and  the  extremely  peaceable 
character  of  the  natives,  who  congregated  in  large  numbers, 
he  called  it  La  Paz,1  a  name  which  it  has  ever  since  borne. 
But  notwithstanding  the  agreeableness  of  the  spot  and  the 
kindly  disposition  manifested  by  the  Indians,  Viscaino  soon 
recognized  the  fact  that  it  was  not  suited  to  the  purposes  of 
a  large  colony;  and  he  therefore  dispatched  one  of  his  vessels, 
with  a  launch,  to  search  for  a  more  favorable  place,  if  any 
such  should  present  itself,  further  north.  This  ship  pro- 
ceeded up  the  coast  a  hundred  leagues.  At  the  spot  last 
examined,  fifty  soldiers  went  off  to  survey  the  country;  and 
upon  finding  it  no  better  than  that  hitherto  seen,  they  were 
about  to  re-embark,  when  the  Indians,  who  had  collected  in 
numbers,  let  fly  their  arrows.  The  Spaniards  thereupon 
faced  around  and  fired,  killing  three  or  four  of  the  Indians. 
But  as  the  launch  could  carry  only  twenty-five  persons,  an 
equal  number  was  obliged  to  remain  upon  the  beach;  and 
upon  these,  the  Indians  to  the  number  of  five  hundred  fell 
with  great  fury  and  outcry.  The  time  was  chosen  when  the 
launch  had  returned  and  they  were  busy  embarking  in  it. 
The  attack  was  so  sudden  and  violent  that  the  Spaniards 
became  disordered;  their  launch  was  overturned;  they  were 
thrown  into  the  water;  their  fire-arms  being  wet  were  ren- 
dered useless;  some  were  drowned,  and  some  died  a  misera- 
ble death  at  the  hands  of  their  assailants.     A  few  swam   out 


1  "  Un  buen  puerto,  al  qual  pusieron  por  nombre  de  La  Paz,  por  ser  mui  apaci- 
ble  y  de  mucha  gente,  que  recibieron  bien  y  con  muchas  seflales  de  paz  y  amistad 
a  nuestros  Espanoles,  haciendo  grandes  demonstraciones  de  contento  con  su  ven- 
ida." — Torquemada,  L.  V,  cap.  XLI. 


136  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

to  the  ship;  but  nineteen  perished  within  sight  of  their  com- 
panions, who,  however,  were  unable  to  render  any  assistance 
or  succor.  On  account  of  the  happening  of  this  sad  event 
and  also  on  account  of  scarcity  of  provisions,  the  ship  turned 
around  and  ran  back  to  La  Paz.  In  the  meanwhile  the  col- 
ony there  had  also  nearly  exhausted  its  stores;  and,  as  there 
seemed  to  be  no  possibility  of  obtaining  supplies  anywhere 
upon  the  coast,  Viscaino  resolved  to  abandon  the  country; 
and,  re-embarking  with  all  his  people,  he  returned  to  New 
Spain  at  the  end  of  the  same  year,  1596.1 

1  Torquemada,  L.  V,  cap.  XLI,  XLII;  Venegas,    P.    II,  §  3,  pp.    181-189; 
Relacion,  Intro.  LVII-LX 


CHAPTER     XIII. 

VISCAINO. 

PHILIP  II.,  king  of  Spain,  died  in  1598  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  son,  Philip  III.      One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  lat- 
ter's  reign  was  to  order  a  new  expedition  from  Mexico  to  the 
northwest  coast.     Among  the  documents  left  by  Philip  II. 
was  a  declaration  of  certain  foreigners,  who  professed  to  have 
been  driven  by  violent  winds  from  the  coast  of  Newfound- 
the  South   Sea  by  the  way  of  the  Straits  of  Anian, 
which  taey  affirmed  entered  the  Pacific  a  little  north  of  Cape 
Mendocino;  and  they  added  that  they  had  seen  on  their  way, 
besides  other  remarkable  things,  a  large  and  rich  city,  strongly 
1  and  inhabited  by  a  numerous,  polite  and  well-gov- 
erned population.1     This  was  evidently  one  of  the  old  stories, 
ch  advantage  was  taken  of  the  general  belief  not  only 
its  but  also  in  the  existence  of  a  great  city  some- 
where in  the  undefined  north,  that  had  been  first  mentioned 
2  visionary  Marcos  de  Niza  and  was  popularly  known 
is,  perhaps,  too  much  to  say  that  this  mere 
■  hasten e     the   action    of   Philip  III.;  but    it    was    not 
<ely  the  occasion  of  attracting  his  early  attention  to  the 
t  subject  of  the  northwest  coast.     His  mandate, 
ew  expedition,  issued  on  September  27,  1599. 
ed  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain   to  cause   to  be   made 

en  su  magestad,  entre  otras  papeles  una  informacion,  que  cier- 

ian  dado  a  su  padre,  en  que  se  dicen  algunas  cosas  notables, 

ella  tierra  avian  visto,  Uevados  alii  con  fuerza  de  tiempos  en  un 

costa  de  los  Bacallaos,  que  es  en  Terranova,  dando  en  ella  razon, 

le  la  Mar  del  Norte  a  la  del  Sur  por  el  Estrecho  de  Anian,  que  es 

11  Cabo  Mendocino  y  que  avian  visto  una  populosa  y  rifca  ciudad, 

y  cercada  y  mai  rica  de  gente,  politica  y  cortesana  y  bien  tratada 

s.  dignas  de  saberse  yde  ser  vistas." — Torquemada,  L.  V,  cap.  XLV. 

(137) 


138  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

with  all  diligence,  at  the  public  cost  and  without  regard  to 
expense,  a  new  discovery  and  entry  upon  California,  and 
this  time  not  upon  the  gulf  side  but  upon  the  exterior  coast 
fronting  the  Pacific.1  In  pursuance  of  these  orders,  Gaspar 
de  Zuiliga,  Conde  de  Monterey,  the  then  viceroy,  provided 
and  provisioned  two  large  and  two  small  vessels;  put  on 
board  the  necessary  sailors  and  soldiers;  induced  a  .number 
of  learned  men  to  accompany  the  expedition,  and  placed  the 
whole  under  the  charge  of  the  same  Sebastian  Viscaino  as 
captain-general,  who  had  conducted  the  last  expedition. 

Viscaino,  upon  this,  which  is  called  his  second  voyage  to 
California,  sailed  from  Acapulco  on  May  5,  1602.  Proceeding 
up  the  coast  as  far  as  Culiacan  he  crossed  over  to  Cape  San 
Lucas  and  anchored  in  the  bay  of  Puerto  Seguro,  well  known 
to  him  by  previous  sufferings,  to  which  he  now  gave  the  name 
of  San  Bernabe.  He  there  published  an  order  imposing 
the  death  penalty  upon  any  soldier  or  sailor,  who  should 
cause  any  disturbance  among  the  Indians."  On  July  5,  he 
sailed  for  Magdalena  bay,  where  he  arrived  in  fifteen  days, 
and  examined  it  thoroughly.  Thence  he  went  to  Cerros 
Island  and  thence  coasted  up  to  the  northwestward,  minutely 
surveying  every  spot  that  offered  any  promise  of  advantage; 
but  without  finding  any  place  suitable  for  settlement  until 
November  10,  when  he  reached  San  Diego.1*  There  he  re- 
mained ten  days.  Some  of  his  people  went  up  on  the  prom- 
ontory, now  known  as  Point  Loma,  which  separates  the  harbor 
from  the  ocean  and  shields  it  from  the  northwest  winds;  ana, 
taking  in  a  view  of  the  entire  port,  they  found  it  to  be  one  of 
the  finest  character  and  very  extensive.4 

It  will    be  recollected  that  Cabrillo  visited    this    place  in 

1  "  Para  que  a  costa  de  la  hacienda  real,  sin  reparer  en  gastos,  hiciesse  con 
toda  diligencia  nuevo  descubrimiento  y  entrada  en  la  California;  no  y;i  por  la 
costa  interior  del  golfo,  sino  por  la  exterior  del  Mar  del  Sur." — Venegas,  P.  II,  § 
4,  p.   190. 

2  Relacion,  Intro.  LXII. 

3  "  Un  famoso  puerto,  que  se  llamo  de  San  Diego." — Torquemada,  L.  V,  cap. 
LII. 

4  "  Desde  lo  nUo  del  monte  se  vio  ser  el  puerto  lindisimo  y  mui  grande  y  todo 
cl  mui  acomodado  para  el  abrigo  de  todos  los  vientos." — Torquemada,  L.  V,  cap. 
LII. 


VISCAINO.  139 

1542  and  while  there,  r.s  well  as  at  other  places  to  the  north 
and  south  of  it,  heard  from  the  Indians  of  a  people  living  in 
the  interior  who  resembled  the  Spaniards.  Viscaino  was 
told  a  similar  story.  When  the  Indians  in  large  numbers 
came  about  him,  he  noticed  that  the  most  of  them  were 
painted  black  and  white.  The  black  color,  on  account  of  its 
peculiar  silvery-blue  luster,  especially  attracted  his  attention; 
and,  upon  being  asked  where  it  was  obtained,  the  Indians 
exhibited  metalliferous  stones  and  added  by  signs  that  these 
stones  were  extracted  by  a  people  in  the  interior,  who  were 
bearded  and  clothed  like  the  Spaniards.  They  also  said  this 
strange  people  manufactured  elegant  sashes,  similar  to  those 
worn  by  the  Spanish  soldiers;  some  as  brilliant  even  as  that 
with  which  the  general  tied  up  his  mulberry-colored  velvet 
breeches,  and  that  this  strange  people  were  apparently  in  all 
respects  like  their  present  visitors.1 

From  San  Diego  the  ships  proceeded  to  the  island,  now 
known  as  Santa  Catalina.  This  had  been  discovered  and 
visited  by  Cabrillo,  who  called  it  Victoria;  but  Viscaino,  on 
account  of  the  day  he  arrived,  called  it  by  the  name  which  it 
has  ever  since  borne.  Here  he  found  many  Indians,  men, 
women  and  children,  all  clothed  in  seal  skins,  and  was 
received  by  them  with  extreme  kindness.  They  were  a  fine 
looking  race;  had  large  dwellings  and  numerous  rancherias; 
made  admirable  canoes,  some  of  which  would  carry  twenty 
persons;  and  were  expert  seal  hunters  and  fisherman.  There 
were  many  things  of  interest  there;  but  the  most  extraordi- 
nary were  a  temple  and  idol,  the  most  remarkable,  of  which 
any  account  remains,  among  the  Californians.  The  temple 
consisted  of  a  large  circular  place  ornamented  with  variously 
colored  feathers  of  different  kinds.     Within  the  circle  was  the 

1  "  El  embige  de  negro  era  como  plateado  y  azul;  y  preguntandole  por  sefias 
que  era  aquello,  mostraron  unas  piedras  de  metal,  de  que  lo  hacian  y  dixeron  por 
sefias  que  de  aquellas  piedras  sacaba  una  gente  que  avia  la  tierra  adentro  que  eran 
barbados  y  usaban  vestidoscomo  los  Espanolesy  hacian  y  sacaban  unas  cintas  gal- 
anas;  senalando  ellos  eran  como  los  pasamanos  que  los  soldados  tenian  en  los 
coletos  de  ante;  y  que  eran  tambien  como  uno  que  tenia  el  general  en  un  calzon 
de  terciopelo  morado,  y  queaquellos  hombres  que  ellos  decian  usaban  de  las  galas  • 
y  vestidos  como  nuestros  Espafioles,  y  que  se  les  parecian." — Torquemada,  L.  Vf 
cap.  LII. 


140  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

idol,  a  figure  supposed  to  represent  the  devil,  painted  in  the 
manner  in  which  the  Indians  of  New  Spain  were  accustomed 
to  depict  their  demon  and  having  at  his  sides  representations 
of  the  sun  and  moon.  To  this  idol  it  was  said  that  the 
Indians  sacrificed  large  numbers  of  birds  and  that  it  was  with 
their  feathers  that  the  place  was  adorned.  When  the  Spanish 
soldiers,  who  were  conducted  thither  by  an  Indian,  arrived 
at  the  spot  they  found  within  the  circle  two  extraordinary 
crows,  much  larger  than  common,  which,  upon  their  approach, 
flew  away  and  perched  upon  the  neighboring  rocks.  Struck 
with  their  great  size,  the  soldiers  shot  and  killed  both; 
whereupon  their  Indian  guide  began  to  utter  the  most 
pathetic  lamentations.  "  I  believe,"  says  Father  Torque- 
mada,  "  that  the  devil  was  in  those  crows  and  spoke  through 
them,  for  they  were  regarded  with  great  respect  and  vener- 
ation;" and  in  further  illustration  of  this  he  relates  that  on 
another  occasion,  when  several  Indian  women  were  washing 
fish  upon  the  beach,  the  crows  approached  and  snatched  the 
food  from  their  hands;  and  that  the  women  stood  in  such 
awe  that  they  dared  not  drive  them  away  and  were  horrified 
when  the  Spaniards  threw  stones  at  them.1 

The  Indians  upon  this  island,  and  the  same  remark  applies 
to  those  of  the  other  islands  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel 
and  the  opposite  coast,  appear  to  have  been  much  further 
advanced  in  the  arts  of  life  than  the  natives  of  California  in 

1  "En  ella  [isla]  se  hallo  un  templo,  donde  ellos  hacian  sus  sacrificios  y  era  un 
patio  grande  y  llano  y  en  la  una  parte  de  61,  que  era  donde  ellos  tenian  el  altar, 
avia  un  circulo  redondo,  grande  todo,  rodeado  todo  con  plumas  de  varias  aves  de 
diferentes  colores,  que  entiendo  eran  de  las  aves,  que  a  sus  idoles  sacrifican 
muchas;  y  dentro  de  el  circulo  avia  una  figura  pintada  de  varios  colores  como  de 
demonio,  al  modo  y  usanza  que  los  Indios  de  esta  Nueva  Espafia  le  suelen  pintar; 
y  aloslados  tenia  la  figura  deel  sol  yde  la  luna.  Aqui  sucedio,  que  quando  los 
soldados  llegaron  k  ver  este  templo,  avia  dentro  del  circulo  dicho  dos  grandisimos 
cuervos,  maiores  harto  que  los  ordinarios;  y  como  llegaron  los  Espafioles  se  vol- 
aron  de  alii  y  se  pusieron  en  unas  penas,  que  cerca  de  alii  avia;  y  los  soldados, 
como  vieron  que  eran  tan  grandes,  les  apuntaron  con  las  arcubuces  y  mataronlos 
ambos,  de  lo  qual  comenzo  a  llorar  y  hacer grandes  sentimientos  un  Indio  que  con 
los  Espafioles  hasta  alii  avia  ido.  Yo  entiendo,  que  les  hablaba  el  diabloen  estos 
cuervos;  porque  les  tenian  grande  respeto  y  veneracion;  y  vio  uno  de  los  relig- 
iosos,  que  alii  iban,  estar  labando  unas  Indias  en  la  plaia  unos  pescados  para 
comer  ellas  y  sus  maridos  e  hijos  y  se  llegaron  a  ellas  unos  cuervos  y  las  quitaban  con 
el  pico  el  pescado  de  la  mano  y  ellas  callaban,  y  no  los  osaron  ojear  6  espantar  de 
alii  y  se  espantaban  de  ver  que  los  Espafioles  les  tiraban  de  pedradas." — Torque- 
mada,  L.  V,  cap.  LIU. 


VISCAINO.  141 

general.  Among  the  natural  productions  of  Santa  Catalina 
were  large  quantities  of  edible  roots,  called  gicamas,  and  in 
these,  according  to  Viscaino,  the  Indians  carried  on  a  sort  of 
trade  with  their  neighbors  of  the  mainland.1  He  also  men- 
tions as  another  significant  fact  that  the  women  of  the  island 
had  pleasant  countenances,  fine  eyes,  and  were  modest  and 
decorous  in  their  behavior,2  and  that  the  children  were  white 
and  ruddy  and  all  very  affable  and  agreeable.  From  these 
statements,  as  well  as  from  those  made  by  Cabrillo  in  refer- 
ence to  the  Indians  of  the  opposite  coast,  it  is  evident  that 
the  natives  of  these  regions,  on  account  of  a^difference  either  /<  < 
in  blood Jor  in  the  circumstances  under  which  they  lived,  were 
far  in  advance  of  the  other  natives  of  California. 

From  Santa  Catalina  Viscaino  passed  to  several  of  the 
neighboring  islands  and  thence  to  the  mainland  near  Point 
Concepcion.  There  he  was  visited  on  his  ship  by  -a  chief 
whom  he  supposed  to  be  the  king  of  the  country.  This 
potentate  appeared  anxious  to  induce  the  Spaniards  to  land 
and  was  even  supposed,  like  the  chief  with  whom  Drake 
treated,  to  offer  them  his  country  and  its  sovereignty,  ^Aox- 
other  offer  that  he  made  and  which  he  conveyed  to  the  Span- 
iards by  expressive  pantomimic  signs,  indicated  that  he 
would  give  each  of  them  that  would  go  with  him  ten  wives. 
This  generous  proposition,  which  he  doubtless  regarded  as 
the  most  magnificent  he  could  possibly  make,  occasioned 
much  merriment  among  the  sailors  and  soldiers;  but  Viscaino 
did  not  think  proper  to  accept  the  proffered  hospitalities  and 
sailed  on.3  Passing  around  the  point  and  running  up  the 
coast,  on  December  15,  1602,  he  arrived  at  Point  Pinos  and 
came  to  anchor  in  the  bay  formed  by  its  projection.  '  Upon 
examining  the  place,  he  found  it  to  constitute  a  good  port, 
with    a    pleasant    and    fertile    neighborhood;  on    account    of 

1  "  Ai  en  esta  isla  mucha  cantidad  de  unas  como  papas  y  gicamas  pequeiias;  y 
los  Indios  pasan  4  venderlas  ;i  la  tierra  firme,  que  viven  de  comprar  y  vender." — 
Torquemada,  L.  V,  cap.  LII. 

2  "  Las  Indias  son  bien  agestadas,  de  mui  lindos  ojos,  y  de  rostro,  mui  modes- 
tas  y  honestas. " — Torquemada,  L.  V,  cap.  LIII. 

3  Torquemada,  L.  V,  cap.  LIII. 


142  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

which  advantages  and  in  honor  of  the  viceroy,  under  whose 
auspices  he  sailed,  he  gave  it  the  name  of  Monterey. 

By  this  time  Viscaino  found  himself  in  very  straitened  con- 
dition. Many  of  his  people  were  sick  and  his  provisions  were 
nearly  exhausted.  Under  these  circumstances  he  deemed  it 
prudent,  instead  of  immediately  proceeding  further,  to  send 
back  one  of  his  vessels  for  the  purpose  not  only  of  carrying 
the  sick  but  of  soliciting  reinforcements  and  supplies  for  the 
further  prosecution  of  the  voyage.  As  soon  as  he  had  done 
so,  he  and  those  who  stayed  with  him,  fitted  up  barracks  on 
shore  and  devoted  themselves  to  furnishing  the  remaining 
ships  with  wood  and  water.  They  also  set  up  a  kind  of 
chapel  under  an  immense  oak  tree,  whose  spreading  branches 
overhung  the  beach,  and  by  the  roots  of  which  flowed  abun- 
dant springs  of  the  sweetest  and  purest  water.  The  aspect 
of  the  country  round  about  was  attractive:  the  pines  and 
oaks,  the  groves  and  open  spaces,  the  diversity  of  hill  and 
dale — all  were  delightful.  He  and  his  men  made  a  short  ex- 
cursion inland  and  found  the  plains  full  of  game — elks  whose 
horns  measured  three  yards  across,1  deer,  hares,  rabbits,  geese, 
ducks  and  quails,  besides  other  beasts  and  birds  in  great 
numbers.  There  were  also  bears,  the  prints  of  whose  feet 
were  nine  inches  broad.2  Throughout  the  country  there  were 
numerous  Indians;  but  all  were  friendly  and  well-disposed. 

Whatever  may  have  been  Viscaino's  intentions  as  to  wait- 
ing for  supplies,  he  did  not  continue  long  at  Monterey.  On 
January  3,  1603,  setting  sail  with  the  two  vessels  that  were 
left,  he  proceeded  in  search  of  Cape  Mendocino.  A  favorable 
wind  drove  him  up  to  the  neighborhood  of  Point  Reyes;  but 
there  a  storm  came  on,  which  separated  the  ships;  and  they 
did  not  meet  again  until  after  the  end  of  their  respective  voy- 
ages. It  was  at  this  time,  according  to  some  accounts,  that 
Viscaino  turned  around  and  entered  the  bay  of  San  Fran- 
cisco to  look  after  the  wreck  of  the  San  Agustin.  Accord- 
ing to  other  accounts,  which  describe  the  port  of  San  Fran- 


1  "  Ciervos  tan  grandes,  que  sus  estas  tendrian  tres  varas  de  largo." — Rela- 
cion,  Intro.  LXVI. 

'l  Torquemada,  L.  V,  cap.  LIV. 


VISCA1N0.  143 

cisco  as  lying  under  and  directly  south  of  Point  Reyes,  it  is 
said  that  there  was,  among  Viscaino's  men,  one  Francisco  de 
Bolafios,  who  had  been  chief  pilot  of  the  San  Agustin  and 
knew  the  place  well.1  But  no  reliance  is  to  be  placed  upon 
this  report  any  more  than  upon  the  others.  Surely  if  Vis- 
caino  had  once  entered  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  he  would 
not  have  sailed  out  again  without  describing  it.  Had  a  nav- 
igator of  so  much  intelligence  and  enterprise,  whose  very 
object  was  discovery  and  exploration,  once  sailed  through 
the  Golden  Gate,  it  cannot  be  believed  that  he  would  have 
turned  around  without  finding  out  something  more  about  that 
grand  entrance  and  the  waters  to  which  it  led;  nor  would 
the  world  for  so  many  years  afterwards  have  remained  in 
complete  ignorance  of  a  bay  with  which  no  other  on  the 
Pacific  can  be  at  all  compared.  It  is  to  be  remarked  that 
the  other  account  referred  to  involves  the  presence  of  Bolafios, 
the  pilot  of  the  San  Agustin;  but  nothing  is  said  of  the 
manner  in  which  he  escaped  the  wreck  nor  of  the  very  extra- 
ordinary adventures  he  must  have  met  with  in  passing  from 
San  Francisco  to  Mexico. 

But  while  the  reports  that  Viscaino  entered  the  bay  of  San 
Francisco  and  that  Bolafios  was  with  him  cannot  be  entertained 
as  credible,  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  he  took  temporary  refuge 
from  the  storm,  which  separated  his  ships,  in  some  one  of  the 
indentations  of  the  coast  near  Point  Reyes  and  possibly  in 
Drake's  bay.  From  this  temporary  refuge,  wherever  it  may 
have  been,  as  soon  as  the  tempest  had  somewhat  abated,  he 

1  "  La  causa  de  aver  entrado  la  capitana  en  el  puerto  de  San  Francisco  fue  por 
reconocerle  y  por  ver  si  se  hallaha  alii  rastro  de  una  nao,  llamada  San  Agus- 
tin, que  en  aquel  puerto  avia  dado  k  la  costa  el  afio  de  1595,  la  qual,  por  man- 
dado  de  su  magestad  y  del  virrei  de  la  Nueva  Espafla,  que  era  el  que  entonces 
la  governaba  Don  Luis  de  Velasco,  la  avia  despachado  desde  Filipinas  el  gover- 
nador  Gomez  Perez  das  Marinas,  para  que  hiciera  este  descubrimiento,  de  que 
aora  vamos  tratando,  aviendosele  encargado  el  cuidado,  de  que  con  fidelidad  y 
puntualidad  lo  hiciera  el  piloto  Sebastian  Rodriquez  Cermefion;  y  estando  ya  en 
este  puerto  esta  nao  San  Agustin,  se  perdio  y  dio  a  la  costa  con  un  viento  tra- 
vesia;  y  entre  los  que  alii  venian  en  aquella  ocasion  era  uno  el  piloto  maior 
Francisco  de  Bolafios,  que  lo  era  de  esta  armada.  El  conocio  el  parage  y  dixo 
que  en  tierra  avia  dexado  mucha  cera  y  caxones  de  sedas;  y  pur  v6r  si  avia 
algun  rastro  de  algo  quiso  el  general  entrar  en  (51.  Surgio  esta  nao  capitana 
detras  de  una  punta,  que  la  tierra  en  el  dicho  puerto  hace  que,  se  llam6  la  punta 
de  los  Reies,  mas  no  se  hech6  gente  en  tierra,  por  estar  con  cuidado  de  la 
fragata;  y  asi  el  dia  siguiente  torn6  esta  nao'  capitana  a  salir  de  alii,  para  ir  su 
camino  en  busca  de  la  fragata." — Torquemada,  L.  V,   cap.  LV. 


144  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

sailed  to  the  northward  and  on  January'  12  was  off  Cape 
Mendocino.  There  the  storm,  coming  on  with  redoubled 
fury,  lashed  the  sea  into  foam;  and  the  mists  and  clouds,  set- 
tling down,  shut  out  the  view  of  earth  and  sky  and  covered 
everything  with  murkiness  and  obscurity.  To  add  to  the 
dreadful  situation  only  two  of  the  sailors  remained  well 
enough  to  climb  the  shrouds;  and  the  ship  was  driven  through 
the  darkness  almost  at  the  mercy  of  the  raging  elements 
until  it  reached  the  latitude  of  420.  The  experience  of  these 
stormy  waters  was  similar  to  that  of  Drake  and  Ferrelo.  On 
January  20,  the  wind  shifting  to  the  northwest,  the  weather 
cleared  up  and  Viscaino  was  in  sight  of  Cape  Blanco;  but  he 
found  it  absolutely  impossible,  on  account  of  the  condition 
of  his  crew,  to  proceed  any  further;  and  therefore,  turning 
around,  he  ran  down  the  coast,  making  his  only  stopping 
place  on  the  coast  of  California  at  Cerros  Island,  and  on 
March  21,  1603,  arrived  at  Acapulco. 

The  smaller  vessel,  which  had  become  separated  from  Vis- 
caino at  Point  Reyes,  was  under  the  command  of  Martin  de 
Aguilar.  It  appears  to  have  been  driven  northward  to  about 
the  latitude  of  430,  where,  finding  the  month  of  what  ap- 
peared to  be  a  very  large  river,  Aguilar  attempted  to  ascend 
it  but  was  prevented  by  the  strength  of  the  current.  This 
he  seems  to  have  regarded  as  the  western  entrance  of  the 
Straits  of  Anian,  which  was  said  to  lead  up  past  the  city  of 
Quivira  into  the  Atlantic;  and  many  of  the  geographers  of 
subsequent  years  so  laid  it  down  on  their  maps  under  the 
name  of  the  River  of  Martin  de  Aguilar.  Instead,  however, 
of  determining  the  truth  in  reference  to  this  river,  Aguilar 
contented  himself  with  the  supposition  that  he  had  accom- 
plished a  great  service  and  at  once  sailed  with  the  news  of 
his  discovery  for  New  Spain;  and  his  vessel  reached  the  port 
of  Navidad  on  February  26,  nearly  a  month  in  advance  of 
Viscaino.  As  for  Aguilar  himself,  he  and  also  his  chief  pilot 
and  most  of  his  companions  died  on  the  passage. 

The  disease  to  which  Aguilar  succumbed  was  the  scurvy. 
It  made  such  fearful  ravages  amonsr  the  navigators  of  that 


VISCAINO.  145 

day,  that  it  was  said  the  greater  part  of  those  sailing  between 
China  and  New  Spain  died  of  it.1  The  causes,  which  brought 
it  on,  were  chiefly  the  long  use  of  unwholesome  food,  want  of 
cleanliness  and  exposure  to  a  moist  and  cold  atmosphere. 
It  occasioned  extreme  debility;  livid  spots  broke  out  over 
the  whole  body;  the  gums  fell  away;  the  teeth  loosened  and 
dropped  out;  every  movement  became  painful;  and  the  mis- 
erable patient  welcomed  the  death  which  would  relieve  him 
from  his  sufferings.2  The  remedies  for  it,  consisting  princi- 
cipally  of  vegetables  or  rather  vegetable  acids,  were  then  very 
imperfectly  known;  but  a  remarkable  circumstance  occurred 
during  the  voyage  of  Viscaino,  which  showed  their  efficacy. 
This  happened  at  a  place  called  San  Sebastian  on  the  coast 
of  Mexico  to  the  south  of  Mazatlan.  Viscaino  had  stopped 
there  with  his  sick  people  on  his  return  and  some  of  his  sol- 
diers, with  one  of  the  priests,  had  gone  on  shore  to  bury  the 
dead.  Among  the  soldiers  was  a  corporal,  Antonio  Luis  by 
name,  who  noticed  a  small  yellow  fruit,  resembling  a  little 
apple,  which  grew  in  great  quantities  on  the  bushes  and  was 
called  by  the  Indians  "xocohuitztles."  Having  an  inquiring 
turn  of  mind  and  probably  glad  to  find  any  change  of  diet, 
Luis  picked  some  of  the  fruit  and  commenced  to  eat  it;  but, 
owing  to  the  state  of  his  gums  and  teeth,  he  found  this  a 
matter  of  great  difficulty  and  pain.  The  taste,  however, 
though  his  mouth  bled,  was  pleasant;  and  by  degrees 'he 
was  able  to  eat  with  comfort.  Upon  returning  to  the  ship, 
he  not  only  related  his  experience  but  carried  some  of  the 
fruit  along  and  distributed  it  among  his  friends;  and  the 
effect  of  its  use  upon  them  was  as  beneficial  as  upon  himself. 
So  rapid  and  so  marked  was  the  change  that  in  a  short  time 
every  one  on  shipboard  availed  himself  of  the  corporal's 
beneficent  discovery;  and  in  nineteen  days  all  had  recovered 
their  health.3 

1  "  La  misma  [enfermedad]  que  comunmente  da  en  este  parage  a  los  navegan- 
tes,  que  vienen  de  China  a  la  Nueva  Espafia,  de  la  qual  suelen  morir  los  mas  de 
los  que  en  las  naos  vienen." — Torquemada,   L.  V,  cap.  LIV. 

4  See  Torquemada,  L.  V,  cap.  LIV. 

3  "Es  una  frutilla  como  manzanillas  amarillas  largas  y  nacen  de  unas  yervas, 
10    Vol.  I. 


14G  EARLY    VOYAGES. 

Upon  his  return  to  Mexico  Viscaino  made  a  full  and 
minute  report  to  the  viceroy  and  solicited  the  opportunity 
of  returning  to  California  with  sufficient  and  proper  supplies 
of  men  and  means  to  make  a  permanent  settlement.  Being 
referred  for  an  answer  to  his  request  to  the  king,  he  sailed  to 
Spain,  and  for  a  long  period  endeavored  in  vain  to  interest 
the  court  in  his  project  for  another  and  better  prepared  ex- 
pedition. He  laid  before  the  councillors  the  most  forcible 
representations  of  the  utility  of  the  intended  new  enterprise; 
but  they  were  so  much  dissatisfied  with  the  results  of  the 
preceding  attempts  and  so  averse  to  the  further  expenditure 
of  royal  funds  for  such  purposes  that  they  declined  to  accede 
to  his  propositions.  "  While  Viscaino  had  a  heart  for  striv- 
ing against  the  tempests  and  calms  of  the  sea,"  says  Father 
Venegas,  "he  had  none  for  struggling  against  those  which 
alternately  agitated  and  lulled  the  elements  of  the  court." 
Disappointed  and  discouraged,  he  re-embarked  for  New  Spain, 
with  the  object  of  seeking  a  retirement  in  which  to  pass  the 
remainder  of  his  days;1  but  he  could  hardly  have  reached 
the  asylum  he  sought  when  the  king  issued  two  mandates, 
or  cedulas  as  they  were  called,  fully  sustaining  Viscaino's 
views  and  providing  for  a  new  attempt  to  occupy  California. 
They  were  dated  August  19,  1606,  and  were  directed,  one  to 
.the  Marques  de  Montes-Claros,  the  successor  of  the  Conde 
do  Monterey  in  the  viceroyalty  of  New  Spain,  and  the  other 
to  the  governor  of  the  Philippine  Islands.  In  them,  after  suc- 
cinctly reviewing  the  previous  voyages  made  during  his  reign 
and  setting  forth  the  advantages  to  be  derived  by  commerce 

que  tienen  las  ojas  y  el  parecer  como  ni  mas  ni  menos  lo  es  la  que  en  la  Nueva 
Espafia  en  tierra  caliente  dan  las  pinas  a  modo  de  zavila;  sino  que  en  lugar  de 
las  pinas,  hechan  en  medio  un  cogollo  o  tallo,  que  sera  de  una  vara  de  alto;  y 
este  cogollo  se  arrima  un  grande  numero  de  estas  manzanillas,  como  si  fuera  un 
ciprfes  y  casi  la  fruta  de  la  hechura  de  nueces  de  cipres  y  es  amarilla;  esta  se 
monda  y  quita  aquella  cascara  amarilla  y  dentro  queda  la  came,  como  la  de 
una  tuna  blanca,  con  sus  pepitillas  algo  maiores  que  las  de  las  tunas;  tiene  un 
sabor  gustoso  y  apetetitoso  y  es  dulce  con  una  punta  sabrosa  de  agrio;  y  a  esta 
frutilla  le  dio  Dios  tal  virtue!  que  deshinchd  las  encias  y  apreto  los  dientes  y  los 
limpid  y  hizo  hechar  por  la  boca  toda  la  mala  sangraza,  que  en  las  encias  hinchadas 
se  avia  recogido;  y  a  dos  veces  que  uno  comia  de  ella,  le  ponia  la  boca  y  los  dientes 
en  disposicion  de  poder  comer,  sin  trabajo,  ni  dolor,  de  qualquier  otro  manjar." 
— Torquemada,  L.  V,  cap.  LVII. 
1  Venegas,  V.  II,  §  4,  p.  192. 


VISC A I  NO.  147 

from  the  establishment  of  a  station  half  way  between  the 
Philippines  and  Mexico,  Philip  III.  ordered  a  new  expedition 
to  be  immediately  made  ready  and  dispatched  under  the 
command  of  Viscaino  for  the  occupation  and  settlement  of 
the  port  of  Monterey.  In  the  execution  of  this  design  the 
viceroy  and  governor  were  directed  to  co-operate;  and  posi- 
tive directions  were  given  for  its  accomplishment.1  It  may 
be  imagined  with  what  satisfaction  the  old  captain  in  his  re- 
tirement heard  of  the  new  turn  things  had  taken  and  with 
what  zeal  he  devoted  himself  to  the  preparations  for  the  new 
conquest,  in  which  he  was  to  play  so  important  a  part.  But 
alas,  his  years  were  many;  a  life  of  toil  and  privation  had 
made  sad  inroads  upon  his  constitution;  his  strength  was 
unequal  to  further  efforts.  He  succumbed  to  his  infirmities; 
and  with  him  were  buried  all  prospects  for  the  carrying  out 
of  the  design  he  had  done  so  much  to  encourage  and  pro- 
mote." 


1  See  a  copy  of  the  cedula  in  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  4,  pp.  193-201. 

2  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  4,  p.  202. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

THE    PEARL   FISHERS. 

FROM  the  time  of  Viscaino  until  the  voyage  of  Atondo 
in  1683  no  important  expedition  to  California  was  set  on 
foot  by  the  Spaniards.  The  directions  given  by  Philip  III. 
for  a  third  voyage  by  Viscaino,  provided,  in  the  event  of  that 
commander's  death,  that  the  enterprise  should  be  prosecuted 
by  his  second  in  command;  but  for  some  reason  not  explained 
by  the  Spanish  historians1  and  to  be  found  perhaps  only  in 
the  fact  of  the  rapid  decay  of  the  Spanish  monarchy,2  these 
positive  instructions  were  never  carried  into  effect.  The 
Philippine  galleons  still  pursued  their  accustomed  northern 
track;  but  nothing  whatever  was  done  to  provide  them  with 
stations,  so  much  needed  for  refuge  and  supply,  along  the 
extensive  line  of  coast  from  Cape  Mendocino  to  Cape  San 
Lucas.  So  far  as  that  track  extended  northward  the  land 
and  sea  had  been  carefully  examined  and  mapped;  but  be- 
yond all  was  unknown.  The  voyage  of  Viscaino,  which  had 
done  so  much  for  the  ascertainment  of  the  correct  geography 
of  the  places  he  had  visited,  had  not  cleared  up  the  vexed 
question  in  reference  to  the  Straits  of  Anian;  while  the  report 
of  his  lieutenant  Aguilar  had  left  it  in  even  greater  uncertainty 
than  before.  So  dim  and  shadowy  was  the  immense  region  to 
the  north  of  Cape  Blanco;  so  confused  and  contradictory  the 
accounts  which  had  been  circulated;  so  unreliable  and  void 
of  probability  everything  that  had  been  said  in  regard  to  it, 
that  it  became  a  favorite  region  for  writers  of  monstrous 
fictions."    It  was   there   that  Bacon   located   the   scene  of  his 

1  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  4,  202. 

2  Relacion,  Intro.  LXIX. 

(148) 


THE  PEARL  FISHERS.  149 

New  Atlantis;  there  tco  that  Swift   fabled  his  gigantic  Brob- 
dignagians.1 

In  the  meanwhile  the  Dutch,  whom  the  Spaniards  by  a 
uniform  system  of  persecution  and  oppression  had  forced  into 
a  great  nation,  had  begun  their  energetic  and  successful  career 
of  maritime  discoveries.  In  1608  Hendrick  Hudson  sailed  to 
the  great  bay  which  bears  his  name.  In  1616  Lemaire  and 
Van  Schouten  sailed  around  Tierra  del  Fuego  and  imposed 
the  name  of  their  native  city  in  Holland  upon  Cape  Horn. 
After  the  discovery  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  it  is  said  that 
the  Spaniards,  with  the  object  of  deterring  other  nations  from 
sailing  in  that  direction  and  interfering  with  their  possessions 
in  the  Pacific,  reported  a  swift  and  constant  current  running 
from  east  to  west  through  those  straits,  which  would  easily 
drive  vessels  from  the  Atlantic  into  the  South  Sea,  but  would 
admit  of  no  return.2  This  report  was  rife  in  the  time  of  Drake; 
but  that  navigator  paid  no  attention  to  it,  or,  if  he  did,  found 
that  it  was  not  true  in.  fact.  Nevertheless,  on  account  of  the 
narrowness  and  irregularities  of  the  channel,  the  navigation 
of  the  straits  was  attended  with  many  dangers.  Drake  after 
passing  them  saw  that  the  oceans  met  to  the  southward;  but 
it  was  reserved  for  the  Dutch,  as  above  stated,  to  first  double  | 
the  Cape  and  demonstrate  the  practicability  of  sailing  by 
that  route.  %  As  soon,  however,  as  this  was  done,  voyages 
into  the  South  Sea  were  no  longer  regarded  as  hazardous; 
and  the  Dutch,  as  well  as  other  nations  hostile  to  Spain, 
availed  themselves  of  the  easy  opportunities  thus  afforded  of 
preying  upon  the  Spanish  colonists  in  the  Pacific.  The  Dutch  1 
in  great  numbers  swarmed  into  the  new  ocean  thus  opened  ! 
to  them  and,  choosing  the  western  coast  of  New  Spain  as  the 
safest  theater  of  their  depredations,  infested  the  Gulf  of  Cal- 
ifornia, whence  for  many  years  they  were  accustomed  to  make 
descents  upon  the  exposed  settlements  to  the  southward. 
One  of  their  favorite  stations  was  the  bay  to  the  north  of  La 
Paz,  which  was  called   Pichilingue;    the    corsairs  themselves 

1  (Ireenhow,  p.  97. 

2  World  Encompassed,  Intro.  XI. 


150  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

being  known  by  the  name  of  Pichilingues.1  They  were  little 
better  than  those  freebooters  and  pirates,  who  were  known 
among  the  English  as  buccaneers  .a**d  among  the  French  as 
fiibustiers.  They  were  outcasts,  who  recognized  no  law  and 
acknowledged  fealty  to  no  sovereignty.  They  committed 
theft,  rapine,  robbery  and  murder  wherever  they  went,  but 
performed  no  exploits  worthy  of  particular,  and  certainly  none 
worthy  of  honorable,  mention.  The  fact  of  their  existence 
and  the  long  time  they  were  allowed  to  commit  their  depreda- 
tions unchecked  exhibit  the  extreme  degree  of  weakness  into 
which  the  Spanish  government  had  declined.  One  looks  in 
vain,  for  a  long  period  henceforth,  so  far  at  least  as  the  man- 
agement of  Spanish  affairs  in  the  New  World  and  particwlarly 
as  connected  with  California  is  concerned,  for  any  more  of 
the  old  fire  and  chivalry.  Men  of  the  stamp  of  Cortes  and 
his  contemporaries  seem  to  have  died  out  and  left  no  succes- 
sors; and,  after  a  few  feeble  voyages,  undertaken  more  for 
the  sake  of  plundering  the  Indians  of  their  pearls  than  of 
accomplishing  any  public  purpose,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
entire  coast  was  delivered  over  to  the  keeping  of  missionary 
priests  and  all  efforts  for  its  occupation  and  settlement 
directed  with  the  sole  object  of  enlarging  the  powers  and 
extending  the  dominions  of  the  church.  To  such  straits  had 
the  Spanish  monarchy  come,  that,  if  it  had  riot  been  for  the 
missionary  priests  and  for  a  period  in  the  history  of  the 
church  during  which  such  priests  were  more  than  mere  priests, 
California  would  probably  never  have  been  settled  by  a 
Spanish-speaking  people. 

After  Viscaino,  the  first  one  who  sailed  from  Mexico  for 
California  was  Juan  Iturbi.  This  was  in  1615.  He  had  two 
vessels,  one  of  which  was  taken  by  the  Dutch  pirates.  With 
the  other  he  sailed  into  the  Gulf  of  California,  ascended 
nearly  to  its  head  and  at  various  points  stopped  and  collected 
pearls  from  the  Indians.  Northwesterly  gales  and  want  of 
provisions  drove  him  back  as  far  as  Sinaloa,  at  which  place  he 
received  orders  to  join  the  then  due  Philippine  galleon  of  that 

1  (heenhow,  p.  98,  note. 


THE  PEARL  EI S HERS.  151 

* 

year  and  protect  it  against  the  Pichilingues,  from  whom  it  was 

in  imminent  danger.  He  accordingly  sailed  to  San  Lucas 
and,  awaiting  the  galleon,  convoyed  it  safely  to  Acapulco. 
Thence  Iturbi  passed  to  Mexico  and  threw  that  city  into  a 
state  of  great  excitement  by  the  exhibition  of  the  pearls  he 
had  brought  with  him.  These  were  many  in  number,  and 
some  very  large  and  beautiful.  One  in  particular  is  men- 
tioned, on  which  the  royalty  of  one-fifth  paid  to  the  king 
amounted  to  nine  hundred  dollars,  and  which  consequently 
was  valued  at  nearly  five  thousand  dollars,  a  sum  of  much 
greater  value  in  those  days  than  in  these.  But  most  of  his 
pearls  were  greatly  damaged,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
Indians  were  accustomed  to  throw  the  unopened  shells  into 
the  fire  for  the  purpose  of  roasting  the  oysters.1 

The  success  of  Iturbi  induced  many  others  to  make  expe- 
ditions to  the  gulf  with  the  sole  object  of  gathering  pearls;  J 
and  those  who  were  most  successful  in  plundering  the  Indi- 
ans enriched  themselves.  These  facts,  becoming  known, 
attracted  public  attention  to  the  California!!  pearl  fisheries; 
and  in  a  short  time  the  Spanish  government,  seeing  the 
opportunity  of  creating  a  new  source  of  revenue,  interfered 
and  assumed  control  of  them.  Instead,  however,  of  judi- 
ciously encouraging  private  enterprises,  such  as  might  have 
led  to  the  founding  of  stations  and  settlements,  it  imposed 
invidious  restrictions  and  erected  a  monopoly  which  served  to 
exclude  colonists  and  effectually  closed  the  country  against 
immigration.  The  fact  that  the  government  was  powerless 
to  do  good  to  the  country  did  not  prevent  it  from  doing 
harm.  Nor  was  it  by  any  means  an  infrequent  spectacle, 
in  the  future  sorry  history  of  the  Spanish  government,  to 
find  it  sedulously  and  persistently  closing  every  avenue  to 
that  spirit  of  enterprise  among  the  people  upon  which  alone 
the  progress  of  the  nation  could  depend.  This  short-sighted 
policy  of  farming  out  the  pearl  fisheries  also  virtually  in- 
cluded the  exclusive  navigation  to  California.  It  was  first 
determined   upon   by  Philip   IV.,  who  had   succeeded  to  the 

1  Venegas,  P.  II,  §4,  pp.  202-204;   Relacion,  Intro.  LXX  and  note  1. 


152  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

Spanish  throne  in  1616.  No  sooner  was  the  plan  promul- 
gated than,  as  was  to  have  been  anticipated,  there  were  not 
wanting  plenty  of  competitors  for  the  advantages  expected 
to  be  derived  from  so  rich  and  comparatively  untouched  a 
field.  Among  these  the  most  fortunate,  or  rather  the  most 
adroit,  was  Francisco  de  Ortega,  who  in  due  time  received 
the  royal  license  and  set  about  preparing  to  enjoy  the  fruits 
of  his  monopoly. 

Ortega  sailed  for  California  in  1632.  He  visited  the  coast 
between  Cape  San  Lucas  and  La  Paz  and  collected  pearls  in 
great  quantities.  Having  no  cause  to  be  dissatisfied  with  the 
results  of  his  first  voyage,  he  made  a  second  one  in  1633  and 
a  third  in  1634.  To  do  him  justice,  he  appears  to  have  been 
a  man  of  considerable  intelligence  and  to  have  been  actuated 
not  entirely  by  sordid  motives.  As  soon  as  he  had  visited 
California  and  informed  himself  of  its  condition  and  the 
position  it  occupied  in  reference  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
Spanish  sway  on  the  Pacific,  he  urged  upon  the  viceroy  at 
Mexico  and  the  ministry  at  Madrid  the  importance  of  its 
occupation  and  settlement.  He  also  suggested  the  transfer 
thither  of  the  military  establishment  at  Acaponeta  in  Sin- 
aloa,  which  had  become  entirely  useless  at  that  place,  and 
the  provision  of  a  fund  for  its  support.1  But  while  he  was 
thus  indulging  in  magnanimous  projects,  his  pilot,  one  Este- 
van  Carboneli,  was  secretly  carrying  on  an  underhanded 
negotiation  on  his  own  behalf  with  the  viceroy;  and  in  the 
end  Ortega  lost  the  monopoly  and  Carboneli  acquired  it. 
Carboneli  made  a  single  voyage,  in  1636;  but  it  was  not  suc- 
cessful; and  upon  his  return  to  Mexico  he  fell  into  the  gen- 
eral contempt  which  so  faithless  a  schemer  richly  merited.2 

The  next  of  the  monopolists  was  Pedro  Portel  de  Casa- 
nate.     This  person  seems  to  have  gone  very  systematically 
to  work  as  early  as   1636  in   making  combinations  and  per-    , 
fecting  plans  for  acquiring  the  prize.     One  of  his  first  moves 
was  the  presentation  of  a  memorial  to  the  viceroy,  in  which 


1  Venegas,  I'.  II,  §  4,  pp.  205  207. 

2  Venegas,  1'.  II,  §4,  p.  207. 


THE  PEARL  FISHERS.  153 

lie  threw  discredit  upon  previous  expeditions  and  placed  in 
prominent  light  the  expenses  to  which  the  government  had 
been  subjected  and  the  inadequate  returns  derived  from 
them.  He  also  at  the  same  time  set  forth  in  brilliant  colors 
his  own  project  for  making  California  a  source  of  profit  to 
the  nation,  and  added  that  the  discovery  of  the  famous 
straits,  about  which  so  much  had  been  said,  was  an  integral 
part  of  his  designs.1  Following  this  up  with  personal  solici- 
tations at  the  Spanish  court  and,  what  was  of  still  more  im- 
portance, securing  the  co-oporation  of  the  Jesuits,  the  then 
real  governors  of  Spain,  Portel,  or  Porter'2  as  he  is  sometimes 
called,  succeeded  in  1640  in  obtaining  a  commission  for  the 
full  exploration  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  together  with  the 
exclusive  privilege  of  navigating  and  trading  in  its  waters. 
Armed  with  these  powers,  he  set  about  making  preparations 
for  a  well-appointed  expedition,  but  was  unable  to  complete 
his  arrangements  until  the  end  of  1643.  He  had  then  three 
ships,  with  which  he  expected  to  sail  the  next  spring.  One 
of  these  he  dispatched  in  January,  1644,  under  the  command 
of  Gonzales  Barriga,  to  Cape  San  Lucas  and  as  far  as  Cerros 
Island,  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  and  convoying  the  Phil- 
ippine galleon;  but,  missing  that  vessel,  it' soon  afterwards 
returned  to  New  Spain  without  accomplishing  anything  of 
note.  The  other  two  vessels,  intended  for  the  grand  expe- 
dition, were  set  on  fire  and  destroyed,  together  with  a  large 
quantity  of  stores,  at  the  port  of  Santiago,  where  Portel  had 
established  a  ship-yard  and  fixed  his  head-quarters.  Accord- 
ing to  report  the  incendiary  was  a  Portuguese,  engaged  in 
the  business  of  collecting  pearls,  who  took  this  mode,  as  the 
most  effectual  one  left  open  to  him,  of  resisting  the  monopoly.3 
Be  this  as  it  may,  the  result  was  a  delay  of  four  years  before 
Portel  could  fit  out  new  ships  and  provide  new  supplies. 
But  having  at  length  done  so,  he  sailed  in  1648  with  two  ves- 
sels and  made  a  complete  round  of  the  gulf,  passing  from 


1  Relacion,  Intro.  LXXYI. 

2  Yenegas  calls  him  by   the  former  name,    P.    II,  §  4,  p.    212;  the    Relacion, 
Intro.  LXXIII,  by  the  latter. 

3  Relacion,  Intro.  LXXV. 


154  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

coast  to  coast  and  from  port  to  port.  He,  however,  found 
nothing  to  justify  either  the  expectations  which  he  himself 
entertained  or  those  which  he  had  excited  in  others;  and, 
finally,  sailing  out  of  the  gulf  and  joining  the  Philippine 
galleon  of  that  year,  he  returned  to  New  Spain.  His  one 
voyage  satisfied  him,  and  he  thenceforward  abandoned  his 
monopoly  and  all  the  rights  and  privileges  which  it  carried 
with  it.1 

Much  of  the  same  general  character  with  that  of  Portel 
was  a  voyage  made  by  Bernardo  Bernal  de  Piiiadero  in  1664. 
He,  however,  devoted  himself  more  exclusively  to  the  collec- 
tion of  pearls.  In  doing  so  he  exercised  great  cruelty  against 
the  Indians,  whom  he  compelled  to  dive  and  fish  for  him. 
His  exactions  and  outrages  became  at  length  so  intolerable 
that  the  Indians  rebelled  and  there  was  such  frequent  blood- 
shed that  Piiiadero  soon  found  it  prudent  to  return  to  Mexico 
with  the  booty  which  he  had  so  far  managed  to  collect."  His 
reception  at  Mexico  was  by  no  means  cordial;  but  the  court 
at  Madrid,  then  swayed  by  a  woman,  looked  more  to  the 
immediate  results  than  to  the  spirit  of  his  expedition  and 
sent  him  out  again  in  1667.  His  second  voyage,  as  it 
deserved  to  be,  was  a  failure,  of  which  even  the  Spanish 
historians  make  no  more  than  bare  mention.  In  1668  Fran- 
cisco Luzenilla  received  a  license,  similar  to  that  which  had 
been  given  to  his  immediate  predecessors;  and,  sailing  to 
California,  he  searched  the  gulf  coast.  He  also  became 
involved  in  difficulties  with  the  Indians,  originating  probably 
in  the  memory  of  the  tyranny  and  oppressions  of  Piiiadero; 
and,  after  a  number  of  vain  efforts  to  establish  such  relations 


1  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  4,  p.  215. 

2  "Those  [the  pearls]  of  California  are  of  a  very  beautiful  water  and  large;  but 
they  are  frequently  of  an  irregular  figure,  disagreeable  to  the  eye.  The  shell 
which  produces  the  pearl  is  particularly  to  be  found  in  the  bay  of  Ceralvo  and 
round  the  islands  of  Santa  Cruz  and  San  Jose.      The  most  valuable  pearls  in  the 

;ion  of  the  court  of  Spain  were  found  in  1615  and  1665  in  the  expeditions 
of  Juan  Iturbi  and  Bernal  de  Pifiadero.  During  the  stay  of  the  visitador  Galvez 
in  California,  in  176S  and  1769,  a  private  soldier  in  the  1'residio  of  Loreto,  Juan 
Ocio,  was  made  rich  in  a  short  time  by  pearl  fishing  on  the  coast  of  Ceralvo. 
Since  Hint  period  the  number  of  pearls  of  California  brought  annually  to  market 
is  almost  reduced  to  nothing." — Humboldt's  Political  Essay,  black's  Translation, 
II,  329. 


THE  PEARL  FISHERS.  155 

with  them  as  might  result  in  his  advantage,  he  too  abandoned 
his  monopoly  and  left  the  pearl  fisheries  open  to  the  small 
unlicensed  adventurers  from  the  opposite  coasts  of  Culiacan 
and  Sinaloa,  who  were  much  better  qualified  to  carry  them 
on  in  peace.1 

The  ill-success  of  all  the  foregoing  expeditions  to  the  Gulf 
of  California,  authorized  by  government,  rendered  the  monop- 
oly comparatively  valueless;  and  there  was  no  longer  any 
great  desire,  and  much  less  any  strife,  to  procure  the  royal 
license.  So  entirely  worthless  was  it  regarded  that  in  1677, 
Charles  II.,  the  then  king,  directed  it  to  be  again  offered  to 
Piiiadero  on  condition  that  he  would  give  security  to  comply 
with  his  engagements.  If  Piiiadero  would  not  accept  on 
those  terms,  it  was  to  be  offered  to  anybody  who  desired  to 
undergo  the  expense  of  an  expedition;  and,  if  none  such 
presented  himself,  the  royal  mandate  ordered  an  expedition 
at  the  cost  of  the  crown,  in  which  last  case  a  determined 
effort  was  to  be  made  for  the  final  and  permanent  settlement 
of  the  country.  Fortunately  for  the  Californiarjs,  Piiiadero 
had  either  had  enough  of  pearl  fishing  or  was  unable  to  give 
the  required  security;  and,  quite  as  fortunately  perhaps,  no 
one  stepped  forward  to  take  the  place  which  his  declination 
left  vacant.  This  opened  the  way  to  the  third  proposition 
and  led  to  the  appointment  in  1678  of  Isidro  Atonclo  y 
Antillon,  commonly  known  as  Admiral  Atondo,  as  the  leader 
of  the  new  colonization  scheme.  His  appointment  was 
approved  by  the  crown  in  1679.  Preparations  were  at  once 
made  to  furnish  vessels,  collect  soldiers  and  colonists  and 
provide  stores  for  the  proposed  expedition.  In  the  days  of 
Cortes  it  might  have  required  three  or  four  months  to  com- 
plete the  necessary  arrangements  for  such  an  undertaking: 
it  now  required  three  or  four  years. 

Atondo  sailed  from  the  port  of  Chacala  near  Matanchcl  on 
March  18,  1683.  He  had  two  ships,  well-provided,  and  over 
a  hundred  men.  He  was  accompanied  by  three  Jesuit 
priests,  one  of  whom  was  the  celebrated   Father  Kuhn,  better 

1  Venegas,   P.  II,  §  5,  pp.  216-219. 


156  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

known  by  his  Spanish  appellation  of  Eusebio  Francisco 
Kino.  In  fourteen  days  after  spreading  their  canvas,  they 
reached  the  port  of  La  Paz.  Upon  landing  they  were 
surprised  to  find  that  the  Indians  had  to  all  appearance 
abandoned  the  place.  The  fact  appears  to  have  been  that 
the  conduct  of  Pinadero  and  men  of  his  class  had  excited 
among  the  natives  such  a  feeling  of  hostility  that  they  feared 
the  Spaniards  as  their  most  bitter  enemies.  On  the  appear- 
ance of  the  ships,  therefore,  they  had  withdrawn  from  the 
coast  and  retired  to  their  rancherias  in  the  interior.  In  four 
or  five  days,  however,  a  few  bands  were  seen;  but  they  were 
all  of  armed  and  painted  warriors,  who  exhibited  signs  of  the 
most  violent  dissatisfaction  and  by  cries  and  gestures  indi- 
cated that  they  wished  their  unwelcome  visitors  to  leave  the 
country.  Notwithstanding  these  manifestations  of  ill-will, 
the  Spaniards,  under  the  directions  of  the  Jesuit  fathers,  set 
out  gifts  and  tempting  viands;  and  at  length,  by  a  persistent 
course  of  proffered  kindness  and  solicitations,  prevailed  upon 
them  to  visit  their  camp  and  accept  their  hospitalities.  Still 
the  Indians  were  distrustful  and  declined  to  bring  their 
women  and  children,  whom  on  the  contrary  they  kept 
removed  at  a  considerable  distance  inland.1 

In  the  meanwhile  the  Spaniards  had  formed  an  encamp- 
ment, put  up  a  chapel  and  a  number  of  huts  and  constructed 
a  sort  of  fort.  As  soon  as  they  considered  themselves  suf- 
ficiently protected,  they  began  to  investigate  the  character 
of  the  Indians  in  their  neighborhood;  and  for  this  purpose 
made  several  excursions.  Towards  the  eastward  they  found 
a  nation  called  Coras,  an  apparently  weak,  gentle  and 
inoffensive  race,  who  occupied  a  dreadfully  rough  and  sterile 
region  and  seemed  to  have  suffered  much  from  the  fiercer 
tribes  to  the  westward.  To  these  Coras  the  Spaniards  were 
welcome  as  protectors  against  their  neighbors;  and  friendly 
relations  were  at  once  established.  But  towards  the  west- 
ward and  southwestward  of  La  Paz,  where  the  country  was 
less  rocky,  the  Indians  were  very  hostile.     The  tribes  in  that 

1  Venegas,  I'.  II,  §  5,  pp.  219,  220. 


THE  PEARL  EISNERS.  157 

direction  were  called  by  the  Spaniards  Guaycuros.  It  was 
they  who  had  come  armed  and  painted  for  war;  who  kept 
away  their  women  and  children,  and  who  to  the  last  refused 
to  confide  in  the  gift-bearing  strangers.  They  were  also  as 
active  and  enterprising  as  they  were  hostile.  When  Atondo 
and  Kino,  with  a  detachment  of  soldiers,  visited  their  nearest 
rancheria,  they  not  only  hurried  off  their  women  and  children 
still  further  into  the  interior;  seized  their  arms  and  posted 
themselves  so  as  to  use  them  effectually,  if  a  safe  opportunity 
presented  itself;  but  they  secretly  dispatched  a  party  of  their 
dusky  warriors  upon  a  rapid  march  to  La  Paz  in  hopes  of 
finding  it  sufficiently  unprotected  to  justify  an  attack.  The 
Spaniards,  however,  were  on  their  guard  and  for  the  time 
being  no  assault  was  attempted.1 

This  spirit  of  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  Guaycuros,  not- 
withstanding repeated  efforts  to  conciliate  them,  increased 
rather  than  diminished  upon  further  acquaintance.  They 
did  not  like  the  Spaniards  and  tried  to  get  rid  of  them  For 
a  time  they  endeavored  to  drive  them  away  by  warlike  dem- 
onstrations and  threats:  these  failing,  they  collected  in  two 
large  armed  bodies  and  with  violent  outcries  advanced  upon 
the  camp.  As  they  approached,  the  Spanish  soldiers  ran  to 
their  defenses;  but  the  intrepid  Atondo,  choosing  different 
tactics,  threw  himself  in  front  of  their  leaders  and  with  ter- 
rific yells  and  assumed  fierceness  challenged  the  entire  mul- 
titude. Such  gallant  bravery  was  too  much  for  the  Indian 
warriors.  Such  a  voice  as  that  of  Atondo  they  had  never  be- 
fore heard;  such  a  fearful  spectacle  as  he  presented  they  had 
never  before  seen:  for  the  moment  they  were  paralyzed  with 
astonishment;  and,  as  Atondo  advanced,  they  precipitately 
turned  their  backs  and  fled  in  disorder  to  their  rancherias. 
Thus  was  the  battle  fought  and  won,  like  some  of  those  de- 
picted in  Homer,  by  mere  strength  of  lungs.  But  the  Span- 
iards did  not  long  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  easy  victory.  A 
short  time  afterwards  it  appears  that  a  mulatto  boy  myste- 
riously disappeared  from  the  Spanish  camp,  and  it  being  cur- 

1  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  5,  pp.  221-224. 


158  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

i 

rently    reported    that    the    Guaycuros    had    murdered    him, 

Atondo  seized  their  chief  and  held  him  in  custody.  The 
Indians  immediately  collected  in  great  numbers  and  de- 
manded his  release.  Being  refused,  they  joined  together  all 
their  forces  and  resolved  to  make  a  general  assault.  On 
July  i,  they  approached  in  martial  array.  Atondo,  more  per- 
haps for  the  purpose  of  inspiring  his  men  with  confidence  in 
their  means  of  defense  than  with  any  purpose  of  slaughter, 
had  caused  a  cannon  to  be  loaded  and  pointed  in  the  direc- 
tion whence  the  Indians  approached  and  then  he  and  his 
lieutenant  and  the  Jesuit  fathers  went  round  among  the  sol- 
diers, endeavoring  to  encourage  them.  But  on  every  side 
they  found  nothing  but  cowardice  and  consternation.  With 
better  material  it  is  likely  there  would  have  been  no  neces- 
sity for  firing  the  gun;  but  under  the  circumstances  no 
other  course  seemed  open;  and,  as  the  Indians  came  on,  the 
cannon  was  discharged  into  their  midst.  Ten  or*  a  dozen 
were  killed;  many  others  wounded;  and  the  rest  so  horror- 
stricken  that  they  betoo.c  themselves  to  the  mountains,  glad 
to  find  any  escape  from  the  terrible  engine  of  destruction, 
which  had  thus  been  brought  into  requisition  against  them.1 

It  was  evident  from  this  experience  tint  the  Spaniards 
could  not  anticipate  peaceful  intercourse  with  the  Guaycuros. 
But  the  faint-heartedness  among  his  own  people  was  a  mat- 
ter of  much  greater  embarrassment  to  Atondo  than  the  hos- 
tility of  the  Indians.  They  were  now  afraid  that  all  the 
tribes  of  California  would  confederate  to  revenge  the  si  tugh- 
ter  that  had  occurred;  and  they  nursed  their  fears  by  com- 
paring their  own  small  numbers  with  the  hosts  of  enemies 
which  had  lately  environed  them.  Every  alarm  caused  a 
panic;  signs  of  insubordination  appeared;  and  in  a  short 
time  a  demand  was  made  that  the  settlement  should  be 
abandoned,  or,  if  not  abandoned,  that  it  should  be  removed 
to  a  more  favorable  part  of  the  country,  where  the  people 
would  not  be  exposed  to  so  many  dangers.  Added  to  this, 
provisions  were   becoming  scarce.     A    small    vessel,    loaded 

1  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  5,  pp.  224-227. 


THE  .  FISHERS.  L59 

with  supplies,  which  was  to  follow  the  ships,  had  failed  to 
make  port  and  after  runnin  >;  up  and  down  the  gulf  for  some 
time  had  returned  to  the  port  of  departure.  On  account  of 
its  non-appearance,  Atondo  had  sent  one  of  his  ships  for  re- 
lief across  to  Sinaloa;  but  twe  months  had  elapsed  without 
any  news  of  it  In  consideration  of  all  these  circumstances, 
there  was  but  one  thing  to  be  done;  and  that  was  to  break 
up  the  establishment  at  La  Paz;  and  accordingly  the  Span- 
iards left  their  incipient  town  and  re-embarked  upon  their 
remaining  ship.  They  sailed  first  to  Cape  San  Lucas,  and 
then  across  the  Gulf  to  Sinaloa,  meeting  on  the  way  and 
being  joined  by  their  second  ship.  Thence,  after  fully  refit- 
ting and  refurnishing,  they  again  set  sail  for  California,  this 
time  directing  their  course  further  to  the  northward.  On 
October  6,  1683,  they  dropped  anchor  at  a  spot  about  ten 
leagues  north  of  Loreto,  which  they  called  San  Bruno.  Dis- 
embarking there,  they  proceeded,  as  at  La  Paz,  to  form  a 
camp  and  build  a  church,  huts  and  fort.  At  this  place  they 
were  out  of  the  region  and  influence  of  the  fierce  Guaycuros. 
The  natives  were  peaceable;  and  for  upwards  of  two  years,, 
during  which  the  Spaniards  remained,  there  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  any  serious  disagreement  or  any  disturbance. 
While  Atondo  and  his  soldiers  set  themselves  to  exploring 
the  country  and  attending  to  the  temporal  wants  of  the 
establishment,  Kino  and  his  attendant  priests  were  active  in 
cultivating  the  friendship  of  the  Indians,  acquiring  their  lan- 
guage and  converting  them  to  the  Christian  faith.1 

It  was  at  San  Bruno,  in  the  course  of  his  missionary  la- 
bors there,  that  Father  Kino  hit  upon  his  famous  method  of 
teaching  an  ignorant  people  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection. 
He  could  find  nothing  in  their  vocabulary  to  express  the 
notion  of  resuscitation  from  death  and  for  a  long  time  was 
at  a  loss  how  to  make  them  comprehend  an  idea  so  foreign 
to  their  modes  of  thought.  He  finally  took  several  flies,  put 
them  in  water  until  they  were  to  all  appearance  dead,  then 
took  them  out,  covered  them  lightly  with  ashes  and   placed 

1  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  5,  pp.  226-231. 


160  EARLY  VOYAGES. 

them  in  the  sun.  After  a  short  exposure  to  the  solar  rays, 
the  insects  began  to  recover  their  vitality  and  in  a  few  mo- 
ments emerged,  shook  the  ashes  from  their  wings  and  flew 
away.  The  Indians,  marveling  at  what  had  probably  never 
before  attracted  their  attention,  exclaimed  "Ibimuhueite, 
Ibimuhueite."  This  word  the  fathers  wrote  down  and 
thenceforth  made  use  of,  for  want  of  a  better,  to  signify  the  _ 
resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  and  to  teach  the  seraphic  life 
after  death  of  those  who  believe  in  him.1 

Under  the  teachings  and  ministrations  of  a  preceptor  so 
skillful  as  this  little  incident  indicates  Father  Kino  to  have 
been,  the  Indians  progressed  rapidly.  Within  a  year  there 
were  more  than  four  hundred  catechumens  ready  for  baptism. 
But  their  final  admission  into  the  bosom  of  the  church,  ex- 
cept in  cases  of  approaching  death,  was  delayed  on  account 
of  the  uncertainty  felt  by  the  fathers  as  to  whether  their 
establishment  would  be  permanent  or  not.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  it  was  soon  ascertained  that  it- would  not  be.  The  coun- 
try was  found  barren  and  unproductive;  for  a  period  of  eight- 
een months  there  had  been  no  rain;  there  was  difficulty  in 
procuring  supplies,  all  of  wrhich  had  to  be  purchased  and 
brought  from  across  the  gulf;  there  was  much  sickness;  and, 
though  the  Jesuits  urged  that  the  next  season  might  be  bet- 
ter and  that  further  trial  ought  to  be  made,  Atonclo  resolved 
to  break  up  camp  and  abandon  the  settlement.  He  accord- 
ingly embarked  all  his  people  and  returned  to  Mexico,  after 
spending  three  years  of  time  and  laying  out  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  of  the  royal  moneys  without 
effect.'2 
.  Such   was  the   last    attempt,  worthy  of    special  mention,5 

1  "  I'omaron  algunas  moscas  y  las  ahogaron  en  agua  ;i  vista  de  lcs  Inclios  que 
las  tuvieron  pormuertas.  Revolvieronlas  luego  pntre  ceni/.a  y  las  pasieron  des- 
pues  A  calentar  al  sol  y  cod  el  calor  de  este  desentumecidas  las  moscas,  cobraron 
nuevos  alientos  vitales,  y  empezaron  a,  moverse,  y  &  evivir.  Espanta  los  los 
Indios,  clainaron  luego,  '  Ibimuhueite,  Ibimuhueite.'  Escrivieron  esta  voz  los 
padres  y  traciendo  sobre  ella  nuevas  indagacion.es  la  acomodaron  para  significar 
la  resurreccion  de  Jesu-Chri^to  Nue^tro  Sefior  y  de  los  muertos,  mientras  no  se 
hallaba  modo  mejor  para  explicates  nuestros  mysteries." — Venegas,  1'.  II,  §  5, 
pp.  232,  233. 

J  Venegas,  P.  II,  is  5.  PP-  233-236. 

3  There  was  an  attempt  made  by  Francisco  de  Itamarra  at  his  own  expense 
under  a  license  in.  1694;  but  it  was  entirely  fruitless. — Venegas,  P.  II,  jj  5,  p.  239. 


THE  PEARL  FISHERS.  161 

under  the  direct  auspices  of  government  to  colonize  Lower 
California.  Its  ill-success  rendered  the  supposition  very  gen- 
eral that  the  difficulties  to  be  encountered  were  insuperable. 
It  is  therefore  likely,  had  the  matter  been  left  to  the  care  of 
the  civil  service  alone,  that  no  other  effort  at  colonization 
would  have  been  made  or  at  least  not  for  a  long  period. 
Though  the  protection  of  the  Philippine  ships  and  the  inter- 
ests of  commerce  required  the  occupation  of  California  as 
much  and  even  more  than  at  any  previous  time,  the  increas- 
ing weakness  and  diminishing  enterprise  of  the  Spanish  court 
rendered  its  accomplishment  more  and  more  improbable. 
But  the  obstacles  which  the  Spanish  crown  could  not  sur- 
mount, the  more  powerful  Spanish  church  was  equal  to.  As 
will  be  soon  seen,  the  cross  prevailed  where  the  sword  had 
yielded.  The  so-called  spiritual  conquest  became  a  success 
where  the  temporal  conquest  had  proved  an  entire  failure. 


1 1    Vol.  I. 


BOOK  II. 

TH  E    JESU  I  TS. 
CHAPTER  I. 

SETTLEMENT   OF   LORETO. 

THE  course  of  Spanish  discovery,  exploration  and  at- 
tempted occupation  in  the  Californias  has  now  been 
followed  for  a  period  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  and 
upwards,  or  from  the  first  entrance  of  Fortuiio  Ximenes  in 
1534  to  the  withdrawal  of  Admiral  Atondo  in  1686.  It  has 
-been  seen  that  the  country  was  at  first  supposed  to  be  a  land 
of  romantic  wonders  and  fabulous  riches,  and  that  nearly  all 
the  earliest  expeditions  to  it  were  undertaken  in  the  vain 
hope  of  finding  numerous  populations,  splendid  cities,  and 
vast  magazines  of  wealth.  It  has  next  been  seen  how  the 
Philippine  trade  developed  and  how  the  interests  of  com- 
merce rendered  the  settlement  of  the  coast  a  matter  of  very 
great  importance,  after  the  visionary  prospects  of  barbaric 
magnificence  had  melted  into  thin  air.  The  results  of  that 
commerce  were  next  traced  out  so  far  as  they  affected  Cali- 
fornia in  the  attraction  to  its  shores  of  English  privateersmen 
and  the  renewed  impetus  it  gave  to  the  search  for  the  sup- 
posed Straits  of  Anian.  An  attempt  has  also  been  made  to 
exhibit  the  policy  of  the  Spanish  government  towards  this, 
its  last  great  acquisition,  and  to  describe  the  various  ill- 
concerted  and  ineffectual  efforts,  for  the  outcome  of  which 
the  government  was  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  responsible, 

(103) 


164  THE  JESUITS. 

to  make  use  of  the  country.  It  is  next  in  order  to  speak  of 
the  actual  occupation  and  permanent  settlement  of  that  part 
of  it,  now  known  as  Lower  California,  by  the  Jesuits. 

When  Atondo  returned  to  Mexico  and  presented  his  report 
to  the  viceroy,  a  general  council  was  called  to  discuss  its  con- 
tents and  adopt  such  measures  as  might  seem  proper.  Of 
this  council  several  sessions  were  held;  and  the  subject  was 
considered  in  all  its  aspects.  It  was  finally  resolved,  and  to 
all  appearance  with  great  unanimity,  that  the  further  prose- 
cution of  the  conquest  of  California,  in  the  manner  or  by  the 
means  hitherto  pursued,  was  altogether  impracticable.  It  was 
remarked,  however,  that  Father  Kino  and  his  companions  by 
their  labors  among  the  Indians  at  San  Bruno,  had  effected 
more  and  with  less  expense,  so  far  as  disbursements  for  their 
own  benefit  were  concerned,  than  any  other  persons  who  had 
ever  visited  the  country;  that  they  had  manifested  the  liveli- 
est and  heartiest  interest  in  the  natives;  that  they  had  beeri") 
constrained  to  leave  them  with  very  great  regret  and  only  i 
after  earnest  endeavors  to  delay,  if  not  entirely  prevent,  the  ) 
abandonment  of  a  foundation  so  auspiciously  commenced,  \ 
and  that  they  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  promise  to  return,  if  ) 
possible,  to  their  dusky  catechumens.1  Under  these  circum- 
stances it  was  resolved  by  the  council  that  the  Jesuits  should 
be  invited  as  a  body  to  take  in  hand  the  spiritual  conquest, 
by  means  of  missions,  of  the  country,  and  that  efforts  should 
be  made  to  induce  the  crown  to  encourage  the  enterprise  by 
an  annual  subsidy.  A  formal  offer  to  this  effect  was  accord- 
ingly preferred,  and  Atondo  and  Kino  were  authorized  to 
make  out  the  necessary  estimates  and  fix  the  amount  of 
subsidy  to  be  paid.  But  either  on  account  of  the  apparent 
magnitude  of  the  undertaking  or  because  of  the  uncertainty 
of  receiving  the  requisite  support,  the  Society  of  Jesus  de- 
clined to  accept  the  proposition;  and  upon  a  second  and 
more  explicit  offer  to  the  same  effect  being  made,  it  a  second 
time  and  more  peremptorily  refused.2 

It  was  now,  when  the  prospects   for  a  settlement  of  the 

1  Venegas,  P.  II,  §  5,  p.  239. 

2  Vencgas,  P.  II,  §5,  pp.  236-238. 


9  SETTLEMENT  OF  LORE  TO.  165 

country  seemed  at  their  darkest,  that  Father  Kino  stepped 
forth  with  the  greatest  zeal  in  its  behalf.  Notwithstanding 
the  peremptory  refusal  of  the  superiors  of  his  order  to 
embark  in  the  undertaking,  and  the  necessity  he  was  under 
of  yielding  implicit  obedience  to  their  determination,  he  by 
no  means  gave  up  the  hope  of  changing  their  policy.  The 
very  difficulties  and  obstacles  that  stood  in  his  way  seemed 
to  call  forth  all  his  energy — all  the  resources  of  his  mind  and 
•  spirit.  In  his  earlier  days  he  had  been  an  enthusiastic 
admirer  of  St.  Francis  Xavier.  It  was  in  consequence  of  a 
generous  desire  to  emulate  that  great  apostle  of  the  heathen, 
and  in  pursuance  of  a  vow  to  that  effect  made  on  a  bed  of 
sickness,  that  Kino  had  quitted  his  professorship  of  mathe- 
matics at  Ingolstadt  in  Bavaria  and  sailed  to  America,  with 
the  object  of  becoming  a  missionary  and,  like  his  famous 
exemplar,  carrying  the  light  of  the  gospel  into  the  most 
benighted  regions  of  the  earth.  Having  this  idea  uppermost 
in  his  mind,  he  had  accompanied  the  expedition  of  Atondo 
in  1683;  and  it  was  undoubtedly  owing  to  his  resolution  and 
constancy  much  more  than  to  any  other  cause  that  Atondo 
remained  so  long  as  he  did  in  the  peninsula.  With  what 
devotion  he  applied  himself  to  his  chosen  vocation  at  San 
Bruno  has  been  already  seen.  He  now  with  equal  zeal 
entered  upon  the  work  of  reforming  public  opinion  in  refer- 
ence to  California.  For  this  purpose  he  traveled  about  in 
the  various  provinces  from  Mexico  to  Sonora,  disseminating 
a  knowledge  of  the  country  beyond  the  gulf,  representing  the 
immense  harvest  of  souls  to  be  gathered  there,  and  exhibit- 
ing in  vivid  colors  the  glory  and  .eternal  rewards  of  accom- 
plishing so  pious  a  work.  Among  others  to  whom  he 
addressed  himself  was  Father  Juan  Maria  Salvatierra,  a 
Jesuit  priest  of  high  standing  in  his  order,  who  for  many 
years  had  taken  a  prominent   and  distinguished   part   in  the 

spiritual  labo c   >inaloa  and  Sonora. 

"Salvat:  says  Venegas,  "  was  the  person   chosen  by 

God  to  be  '  tie  of  California."1     He  was  a  man  of  large 

frame  ;      :  institution,  capable  of  bearing  fatigue  and 

1  Vene  p.  5. 


166  THE  JESUITS. 

hardship,  of  great  intrepidity  and  indomitable  perseverance, 
but  at  the  same  time  kind  and  gentle  in  his  manners,  of 
extensive  learning,  good  judgment  and  practical  wisdom. 
He  was  therefore  eminently  fitted  as  the  leader  of  a  mission- 
ary enterprise  among  the  Indians.  Him  Father  Kino  had 
no  difficulty  in  bringing  over  to  his  views  and  inspiring  with 
an  enthusiasm  equal  to,  if  not  greater  than  his  own.  Be- 
tween them  the  spiritual  conquest  of  California  at  once 
became  the  all-engrossing  object  of  endeavor.  It  is  a  subject 
of  regret  that  no  graphic  pen  has  pictured  the  intercourse  of 
these  two  earnest  men,  thus  self-charged  with  an  enterprise 
of  so  much  importance.  The  minute  story  of  their  struggle 
to  accomplish  a  purpose,  which  so  nearly  concerns  the  his- 
tory of  the  country,  would  have  been  of  singular  interest. 
But  as  it  is,  there  are  only  meager  accounts.  While  Kino 
continued  to  preach  his  project  wherever  he  could  find  hear- 
ers, Salvatierra  set  himself  with  all  his  energy  to  work  at 
procuring  the  necessary  license.  He  made  application  to  his 
provincial  or  superior,  but  was  refused.  He  waited  for  the 
appointment  of  a  new  provincial  and  repeated  his  application, 
and  was  again  refused.  He  again  waited;  again  applied,  and 
was  a  third  time  refused.  For  the  time  being,  nothing 
appeared  more  unpopular  than  the  project  in  which  he  was 
engaged.  It  was  opposed  by  his  order;  by  the  government 
of  Guadalajara,  and  by  the  viceroy.  He  sent  memorials  to 
the  Council  of  the  Indies  and  to  the  king  himself;  but  they 
too  opposed  it.  With  an  empty  treasury  and  the  recent 
failure  of  Atondo  before  their  eyes,  all  the  world  opposed  it. 
But  Salvatierra  and  Kino  were  not  men  to  be  deterred  by 
mere  opposition.  When  they  found  that  missives  and  mes- 
sages were  insufficient  to  accomplish  their  purposes,  they  girt 
up  their  loins  and  traveled  down  to  Mexico,  the  former  from 
Guadalajara  and  the  latter  from  Sonora,  a  distance  of  five  hun- 
dred leagues,  to  see  what  personal  solicitations  would  effect. 
Arrived  at  the  capital  in  January,  1696,  they  devoted  them- 
selves for  months  to  the  most  strenuous  efforts  to  procure 
the  proper  license.     But  all  their  endeavors  were  still  in  vain; 


SETTLEMENT  OF  LORETO.  167 

an  I  they  found  themselves  obliged  to  return,  unsuccessful 
an<  ippointed,  only  not  disheartened. 

It  happened,  about  this  juncture,  that  Father  Tyrso  Gon- 
zales de  Santa  Ella  arrived  at  Mexico.  He  was  the  father- 
general  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  and  a  man  of  mark.  In  those 
years,  as  for  many  previous  ones,  the  church  had  drained  into 
its  ranks  the  chief  talent  of  the  Spanish  nation;  and  among 
others  of  great  learning,  ability  and  expanded  views  was  this 
prelate.  To  him  Salvatierra  now  made  a  new  application; 
and  Santa  Ella  was  quick  to  recognize  the  practicability  of 
the  proposed  plan  of  settlement  and  the  merits  of  Salvatierra 
and  Kino  as  conductors  of  it.  In  a  short  time  the  desired 
license  was  issued.  With  it  a  new  dawn  rose  upon  the  re- 
mote province  of  the  far  northwest.  The  audiencia  or  coun- 
cil of  Guadalajara  now  espoused  the  cause.  At  their  recom- 
mendation it  was  looked  upon  with  favor  by  the  viceroy. 
When  Salvatierra  again  visited  Mexico,  in  the  beginning  of 
1697,  to  raise  funds  for  the  new  expedition,  he  met  with  a 
reception  very  different  from  his  former  one.  Men  of  means 
and  influence  came  forward  and  subscribed  with  liberality; 
the  sum  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars  was  immediately  contrib- 
uted; the  church  of  Nuestra  Seriora  de  los  Dolores  of  Mexico 
added  ten  thousand  as  a  fund  for  the  establishment  of  the 
first  mission;  Juan  Cavallero  y  Ozio,  commissary  of  the 
inquisition  at  Queretaro,  provided  a  fund  of  twenty  thousand 
crowns  for  the  foundation  of  two  other  missions;  and  Pedro 
de  la  Sierpe,  treasurer  of  Acapulco,  offered  the  gratuitous 
loan  of  a  vessel  and  the  gift  of  a  long-boat.  On  February  5, 
1697,  the  royal  license  or  charter  was  placed  in  Salvatierra's 
hands,  authorizing  him  and  Kino  to  take  possession  of  and  set- 
tle California  in  the  name  of  the  king;  to  enlist  soldiers  and 
name  the  commander,  and  to  appoint  such  tribunals  as  they 
thought  proper  for  the  administration  of  justice  in  the  ter- 
ritories to  be  occupied.  But  everything  was  to  be  done  at 
their  own  expense;  and  it  was  expressly  provided  that  no 
property,  belonging  to  the  crown,  was  to  be  wasted,  and  that 
no  drafts  were  to  be  made  on  the  royal  treasury.1 

1  Venegas,  P.  Ill,  §  1,  p.  14. 


1G8  THE  JESUITS. 

No  sooner  had  Salvatierra  received  the  license  referred  to 
than  he  turned  over  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  the 
expedition  at  the  capital  to  Father  Juan  Ugarte,  and  himself 
proceeded  to  Sinaloa  to  put  his  project  into  immediate  execu- 
tion. Word  was  forthwith  sent  to  Kino  to  be  ready  to 
sail  for  the  peninsula;  but  the  latter  was  kept  back  by  an 
insurrection,  which  had  suddenly  broken  out  among  the 
Indians  of  Sonora.  Notwithstanding  this  disappointment, 
Salvatierra  lost  no  time;  but,  proceeding  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Yaqui  river,  whither  Pedro  de  la  Sierpe's  vessel  from  Aca- 
pulco  had  preceded  him,  he  at  once  set  about  laying  in  a 
stock  of  fresh  provisions  and  making  ready  to  get  off.  Kino 
being  still  unable  to  come,  Father  Francisco  Maria  Piccolo 
was  named  his  substitute;  but  he  too  was  detained.  Salva- 
tierra, however,  was  not  to  be  delayed.  As  soon  as  his  vessel 
was  properly  laden,  though  neither  Kino  nor  Piccolo  was 
present,  he  determined  to  sail;  and  on  October  10,  1697,  he 
shook  out  his  canvas  to  the  wind  and  turned  the  bow  of  his 
vessel  to  the  westward.  He  had  with  him  five  soldiers,  of 
whom  Luis  de  Torres  Tortolero  was  commander,  and  three 
Indians.  He  carried  along  a  vocabulary  of  the  language  of 
the  natives  of  San  Bruno,  which  had  been  made  by  Father 
Copart  during  the  occupation  of  that  place  by  Atondo,  and 
also  an  image  of  Our  Lady  of  Lorcto,  who  had  been  chosen 
as  the  patroness  of  the  proposed  spiritual  conquest.  On  the 
third  day  he  reached  California;  but  unfortunately  the  long- 
boat, which  had  started  with  him,  had  not  been  able  to  keep 
up  and  was  not  in  sight.  He  touched  first  at  Mulege'  and 
then  at  San  Bruno;  but,  neither  of  those  places  commending 
itself  to  his  choice,  he  sailed  further  southward  and  at  length 
entered  a  little  bay,  shaped  like  a  half  moon,  about  five 
leagues  from  point  to  point,  called  San  Dionysio.  There,  at 
the  spot  ever  since  that  time  known  as  Loreto,  he  landed  on 
October  19,  1697.  The  neighborhood  was  covered  with  verd- 
ure; there  were  some  trees,  and  there  appeared  to  be  a  suffi- 
ciency of  fresh  water.  A  fitting  location  for  a  mission  was 
soon  selected  a  short  distance    from  the    shore.     The    next 


SE  TTLEMENT  OF  L  ORE  TO.  1 G9 

thing  in  order  was  the  landing  of  the  domestic  animals,  a  few 
of  which  had  been  taken  along,  the  provisions  and  the  bag- 
gage. At  this  work  Salvatierra  was  the  first  to  load  his  own 
willing  shoulders.  Next  a  barrack  was  built;  a  line  of  en- 
closure thrown  up,  and  a  tent  pitched  for  a  temporary  chapel, 
before  which  a  crucifix  was  erected  and  garlanded  with 
flowers.  As  soon  as  these  were  finished,  a  solemn  procession 
was  formed  and  the  image  of  Our  Lady  of  Loreto  brought 
from  the  vessel  and  with  due  ceremonies  placed  in  the  chapel. 
On  October  25,  the  formalities  of  taking  permanent  posses- 
sion of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  Spain  were 
gone  through  with;  and  then  Salvatierra  addressed  himself 
to  the  labor  of  instructing  and  converting  the  Indians. 

There  were  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  about  fifty 
natives,  and  this  number  was  in  a  short  time  increased  by  a 
few  more,  who  came  from  San  Bruno.  Salvatierra  appointed 
hours  for  them  to  meet  him;  and  with  the  help  of  Copart's 
book  he  soon  learned  to  com;nunicate  with  them,  though  at 
first  there  was  great  merriment  at  his  mistakes  and  barbarous 
pronunciation.  For  the  purpose  of  rewarding  and  thereby 
securing  their  attention,  he  distributed  among  them,  after 
their  lessons,  an  allowance  of  boiled  maize,  called  pozoli;  and 
by  degrees  a  regular  system  of  instruction  was  established; 
and  the  work  went  bravely  on.  In  the  meanwhile  the  vessel 
set  sail  on  its  return  to  the  river  Yaqui  for  the  purpose  of 
bringing  over  Father  Piccolo,  with  a  few  more  soldiers  and  a 
further  supply  of  provisions  and  also  of  looking  out  for  the 
long-boat,  which  was  still  missing.  But  hardly  had  it  taken 
its  departure  when  the  Indians  exhibited  signs  of  dissatisfac- 
tion. They  had  grown  tired  of  the  catechism.  But  they 
liked  the  pozoli,  and  demanded  more  of  it  than  Salvatierra 
could  afford  to  give  them.  They  made  complaints  and  began 
pilfer  from  the  sacks,  until  it  was  found  necessary  to  ex- 
clude them  from  the  camp.  They  retorted  by  combining 
ther  with  the  avowed  object  of  putting  the  Spaniards  to 
death  and  making  themselves  masters  of  their  stores.  The 
hi:  of  October  31  was  fixed  upon  for  a  general  assault;  and 


170  THE  JESUITS. 

the  little  settlement  was  in  great  danger;  but  at  midnight, 
just  about  the  time  when  the  massacre  was  to  take  place,  a 
distant  musket  shot  was  heard.  Salvatierra  answered  it  by 
one  from  the  camp.  In  reply  to  this  a  cannon  was  fired  out 
at  sea,  and  the  camp  rejoined  by  a  similar  shot  from  a  piece 
of  ordnance  which  had  been  left  them  by  the  vessel.  This 
firing  threw  the  approaching  Indians  into  consternation;  and, 
being  seized  with  a  panic,  they  gave  up  their  murderous 
intentions  and  withdrew  without  daring  to  attack.  In  the 
morning  a  vessel  was  seen  near  the  neighboring  island  of 
Carmen;  but  instead  of  standing  in  shore  it  made  for  the 
little  Coronados  Island  further  out;  and,  upon  sending  for 
information,  Salvatierra  learned  that  it  was  his  own  ship, 
which  had  been  driven  back  by  contrary  winds. 

For  a  short  period  the  Indians,  having  thus  been  balked, 
desisted  from  attempting  to  carry  out  their  bloody  designs; 
but  only  for  a  short  period.  They  prowled  around  with  hos- 
tile intent;  and  on  several  occasions  skirmishes  occurred,  in 
which  they  were  worsted  and  learned  that  it  was  safest  for 
t:hem  to  make  their  approaches  in  the  dark.  One  night  they 
stole  up;  loosened  the  only  horse  that  Salvatierra  had  been 
able  to  bring  with  ,him,  and  drove  it  off  to  make  a  grand 
feast.  As  soon  as  the  animal  was  missed  the  next  morning, 
two  of  the  soldiers  volunteered  to  go  in  search  of  it  and 
several  friendly  Indians  offered  to  accompany  them.  They 
followed  the  tracks  about  two  leagues  over  the  summit  of  a 
mountain  and  there  found  the  thieves  busy  at  work  skinning 
the  creature,  which  they  had  killed.  They  took  to  flight, 
however,  upon  perceiving  the  soldiers  and  made  their  escape. 
The  soldiers  distributed  the  carcass  among  the  Indians  who- 
had  gone  with  them;  and  the  party  then  returned  to  camp. 

These  forays  and  alarms  exacted  of  the  Spaniards  con- 
stant watchfulness  and  sleepless  activity.  There  were  but  six 
of  them;  and  very  often  Father  Salvatierra  was  compelled  to 
stand  sentinel  and  assume  the  duties  of  a  common  soldier. 
To  add  to  their  discomfort  heavy  rains  came  on,  which  fell 
chiefly  in  the  night  time;  and   being  without  proper  shelter, 


SETTLEMENT  OF  LORETO.  171 

the  condition  of  the  little  party,  thus  exposed  to  all  sorts  of 
difficulties  and  dangers,  became  almost  desperate.  At  length 
on  November  13,  the  festival  of  St.  Stanislaus,  all  the  hostile 
Indians  of  the  region  round  about,  some  five  hundred  in 
number,  having  confederated  together  to  make  themselves 
masters  of  the  maize  bags  and  other  stores,  resolved  to  strike 
a  decisive  blow.  They  came  on  in  four  companies.  The  gar- 
rison consisted  of  only  ten  men,  Father  Salvatierra,  his  five 
soldiers,  the  three  Indians  from  the  other  side  of  the  gulf, 
and  one  native  of  San  Bruno,  who  remained  faithful.  As 
the  hostile  hosts  approached,  the  sentinel  gave  the  alarm 
and  attempted  to  drive  off  the  besiegers;  but  the  boldest  of 
them  closed  with  him  and  took  away  his  halberd.  At  this 
Tortolero,  the  commander  of  the  soldiers,  threw  himself 
upon  the  Indian  and  wrested  the  halberd  from  his  hands — an 
act  of  chivalric  audacity,  which  struck  the  enemy  with  so 
much  surprise  that  they  paused  and  hesitated  whether  to 
advance  or  retreat.  In  a  short  time,  however,  an  alarm  was 
given  on  the  other  side,  where  there  were  a  few  hogs  and 
sheep;  and,  as  these  were  being  brought  for  protection  within 
the  enclosure  of  the  camp,  all  the  hostile  Indians  advanced, 
with  dreadful  yells  and  outcries  and  discharging  their  arrows 
and  such  missiles  as  they  could  lay  their  hands  on.  Embold- 
ened by  their  numbers  and  finding  that  the  musket  shots 
fired  at  them  were  not  intended  to  kill,  they  pressed  closer 
and  closer.  The  piece  of  ordnance  possessed  by  the  Span- 
iards was  one  of  those  small  guns  loaded  at  the  breech, 
called  a  pederero.  It  had  been  planted  in  the  gateway  of 
the  enclosure  and  loaded  more  heavily  than  usual.  And  now, 
at  the  moment  of  the  greatest  danger,  orders  were  reluctantly 
given  for  its  discharge.  The  match  was  applied;  but  the 
wretched  concern  burst  to  pieces,  scattering  its  fragments 
about  the  camp  and  knocking  over  the  gunner.  The  noise 
and  confusion  were  great;  but  no  Indians  were  hurt.  On 
the '  contrary  they  were  inspired  with  fresh  boldness  and 
encouraged  one  another  with  shouts  that,  if  the  big  gun 
could  not  kill,  much  less  could  the  little  ones.     As  the  attack 


172 


THE  JESUITS. 


closed  around,  Salvatierra  stepped  forward  to  make  a  last 
effort  to  induce  the  enemy  to  retire;  but  he  was  answered 
only  by  a  flight  of  arrows.  There  was  but  one  course  left 
open;  and  the  defense  in  earnest  was  ordered  to  commence- 
The  muskets  of  those  days  were  very  unwieldy,  inconvenient 
machines;  but  it  was  now  a  matter  of  life  or  death  with  the 
little  garrison;  and  they  plied  them  vigorously.  The  enemy 
soon  found  out  their  mistake  in  regard  to  the  little  guns;  and, 
as  they  saw  their  foremost  warriors  falling  on  every  side,  they 
suddenly  turned  their  backs  and  fled  in  great  terror. 

This  severity,  though  it  was  almost  too  late,  saved  the 
settlement.  In  a  few  hours  the  Indians  made  the  most 
humble  submission;  sued  for  peace;  and  begged  to  be 
admitted  to  the  partition  of  the  pozoli — not  as  they  wished, 
but  in  such  quantities  and  under  such  conditions  as  the 
Spaniards  might  be  willing  to  prescribe.  The  men  proposed 
to  give  up  their  arms  in  token  of  their  sincerity;  and  the 
women  seated  themselves  weeping  at  the  gate  of  the  encamp-- 
ment  and  offered  to  deliver  over  their  children  as  hostages 
for  the  future  good  conduct  of  their  people.  Some  of  these 
offers  were  accepted;  it  was  agreed  that  the  past  should  be  • 
forgotten;  there  was  a  new  distribution  of  pozoli;  and  pe.  ce 
was  restored.  At  night  solemn  thanks  were  returned  to  G  d, 
the  holy  mother  and  St.  Stanislaus.  ;  And  that  this  trying 
time  for  the  infant  establishment  might  not  be  without  its 
miracle,  it  is  recorded  by  the  Jesuit  historian  that  of  all  the 
cloud  of  arrows  and  missiles  discharged  by  the  assailants, 
though  they  stuck  in  everything  else  and  even  severely 
wounded  the  brave  Tortolero  and  one  of  his  comrades,  not  a 
single  one  struck  either  the  crucifix  or  the  chapel  «'n  front  of 
which  it  was  erected.1)  Such  were  the  circumstances  under 
which  was  founded  the  mission  of  Loreto,  the  initial  one  of  a 
long  series  of  similar  establishments,  which  in  the  course  of 
the  next  hundred  years  dotted  the  whole  length  of  the  Pacific 
coast  from  Cape  San  Lucas  to  the  bay  of  San  Francisco. 


1  Venegas,  P.  Ill,  §  2,  p.  31. 


CHAPTER    I  I. 

SALVATIERRA. 

THE  next  morning  after  the  victory  of  the  little  camp  and 
its  remarkable  deliverance  from  the  imminent  destruc- 
i  with  which  it  had  been  threatened,  as  Father  Salvaticrra 
was  preparing  to  celebrate  a  thanksgiving  mass  to  Our  Lady 
of  Loreto,  the  sentinel  announced  the  appearance  of  a  sail  in 
offing.     This  drew  out  the  entire  company  and  with  great 
icy  they  waited  the  coming  up  of  the  vessel,  which  proved  to 
be  the  missing  long-boat,  with  supplies  from  across  the  gulf. 
It  appeared,  from  the  accounts  of  those  who  came  in  it,  that, 
after  being  separated  from  the  larger  vessel,  they  had  beaten 
al-out  for  a  number  of  days  in  quest  of  it  but  without  success 
ai  d  had  then  returned  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Yaqui,  from 
v   ich  both  had  originally  sailed.     They  also  added  that  the 
larger  vessel,  which  they  had  left  at  the  Yaqui,  would  soon 
arrive  with  a  reinforcement  of  men  and  a  much  larger  supply 
of  necessaries.     The  camp  now  became   a  scene  of  general 
:  joicing  and    the  ceremonies,  which    had  been  interrupted, 
ere  celebrated  with  redoubled  cause  of  thankfulness 
In  a  few  days  afterwards  one  of  the  tribes,  which  had  b 
engaged  in  the  late  conspiracy  and  whose  repentance  see 
:ncere,  announced  that  they  had  incurred  the  hostility 
neighboring  tribe,  on  account  of  the  recent  events  and  of  the 
losses  these  neighbors  had  sustained  in  them,  and  begging 
permission  to  be  allowed  to  settle  near  the  camp  and  enjoy 
its  protection.     To  this  request  Father  Salvatierra  acceded; 
and  this  was  the  commencement  of  the  town  of  Loreto,  which 

(173) 


:Z 


174  THE  JESUITS. 

sprang  up  about  the  mission.  By  degrees  Salvatierra  man- 
aged to  reconcile  the  inimical  tribe;  soon  universal  peace 
prevailed;  the  settlers  began  to  make  arrangements  for  put- 
ting up  permanent  structures;  and  in  the  meanwhile  the  work 
of  teaching  and  conversion  actively  progressed.  In  these 
same  days  occurred  what  Venegas  calls  the  consecration  to 
God  of  the  first  fruits  of  California.  Very  soon  after  the 
arrival  of  Salvatierra  at  Loreto,  he  was  visited  by  an  aged 
chief  of  the  San  Bruno  Indians,  who  was  dying  from  the 
effects  of  an  incurable  disease,  said  to  be  cancer.  He  had 
been  taught  the  elements  of  the  faith  by  Father  Kino  in  the 
time  of  Atondo's  expedition  and  learned  a  few  Spanish  words; 
and,  upon  being  brought  to  the  camp,  he  cried  out  as  well  as 
he  could  for  his  old  preceptors  and  begged  to  be  accepted 
and  baptized,  with  his  two  little  sons,  one  eight  and  the  other 
four  years  of  age,  whom  he  had  brought  along.  His  prayers 
were  granted;  instead  of  his  Indian  name  of  Ibo  he  received 
the  baptismal  one  of  Manuel  Bernardo;  and,  dying  a  few  days 
afterwards  in  the  full  communion  of  the  church  and  fellow- 
ship of  the  saints,  he  was  gathered  to  glory.1  The  little  chil- 
dren were  also  received  and  soon  afterwards  two  others,  to 
whom  were  given  the  names  of  Juan  and  Pedro  in  honor  of 
Juan  Cavallero  y  Ozio  and  Pedro  de  la  Sierpe,  the  distin- 
guished benefactors  of  the  mission.  Of  these  the  little  Juan 
or,  as  he  was  more  ordinarily  called  in  the  Spanish  diminu- 
tive, Juanito  endeared  himself  to  Father  Salvatierra  by  an 
extraordinary  exhibition  of  precocious  devotion — so  much  so 
as  often  to  draw  tears  into  the  old  man's  eyes.  He  was  not 
quite  four  years  of  age;  but,  with  his  little  scallop  shell  upon 
his  head  and  a  wand  in  his  hand,  he  would  conduct  the  cate- 
chismal  questions  and  raise  his  warning  finger  when  any  one 
talked  or  was  inattentive.  Sometimes  he  would  take  the  rosa- 
ries of  the  soldiers;  fall  upon  his  knees;  kiss  the  beads;  de- 
voutly put  them  to  his  eyes,  and  bid  the  Spaniards  follow  his 
example;  and,  if  they  took  no  notice,  it  is  recorded  that  he 
became  sad  and  troubled  in  spirit  and  that  he  could  find  no 
1  Venegas,  P.  Ill,  §  2,  p.  34. 


SAL  VA  TIERRA .  175 

relief  except  by  throwing  himself  at  the  foot  of  the  crucifix, 
embracing  and  kissing  it.1 

Ten  days  after  the  arrival  of  the  long-boat  the  larger  vessel 
also  hove  in  sight  and  brought  the  venerable  Father  Piccolo 
and  a  considerable  accession  of  soldiers  and  supplies.  From 
this  time  forward,  for  a  considerable  period,  the  labor  of 
establishing  the  settlement  went  on  with  success;  and  Sal- 
vatierra  was  enabled  to  write  with  great  pleasure  and  grati- 
tude an  account  of  \t  to  the  viceroy  and  to  his  faithful  coad- 
jutor, Father  Ugarte.  An  account  was  also,  at  his  request, 
transmitted  to  the  father-general  of  his  order,  Tyrso  Gon- 
zales de  Santa  Ella,  and  laid  before  his  majesty  Charles  II. 
and  the  Council  of  the  Indies.  In  the  meanwhile  the  new 
buildings  progressed  rapidly;  the  church,  a  structure  of  stone 
and  clay  with  thatched  roof,  was  completed*  dwellings  for  the 
fathers  and  more  substantial  barracks  for  the  soldiers  and  a 
magazine  were  put  up,  and  the  fortifications  enlarged  and 
strengthened.  But  notwithstanding  the  bright  prospects, 
which  this  progress  indicated,  there  were  many  and  serious 
difficulties  yet  to  be  encountered.  One  of  these  originated  in 
the  fact  that  the  native  priesthood  or  sorcerers,  as  they  were 
called  by  the  Jesuits,  found  that  the  teachings  of  the  fathers 
were  undermining  their  power  and  destroying  their  profits. 
They  therefore  declared  open  war  against  the  new  doctrines 
and  waged  it  with  all  the  bitterness  and  rancor  peculiar  to 
religious  fanaticism.  There  was  no  falsehood  too  black,  no 
calumny  too  monstrous  for  them  to  invent;  they  represented 
the  missionaries  as  kidnappers  and  their  objects  the  seizure 
and  robbery  of  the  land  and  the  enslavement  of  the  people; 
they  pointed  to  the  beliefs  of  their  fathers;  they  called  to 
mind  the  customs  under  which  they  had  lived  for  so  many 
years;  they  invoked  the  memory  of  the  braves  who  had  been 
killed;  they  in  fact  resorted  to  every  expedient  they  could 
think  of  to  stir  up  discontent  and  foment  disquietude.  They 
managed  at  length  to  bring  about  a  rupture  by  inducing  their 

the  precocious  Juanito  is  given  in  a  letter  from  Father  Salva- 
tierr  .rte  and  is  copied  in  Venegas,  P.  Ill,  §  3,  p.  44. 


176  THE  JESUITS. 

followers  to  steal  a  boat;  and,  when  a  party  of  the  Spaniards 
went  out  to  recover  it,  they  formed  an  ambush  and  attacked 
them.  A  skirmish  took  place;  but  by  the  skillful  arrange- 
ments of  Tortolero  t«he  assailants  were  routed.  One  of  the 
Spaniards  was  wounded  by  a  stone  and  another  by  an  arrow; 
but  of  the  Indians  a  number  were  killed.  This  fight,  which 
had  commenced  with  the  advantage  entirely  on  the  side  of 
Indians,  taught  them  the  hoplessness  of  attempting  to  resist 
the  Spaniards;  and  in  a  few  days  all  the  disaffected  came  in 
and  sued  for  peace.  Tortolero  was  for  making  an  example 
of  the  ringleaders;  but  the  fathers  interposed;  and  a  general 
amnesty  was  proclaimed. 

Another  difficulty  was  the  want  of  provisions,  which  at 
length  began  to  be  seriously  felt.  The  supplies  that  had  been 
brought  over  had  gradually  dwindled  away;  and  there  were 
many  mouths  to  be  fed  Besides  the  Indians,  who  required 
liberal  allowances  in  the  way  of  pozoli,  there  were  now  twenty- 
two  of  the  Spaniards.  The  larger  vessel,  which  was  merely 
loaned,  had  gone  back  to  Acapulco;  and  the  long-boat  had 
been  sent  across  the  gulf  and  did  not  return.  Days,  weeks 
and  months  passed  and  nothing  was  heard-  and  the  establish- 
ment had  no  other  vessel  to  go  after  or  search  for  it.  By  the 
middle  of  June,  1698,  there  were  but  three  sacks  of  meal  and 
three  sacks  of  maize  left,  and  these  wormy  and  unwholesome. 
The  prospects  of  relief  were  so  unpromising  that  Salvatierra, 
in  writing  an  account  of  the  destitution  at  the  time,  prefaced 
it  with  the  remark  that  it  was  very  uncertain  whether  he 
should  live  to  finish  the  story,  for  the  reason  that  he  was  the 
most  advanced  in  years  of  all  the  camp  and  would  naturally 
have  to  pay  the  first  tribute.  So  little  hope  was  entertained 
that  even  the  soldiers  eschewed  quarreling  and  swearing  and 
betook  themselves  to  prayers  and  devotional  exercises.  A 
fast  of  nine  days,  a  very  appropriate  ordinance  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, was  appointed  ;  and  the  soldiers  devoutly  assisted 
in  observing  it.  At  length  on  June  21,  when  all  the  meal 
and  maize  was  gone  and  Our  Lady  of  Loreto  seemed  to  have 
forever  withdrawn  her  favor,  a  large  ship,  called  the  San  Jose, 


SALVATIERRA.  177 

sailed  into  the  harbor  and  saved  the  settlement.  It  had  been 
sent  by  Father  Ugarte  from  Mexico  and  brought  all  the  suc- 
cor he  was  able  to  collect  there.  But  the  relief  thus  afforded 
was  only  temporary;  and,  as  the  country  as  yet  produced  noth- 
ing for  the  support  of  the  missionaries  and  the  communica- 
tion with  the  settlements  upon  which  they  were  obliged  to 
depend  was  infrequent  and  uncertain,  there  was  often  danger 
that  they  would  be  under  the  necessity  either  of  abandoning 
their  undertaking  or  perishing  from  want. 

Although  never  again  in  fact  reduced  to  the  last  extremity, 
as  in  the  instance  just  mentioned,  there  was  for  a  number  of 
years  a  continual  struggle  for  existence.  A  large  part  of  the 
moneys,  that  had  been  contributed,  was  lost  in  the  purchase 
of  the  San  Jose,  which  soon  after  its  arrival  at  Loreto,  was 
palmed  off  upon  Salvatierra  as  a  good  vessel  eminently  fitted 
for  the  purposes  of  the  mission.  But  it  proved  a  bad  bargain. 
Besides  the  original  cost  of  twelve  thousand  dollars,  six  thou- 
sand more  were  expended  in  repairs;  and  even  then  it  re- 
mained in  such  bad  condition  that,  on  its  first  voyage  subse- 
quently, the  whole  cargo  was  lost;  and,  on  its  second,  it 
stranded  at  Acapulco  and  only  five  hundred  dollars  could  be 
procured  for  the  wreck.  Afterwards  Pedro  de  la  Sierpe, 
the  former  friend  and  patron  of  the  mission,  furnished  a  new 
vessel  and  another  long-boat;  but  in  the  course  of  a  year  the 
former,  on  account  of  the  carelessness  of  those  to  whom  it 
had  been  entrusted,  was  lost  upon  the  coast  of  Sinaloa  and 
the  latter,  then  the  only  reliance  of  the  mission,  was  so  badly 
racked  and  strained  as  to  be  unsafe.  This  lone-boat,  how- 
ever,  is  worthy  of  particular  remembrance  as  having  brought 
over  to  the  peninsula  a  number  of  horses,  mares  and  cattle, 
the  gift  of  Agustin  Encinas,  and  thus  given  the  start  on  Cal- 
ifornian  soil  to  that  immense  production  of  domestic  animals, 
which  in  after  years  covered  the  hills  and  filled  the  valleys  of 
the  country. 

But  the  greatest  and  most  serious  difficulty,  which  the 
establishment  in  California  had  to  encounter,  was  the  apathy 
or  rather  the  ill  will  of  the  Spanish  government.     For  a  num- 

12    Vol.  I. 


178  THE  JESUITS. 

ber  of  years  it  not  only  declined  to  render  any  assistance  to 
the  struggling  colonists;  but  it  entertained  complaints  against 
them  and  thus  weakened  the  moral  support  of  which  they  so 
much  stood  in  need.  Among  other  calumnies,  to  which  it 
gave  ear,  was  one  that  the  Jesuits  had  purposely  lost  their 
ships  with  the  object  of  inducing  the  government  to  come  to 
their  aid  and  thus  enabling  them  to  have  the  handling  of  a 
large  part  of  the  king's  treasures.  Other  still  baser  calumnies, 
which  it  entertained,  were  a  lot  of  villainous  falsehoods  trans- 
mitted from  the  mission  itself  by  one  Antonio  Garcia  de 
Mendoza.  In  1699  the  brave  Tortolero,  the  commander  of 
the  soldiers  at  Loreto,  had  been  compelled,  on  accoum  of  a 
disease  of  his  eyes,  to  resign  his  post  and  return  to  New 
Spain;  and  in  an  evil  hour  this  Mendoza  had  been  appointed 
in  his  place.  Instead  of  possessing  any  of  the  noble  and 
magnanimous  qualities  of  his  predecessor,  he  was  of  a  low 
and  groveling  disposition,  and  looked  forward  only  to  his  own 
personal  aggrandizement.  He  assumed  to  have  the  control  of 
the  temporal  affairs  of  the  settlement  and  attempted  under 
all  kinds  of  pretexts  to  force  the  Indians  to  the  pearl  beds, 
for  the  purpose  of  enriching  himself  out  of  their  unwilling 
labors;  and,  when  Salvatierra  and  Piccolo  put  a  stop  to  these 
attempts,  he  secretly  wrote  letters  to  the  viceroy  and  other 
persons  in  authority,  inveighing  against  their  administration, 
arraigning  their  honesty  and  good  faith,  and  misrepresenting 
all  that  they  had  done  and  proposed  to  do.  These  falsehoods, 
thus  listened  to  by  the  government,  had  their  natural  effect. 
They  discouraged  contributions  and  for  the  time  being  oc- 
casioned the  withdrawal  of  all  support  from  the  mission. 
The  result  was  not  only  an  interruption  of  progress  but  an 
actual  retrogression.  Most  of  the  colonists,  who  had  come 
over,  returned  to  their  old  homes;  and  from  absolute  inability 
to  support  the  establishment,  it  was  found  necessary  to  reduce 
the  garrison  at  Loreto  to  only  twelve  soldiers;  and  even  these 
would  also  have  had  to  be  discharged,  but  that  they  volun- 
tarily relinquished  their  prospects  of  pay  and  refused  to  for- 
sake the  fathers. 


SALVATIERRA.  179 

These  were  dark  days  for  the  enterprise;  but  the  fathers 
piously  believed  that  whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth 
and  that  the  obloquy  and  ill-repute,  to  which  they  were 
subjected,  were  but  trials  to  prove  their  faith  and  constancy. 
This  was  one  of  the  admirable  lessons  taught  by  their  relig- 
ion. Instead,  therefore,  of  losing  heart,  they  submissively 
accepted  and  even  welcomed  the  burdens  that  were  thus 
imposed  upon  them.  If  they  had  ever  for  a  moment  hes- 
itated, they  now  resolved  to  stand  steadfast,  remitting  no 
exertion  but  suffering  every  cross,  even  to  martyrdom  if 
necessary,  in  the  prosecution  of  the  great  work  they  had 
undertaken.  In  this  spirit  Salvatierra  not  only  wrote  letters 
and  memorials  announcing  his  determination;  but  he  also  at 
great  risk  and  danger  made  a  voyage  in  the  shattered  long- 
boat to  the  opposite  coast  of  Sinaloa  in  the  hopes,  by  per- 
sonal representations,  of  removing  the  prejudices  that  were 
entertained  and  accomplishing  whatever  might  be  in  his 
power  for  the  salvation  of  his  languishing  mission.  His 
character  and  the  earnestness  with  which  he  went  about  his 
task  soon  enabled  him  to  satisfy  and  enlist  in  his  cause  all 
whom  he  met;  and  with  their  concurrence  and  co-operation 
he  now  made  renewed  appeals  to  the  king  and  royal  council 
as  well  as  to  the  viceroy,  pointing  out  the  extreme  straits  to 
which  the  establishment  in  California  was  reduced  and  the 
likelihood,  notwithstanding  all  that  had  been  done  and  all 
that  he  and  his  companions  had  undergone  and  were  willing 
to  undergo,  of  their  entire  failure  unless  the  government 
would  change  its  attitude  and  render  some  encouragement 
and  assistance.  Once  or  twice  it  seemed  as  if  his  efforts  in 
this  direction  would  be  successful.  The  viceroy,  finding  a 
reaction  in  public  opinion,  offered  a  thousand  crowns  on 
behalf  of  the  government;  but  Father  Ugarte,  as  the  repre- 
sentative at  Mexico  of  the  California  establishment,  declined 
to  accept  so  small  a  sum  as  altogether  inadequate.  Negotia- 
tions thereupon  took  place;  and  for  a  time  there  was  a 
prospect  of  satisfactory  arrangement.  But  unfortunately  the 
matter  was  finally  referred   to  a  lawyer,  occupying  the  office 


180  THE  JESUITS. 

of  solicitor,  who  demanded  a  sight  of  the  original  license 
under  which  the  fathers  had  first  entered  the  peninsula  and 
demonstrated  as  a  matter  of  indisputable  law  that  they  had 
no  legal  claim  upon  the  governmental  revenues.  Ugarte 
answered  that  the  entry  as  contemplated  by  the  original 
license  had  already  been  accomplished  and  great  progress 
made  without  either  wasting  any  property  of  the  crown  or 
drawing  on  the  royal  treasury;  that  the  original  contract  had 
thus  been  executed  in  accordance  with  its  terms  and  was  no 
longer  binding,  that  the  circumstances  were  now  entirely 
changed  and  that  the  altered  condition  of  affairs  required  the 
application  of  different  rules  and  the  exercise  of  a  broader 
and  more  liberal  policy.  But  the  man  of  law  was  only  a  man 
of  law  and  insisted  that  a  bargain  was  a  bargain  and  there 
was  nothing  beyond  it.  Though  the  question  here  presented 
was  in  no  sense  a  legal  but  entirely  a  political  one,  the  vice- 
roy seems  to  have  deferred  to  the  opinion  of  the  referee;  and 
thus  the  quibbles  of  the  solicitor  prevailed  over  the  states- 
manship of  the  priest.  The  result  was  that  the  viceroy  did 
nothing. 

In  Spain  the  prospects  for  a  short  time  were  much  better. 
Several  persons  of  distinction  interested  themselves  and  large 
succors  were  promised;  but  the  death  of  Charles  II.  in  the 
latter  part  of  1700  threw  the  kingdom  into  disorder  and 
prevented  anything  from  being  done.  Upon  the  accession  of 
his  successor,  Philip  V.,  still  brighter  prospects  opened.  The 
new  monarch  avowed  his  intention  of  taking  the  California 
mission  under  his  especial  protection.  He  commended  and 
thanked  the  missionaries;  ordered  that  they  should  by  all 
means  be  supported,  and  peremptorily  directed  that  an 
annual  stipend  of  six  thousand  dollars  should  be  paid  them 
out  of  the  royal  treasury.  But  before  his  mandates  could 
be  carried  out  his  government  became  involved  in  engrossing 
difficulties,  occasioned  by  the  dangers  to  which  Florida  and 
Texas  were  exposed  from  their  northern  neighbors;  enor- 
mous expenses  were  incurred  to  secure  those  threatened 
provinces;  the  attention  of  the  king  and  his  councilors  was 


SAL  VA  TIERRA.  181 

diverted;  and  California  was  neglected.  Thus  in  Spain  too, 
as  well  as  in  Mexico,  the  efforts  that  were  made  by  the 
fathers  on  behalf  of  their  settlement  proved  unavailing;  and 
they  were  left  entirely  to  their  own  slight  resources.  Still 
they  remained  firm  in  their  determination  to  stand  by  their 
establishment  to  the  last.  Still  they  bore  up  with  manful 
spirits  amidst  destitution  and  against  distresses,  which  were 
so  severe  that  Salvatierra,  in  the  bitterness  of  his  trials, 
spoke  of  rendering  up  his  accounts  to  God  and  leaving  Our 
Lady  of  Loreto  to  foot  the  bill. 

Meanwhile,  notwithstanding  all  these  troubles  and  obsta- 
cles, the  work  of  the  spiritual  conquest  went  forward;  and 
the  number  of  the  converts  among  the  natives  rapidly  in- 
creased not  only  at  Loreto  but  at  other  places  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, to  which  the  fathers  from  time  to  time  made  visits. 
One  of  these  was  a  spot,  capable  of  being  rendered  fit  for 
tillage,  called  Vigge  Biaundo,  lying  near  the  center  of  the 
peninsula  to  the  southwestward  of  Loreto  and  about  eight 
leagues  distant.  The  way  thither  was  over  a  chain  of  rugged 
mountains,  called  the  Vigge,  difficult  for  men  on  foot  and  im- 
passable for  beasts  of  burden;  but  the  place  promised  so  well 
that  Father  Piccolo,  assisted  by  several  of  the  soldiers,  by 
dint  of  hard  labor,  managed  to  open  a  trail  amidst  the  preci- 
pices; and  the  passage  became  comparatively  easy.  A  neigh- 
boring mountain  afforded  an  extensive  view  of  the  country 
bounded  by  the  ocean  on  one  side  and  the  gulf  on  the  other, 
at  the  sight  of  which  the  Spanish  soldiers  fired  off  their  pieces 
in  ecstacies  of  joy.  The  Indians  of  the  neighborhood  were 
tractable,  friendly  and  desirous  of  conversion;  and  one  espe- 
cially, a  youth  of  remarkable  vivacity  and  goodness  of  temper, 
was  immediately  admitted  to  baptism  under  the  name  of 
Francisco  Xavier.  In  the  beginning  of  October,  1699,  at  this 
newly  selected  site,  Father  Piccolo  built  a  few  small  houses 
and  a  chapel  of  adobes  or  sun-dried  bricks,  and  thus  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  second  mission  of  Lower  California,  that 
3f  San  Francisco  Xavier  de  Vigge  Biaundo. 


CHAPTER    I  I  I. 

KINO. 

THE  original  project  of  the  entrance  into  the  peninsula  of 
California  and  the  establishment  of  settlements  there  by 
the  Jesuits,  it  will  be  recollected,  was  the  work  of  Father 
Kino.  It  will  also  be  recollected  that  after  the  labor  of  years 
and  the  overcoming  of  almost  insurmountable  obstacles, 
when  his  plans  were  at  last  on  the  point  of  being  carried  into 
effect  and  he  and  Salvatierra  were  not  only  authorized  but 
had  made  their  preparations  and  were  almost  ready  to  em- 
bark in  company  for  the  spiritual  conquest  of  the  country, 
Kino  was  prevented  by  a  sudden  and  unexpected  insurrec- 
tion of  the  Indians  of  Sonora  from  joining  his  companion. 
This,  however,  did  not  prevent  him  from  continuing  his  exer- 
tions for  the  benefit  of  the  undertaking  and  rendering  assist- 
ance which  was  perhaps  of  more  substantial  value  than  any- 
thing he  could  have  accomplished  by  his  personal  presence  in 
the  country.  He  collected  contributions  throughout  the  prov- 
ince of  Sonora  and  attended  to  their  shipment  as  well  as  acted 
as  agent  in  forwarding  supplies  that  came  from  other  places. 
It  was  owing  to  his  efforts  that  the  first  horses  and  marcs  and 
cattle  for  breeding,  which  have  been  already  spoken  of,  were 
sent  over.  To  the  end  he  continued  the  friend  and  coadjutor 
of  Salvatierra  and  took  the  liveliest  interest  in  promoting  the 
project  he  had  himself  originated. 

But  the  labors  for  which  Father  Kino  has  been  most  cele- 
brated, by  those  who  have  hitherto  written  of  his  services, 
were  his  explorations  and  his  demonstration,  by  traveling 
around  the  head  of  the  gulf,  of  the  peninsular  character  of 

(182) 


KINO.  183 

what  was  then  known  as  California.  It  will  be  borne  in 
mind  that  Ulloa  and  Alarcon  in  the  time  of  Cortes  had 
ascertained  the  fact  of  the  gulf's  coming  to  an  end  in  about 
the  latitude  of  320  north;  and  that  the  remarkable  map  of  the 
old  Spanish  pilot,  Domingo  del  Castillo,  not  only  so  repre- 
sented it  but  gave  its  form  and  the  shape  of  its  shores  with 
wonderful  accuracy.  So  well  were  these  facts  known  at  that 
time  and  for  a  considerable  period  afterwards  that  the  gulf, 
on  account  of  its  general  resemblance  to  the  water  between 
Arabia  and  Egypt,  was  known  by  the  Spanish  name  of  Mar 
Vermejo  6  Roxo  de  Cortes,  the  Vermilion  or  Red  Sea  of 
Cortes.1  In  the  course  of  years,  however,  when  the  stories 
of  the  various  passages,  to  which  the  search  for  the  Straits 
of  Anian  gave  rise,  threw  the  geographers  of  the  day  into 
confusion,  this  knowledge  of  the  truth  in  regard  to  the  gulf 
seems  to  have  been  lost  and  the  old  accounts  of  California 
being  an  island  were  revived.  From  the  reports  of  nearly 
all  the  more  recent  navigators  it  seemed  as  if  there  was  a 
great  opening  in  the  coast  to  the  north  of  Cape  Mendocino; 
and  it  was  supposed  by  many,  taking  all  the  stories  from 
those  of  Marcos  de  Niza  to  those  of  Martin  de  Aguilar  to- 
gether, that  what  was  called  the  Mar  Vermejo  or  Gulf  of 
Cortes  was  in  fact  an  immense  arm  of  the  sea  running  from 
Capes  Corrientcs  and  San  Lucas  in  the  south  to  Capes  Men- 
docino and  Blanco  in  the  north,  a  distance  of  fifteen  hundred 
miles  and  upwards,  and  making  of  California  one  of  the 
largest,  if  not  the  very  largest  island  in  the  world.  Others 
again  supposed  that,  instead  of  one  island,  it  consisted  of  sev- 
eral or  rather  of  one  large  and  several  smaller  ones;  and  it 
was  on  this  account  probably  that  the  plural  appellation  of 
Las  Californias  or  the  Californias  was  applied  to  it.  The 
same  supposition  prevailed  very  generally  down  to  the  end  of 
the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  who  died  in  1700,  during  whose  time 
and  in  honor  of  whose  efforts  for  its  colonization,  which  we 
have  just  been  describing,  it  was  known  by  the  name  of  Islas 
Carolinas  or  Charles'  Islands.2 

1  Venegas,  P.  I,  §  2,  p.  81. 

2  Venegas,  P.  I,  §  1,  p.  2. 


184  THE  JESUITS. 

Father  Kino,  who  was  a  cosmographer  as  well  as  a  priest, 
was  one  of  those  who  believed,  notwithstanding  the  general 
current  of  opinion  the  other  way /that  California  was  a  pen- 
insula; and  he  conceived  the  magnificent  design  of  carrying 
a  cordon  of  missions  around  the  head  of  the  gulf,  thus  unit- 
ing those  of  California  with  those  of  Sonora,  and  then  ex- 
tending the  line  to  the  northward  as  far  as  Cape  Mendocino 
and  thus  embracing  the  entire  country  as  far  as  known  in  one 
grand  system.^)  With  this  ultimate  object  in  view,  as  soon  as 
the  insurrection  which  in  1697  had  prevented  his  embarking 
with  Salvatierra  had  been  quelled,  he  set  about  making  ex- 
plorations along  the  gulf  shore  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
Sonora  and  devoted  to  them  all  the  time  he  could  spare  from 
the  necessary  attention  which  he  felt  called  upon  to  give  to 
the  collection  and  transmission  of  supplies  to  the  Californian 
settlement.  He  had  already  explored  the  country  for  about 
ninety  or  a  hundred  leagues  to  the  northward  of  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Yaqui  and  established  several  missions,  the-most 
northerly  of  which,  called  Concepcion  de  Caborca,  was  in 
latitude  310  north.1  In  1698  he  proceeded  as  far  as  the  river 
Gila  and  thence,  taking  a  southwesterly  direction,  struck  the 
gulf  a  little  above  the  parallel  of  Caborca,  having  traveled  a 
distance  of  upwards  of  three  hundred  leagues  and  most  of  the 
way  over  a  barren,  rugged,  uninviting  region.  In  the  year 
1699  and  in  the  early  part  of  1700,  he  made  several  other 
journeys  to  the  northward  and  visited  the  various  missions 
and  villages,  which  he  had  established;  but  more  for  the 
purpose  of  gathering  supplies  and  keeping  the  Californian 
colonists  alive  than  for  the  purpose  of  making  discoveries. 

But  in  September,  1700,  he  set  out  with  the  intention  of 
reaching,  if  possible,  the  very  head  of  the  gulf  and  thus  solving 
the  problem  of  the  practicability  of  the  grand  design  which 
he  had  conceived  and  which  he  very  properly  regarded  of  so 
much  importance.  He  traveled  northward  to  the  Gila,  which 
he  struck  at  a  point  about  fifty  leagues  from  its  mouth.  From 
that  place  he  followed  the  course  of  the  river  to  its  junction 
with  the    Colorado.     Near   this  point,  selecting  the  highest 

1  Venegas,  P.  Ill,  §  5,  p.  77. 


KINO.  185 

mountain  he  could  find,  he  obtained  a  broad  view  of  the 
country  and  distinctly  saw  that  after  the  confluence  of  the 
two  rivers  they  ran  together  some  thirty  leagues  and  then 
emptied  into  the  gulf.  He  also  saw  that  the  line  of  the  Cal- 
ifornian  mountains  was  continuous  and  unbroken,  as  far  as 
his  glass  could  reach,  both  to  the  south  and  to  the  north. 
Being  thus  convinced  that  California  was  a  part  of  the  main- 
land he  returned  by  the  way  of  Caborca  to  the  capital  of 
Sonora  and  published  his  discovery  and  the  particulars  of  his 
journey. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Salvatierra  left  Loreto  and 
crossed  the  gulf  for  the  purpose,  by  personal  appeals  in  the 
provinces  of  Sinaloa  and  Sonora,  of  saving  his  famishing' 
settlement.  As  soon  as  possible  he  communicated  with  Kino; 
and  by  their  joint  efforts  supplies  for  the  time  being  were 
procured  and  forwarded.  They  then  discussed  the  recent 
discovery  and  concurred  in  the  opinion  that  the  greatest 
benefit  they  could  confer  upon  California  and  the  surest  way 
of  securing  the  co-operation  and  assistance  of  the  govern- 
ment in  the  support  of  the  new  establishments  was  to  demon- 
strate, by  an  actual  journey  from  Caborca  to  Lcreto,  the  con- 
nection of  Sonora  and  California.  They  agreed  to  undertake 
the  journey  together  and  accordingly,  after  making  the  proper 
arrangements,  set  out  in  the  spring  of  1701.  There  were 
two  routes  for  them  to  take,  one  along  the  slopes  of  the 
mountains,  which  Kino  had  previously  pursued;  the  other 
along  the  immediate  shore  of  the  gulf.  Unfortunately  choos- 
ing the  latter,  after  proceeding  a  considerable  distance,  they 
found  themselves  so  involved  in  loose  and  shifting  sands  with- 
out water  that  they  were  obliged  to  turn  back.  They  then 
took  a  road  on  more  elevated  ground;  but  so  much  time  had 
been  lost  and  so  much  reduced  were  their  provisions  that 
their  original  intention  of  passing  around  by  land  to  Loreto, 
had  to  be  given  up.  They,  however,  reached  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  head  of  the  gulf;  and  one  evening  just  before 
sunset  Kino  took  Salvatierra  to  the  top  of  a  mountain  and 
pointed  out  to  him  the  purple  line  of  the  California  cordillera, 


186  THE  JESUITS. 

unbroken  as  far  as  the  eye  could  trace  it;  the  sandy  wastes 
threaded  by  the  Colorado,  and  the  gulf  gradually  widening 
out  as  it  extended  southward.  Afterwards,  when  Salvatierra, 
having  returned  to  Caborca  and  thence  to  Loreto,  gave  an 
account  of  his  journey  to  Tyrso  Gonzales,  he  observed  that 
though  the  discovery  might  as  yet  seem  of  little  advantage 
on  account  of  the  distance  from  Loreto  to  the  head  of  the 
gulf,  it  was  nevertheless  one  of  the  steps  by  which  in  time 
California  might  become  the  scene  of  industry  and  activity, 
the  soul  of  the  kingdom  of  America  and  the  main  source  of 
its  opulence.1 

In  the  latter  part  of  1701,  after  the  departure  of  Salvatierra, 
Kino  made  a  third  journey  to  the  junction  of  the  Gila  and 
Colorado  and  thence  descended  the  left  bank  of  the  Colorado 
about  twenty  leagues.  He  there  found  a  vast  multitude  of 
Indians,  who  had  collected  from  various  quarters  to  meet  him. 
The  river  at  that  point  was  about  two  hundred  yards  wide. 
The  Indians  crossed  it  by  swimming  and  when  they  wished 
to  take  provisions  they  pushed  before  them  a  sort  of  trough 
made  of  rushes,  so  closely  woven  as  to  be  water-tight  and 
carrying  two  or  three  bushels  of  maize.  Kino,  not  fancying 
this  method  of  ferriage,  collected  pieces  of  dry  wood  and  trees 
and  constructed  a  raft,  upon  which  he  crossed  from  the  eastern 
to  the  western  bank  to  the  wonder  of  the  Indians,  who  wit- 
nessed his  operations  and  to  whom  that  kind  of  transporta- 
tion was  apparently  novel.  There  Kino  learned  that  the 
ocean  was  at  a  disiance  of  only  ten  days'  journey  to  the  west 
and  he  was  desirous  of  traversing  the  intervening  country  as 
far  as  Monterey  and  Mendocino.  But  there  was  no  safe  mode 
of  carrying  his  pack  animals  across  the  river;  and  without 
them  no  such  expedition  could  be  attempted.  He  therefore 
contented  himself  with  writing  letters  to  Salvatierra,  which  he 
intrusted  for  delivery  to  the  Indians,  and  then  returned  by 
the  way  he  had  come  to  his  head-quarters  in  Sonora. 

1  Salvatierra's  words  were  as  follows.  "  Esta  caminata  oy  parece  de  poco 
provecho,  por  la  distancia  de  veinte  y  seis  grados,  donde  estamos  (en  la  California) 
hasta  treintay  dos,  ypoco  mas,  &  donde  parece  se  cierra  el  golfo;  pero  son  passos, 
para  fpie  dentro  de  pocos  afios  sea  esto  el  alma  de  este  reyno. " — Venegas,  P.  Ill, 
§  5.  P-  102. 


KINO.  187 

In  the  early  part  of  1702  he  made  his  last  effort  to  reach 
Loreto  by  land.  In  company  with  a  brother  priest,  named 
Father  Martin  Gonzalez,  he  proceeded  to  San  Dionysio,  as 
he  had  called  the  junction  of  the  Colorado  and  Gila,  and 
thence  immediately  passed  down  the  Colorado  to  its  mouth 
or  the  place  where  its  waters  spread  out  and  form  the  head 
of  the  gulf.  He  camped  there  on  the  beach  and  came  near 
being  caught  by  the  tide,  which  rose  rapidly  and  to  an  unex- 
pected height.  It  had  been  his  intention  at  that  place  to 
cross  the  river  and  proceed  along  the  California!!  bank;  and 
logs  were  collected  for  the  construction  of  a  raft  to  carry 
over  his  train  and  supplies;  but  the  difficulty  of  finding  mate- 
rials, sufficient  to  form  a  transport  of  sufficient  magnitude  and 
strength  to  attempt  the  great  breadth  of  the  river,  together 
with  the  rapid  current  and  violent  tides,  delayed  him;  and 
the  sudden  dangerous  illness  of  Father  Gonzalez,  which  after- 
wards proved  fatal,  obliged  him  to  give  up  the  proposed 
undertaking  and  retrace  his  steps  as  rapidly  as,  under  the 
circumstances,  was  possible.  For  the  next  eight  years  Kino's 
time  and  attention  were  taken  up  almost  exclusively  in 
extending  the  missions  of  Sonora  towards  the  northward,  in 
protecting  his  converts  from  the  rapacity  and  oppressions  of 
merchants  and  officials,  who  by  a  thousand  fraudulent  prac- 
tices endeavored  to  force  them  away  and  immure  them  in  the 
mines,  and  in  continuing  to  collect,  as  far  as  he  could,  sup- 
plies for  the  Californian  missions  and  thus  encouraging  their 
extension.  In  these  labors,  having  no  assistants  and  being 
compelled  by  his  great  spirit  to  undergo  continual  fatigues, 
he  wore  out  his  valuable  life  and  passed  to  his  reward  in 
1710. 


C  H  APTE  R     I  V. 

UGARTE. 

BUT... though.  Father.  Kino  was  the  projector  and  Father 
Salvaticrra  the  founder,  the  glory  of  being  the  preserver 
of  the  Lower  California!!  missions  is  due  more  to  Father  Juan 
U  raite  than  to  either  of  the  others.  Without  his  able  and 
energetic  support  as  coadjutor  at  Mexico  nothing  at  all  could 
have  been  accomplished;  and  now,,  in  the  days  of  darkness 
and  trial,  when  outside  assistance  was  withdrawn  and  con- 
tributions of  any  amount  could  no  longer  be  looked  for,  it 
was  his  strong  hand  and  willing  heart  more  than  anything 
else  that  saved  the  settlement  from  perishing  and  gradually 
developed  those  internal  resources,  which  assured  its  mainte- 
nance and  permanence.  Of  the  names,  which  ought  to  be, 
and  which  in  the  future  probably  will  be  rescued  from  obscu- 
rity and  advanced  to  a  position  of  honor  far  in  front  of  those 
whose  noisy  exploits  have  hitherto  too  commonly  filled  the 
pages  of  the  chronicler,  his  is  one  of  the  bright  ones.  In  his 
sphere,  small  and  limited  it  is  true  though  none  the  less 
truly  glorious  on  that  account,  he  was  one  who  labored  ear- 
nestly for  the  benefit  of  the  human  race. 

As  soon  as  it  became  plain  that  nothing  further  was  to  be 
accomplished  at  the  city  of  Mexico,  Ugarte  gathered  up 
what  few  contributions  he  could  get  together  and  proceeded 
to  Loreto.  When  he  arrived  there  Salvatierra  was  absent  in 
Sonora;  but  upon  the  return  of  the  latter,  in  the  summer  of 
1701,  the  two  held  counsel  upon  the  affairs  of  the  settlement 
and  what  was  best  to  be  done.  One  of  their  first  and  most 
important  resolutions  was  to  hasten  the  resignation  of  Men- 
(18S) 


UGARTE.  189 

doza,  the  commander  of  the  soldiers  whose  underhanded 
slanders  had  done  so  much  mischief,  and  to  appoint  a  proper 
commander  in  his  place.  Their  choice  fell  first  upon  Isidro 
de  Figueroa;  but  he  proved  incompetent;  and  they  then 
chose  a  Portuguese,  n'amci  Estcvan  Rodriguez  Lorenzo,  who 
for  nearly  forty  years  afterwards  continued  worthily  to  fill 
the  office  thus  thrust  upon  him.  The  next  important  resolu- 
tion adopted  by  the  fathers  was,  that  Piccolo  should  proceed 
to  the  city  of  Mexico  so  as  to  take  advantage  of  any  change 
of  public  sentiment  that  might  occur  there  in  favor  of  the 
missions,  and  that  Ugarte  should  assume  Piccolo's  place  at 
Vigge  Biaundo  and  re-establish  the  settlement  at  that  place. 
In  pursuance  of  this  plan  Piccolo  left  California  and  Ugarte, 
after  hastily  picking  up  a  smattering  of  the  native  language 
and  taking  with  him  a  few  soldiers,  proceeded  to  the  site  of 
the  ruined  buildings.  Upon  his  arrival  there  and  for  several 
days  afterwards  not  an  Indian  was  to  be  seen.  Either  from 
disaffection  or  fear  they  had  all  fled.  The  soldiers,  who  had 
become  accustomed  at  Lorcto  to  being  waited  on  by  the 
natives  and  who  were  now,  on  account  of  the  absence  of  the 
Indians,  compelled  to  wait  on  themselves,  desired  to  go  in 
search  of  the  fugitives;  but  this  Ugarte  would  by  no  means 
permit.  A  few  more  days  passed  and  still  no  Indians.  The 
soldiers  began  to  show  signs  of  dissatisfaction  and  com- 
menced to  remonstrate;  but  Ugarte  put  an  end  to  their 
complaints  by  discharging  them  and  remained  alone.  That 
night  a  boy,  evidently  sent  by  the  Indians,  made  his  appear- 
ance; and  upon  his  reporting  to  them  that  the  father  was 
alone  and  desired  to  see  them,  they  all  came  back;  and 
Ugarte  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  finding  that  his  confi- 
dence in  trusting  himself  alone  in  their  midst  was  not 
misplaced. 

From_the  very ^bje^innjnj^U^^te  had  made  up  his  mind 
that  his  true  policy  was  to  make  his  establishment  sclf-sus- 
fcunjjig;  and  for  this  purpose  the_greatjpbject,  which  he  kept 
constantly  before  his  eyes,  after  gaining  1 1 1 e  good-will  of  the 
natives,  was  to  wean  them  from  their  vagrant  way  of  life  and 


190  THE  JESUITS. 

accustom  them  to  labor  in  tilling  the  soil  and  raising  herds 
and  flocks.  He  clearly  saw  that  succors  from  New  Spain 
could  not  be  depended  on  and  that  transportation  of  supplies 
across  the  boisterous  gulf,  even  when  they  were  provided, 
was  hazardous  and  uncertain.  He  had  also  observed  that  at 
Loreto  there  was  very  little  ground  suitable  for  cultivation, 
the  only  improvement  of  that  kind  there  being  a  small  garden 
and  a  few  fruit  trees;  but  here  at  Vigge  Biaundo  there  was 
soil  sufficient  and  of  good  quality;  and  he  at  once  undertook 
the  work  of  making  it  available  not  only  for  the  support  of 
his  own  people  but  of  those  also  at  the  parent  mission.  It  is 
the  intention  in  a  subsequent  part  of  this  work  to  speak  more 
at  large  of  the  character  of  the  Indians;  but  sufficient  has 
already  been  said  to  give  some  idea  of  the  difficulties  of  ac- 
complishing, with  such  an  idle,  fickle  and  brutish  race,  the 
work  which  Father  Ugarte  proposed  to  himself.  And  it  is 
great  praise  to  him  to  be  able  to  add  that  he  was  equal  to  the 
task. 

In  the  morning,  after  distributing  a  breakfast  of  pozoli 
among  those  who  consented  to  assist  him,  he  set  them  to 
work  building  a  church  and  habitations  and  clearing  and  pre- 
paring ground  for  cultivation.  In  all  this  labor  he  himself 
was  not  only  overseer  but  also  architect,  mason,  carpenter 
and  chief  workman.  He  was  the  first  in  fetching  and  shap- 
ing the  stones;  in  mixing  and  treading  the  clay;  in  cutting, 
carrying  and  fashioning  the  timber;  in  digging  and  removing 
the  earth,  and  in  fixing  the  materials  in  place.  For  a  long 
time  the  Indians  were  rather  a  hindrance  than  a  help;  for, 
though  he  did  all  he  could,  it  was  next  to  impossible  to 
induce  them  to  labor  steadily;  and  when  they  did  so,  it  was 
in  so  bungling  a  manner  that  they  rather  interrupted  than 
forwarded  the  work.  They  were  sure  to  slacken  and  give  up 
even  then,  if  he  was  not  by  their  side  exerting  himself  more 
than  any  of  them;  so  that  he  was  obliged  to  pass  from  task 
to  task,  sometimes  working  with  an  ax,  at  another  with  a 
spade,  at  another  with  a  crowbar,  but  incessantly  toiling.  As 
soon  as  the  buildings  were  a  little  advanced,  he  directed  his 


UGARTE.  191 

attention  to  the  fields.  He  cleared  the  ground,  removed 
rocks,  made  trenches  for  the  conveyance  of  water,  dug  holes 
for  fruit  trees  and  turned  up  the  soil  for  sowing;  and  at  the 
same  time  he  had  to  keep  an  outlook  over  the  few  cattle  he 
had  been  able  to  procure,  leading  them  to  pasture,  keeping 
them  from  straying  and  especially  protecting  them  against 
the  improvident  people  for  whose  benefit  they  were  intended. 
In  the  evening  he  was  no  less  busy  than  in  the  day  time. 
It  was  then  that  he  attempted  to  teach  the  Indians  the  cate- 
chism and  explain  to  them  the  leading  doctrines  of  the 
church.  And  in  these  labors  he  experienced  quite  as  much, 
if  not  more,  difficulty  than  in  those  of  quarrying,  digging, 
building,  clearing  and  cultivating.  If  it  was  necessary  in  the 
day  time  to  guard  against  tiring  the  Indians,  it  was  much 
more  so  in  the  evening,  when  they  were  required  to  repeat 
lessons  they  could  not  understand  and  listen  to  sermons  in 
which  they  could  take  no  interest.  As  soon  as  the  novelty 
of  these  exercises  wore  away,  the  Indians  began  first  to  grow 
weary  and  then,  by  all  kinds  of  mockery  and  unseemly  jests, 
to  amuse  themselves  at  their  teacher's  expense.  For  some 
time  he  bore  all  this  with  patience;  and  when  patience  was 
exhausted  he  resorted  to  reproof;  but  neither  one  nor  the 
other  sufficed:  the  disorder  grew  greater  and  greater,  until  it 
seemed  next  to  impossible  to  make  any  further  progress. 
There  was  one  Indian  especially,  who  gave  mueh  trouble. 
He  was  a  man  of  large  size  and  well-knit  frame,  who  had  a 
high  reputation  for  strength  and  was  on  this  account  looked 
Upon  among  his  country  people  as  a  leader.  Presuming  upon 
the  pre-eminence  of  position  he  thus  occupied,  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  mimicking  the  father  and  he  did  it  with  so  much 
skill  that  he  kept  up  an  almost  continual  uproar.  On  one  of 
these  occasions,  when  this  rude  fellow's  insolence  had  reached 
its  height,  Ugarte  made  up  his  mind  that  patience  had  al- 
together ceased  to  be  a  virtue.  Being  himself  a  large  and 
powerful  man,  he  suddenly  rose;  in  his  wrath  seized  the 
Indian  by  the  hair;  lifted  him  from  the  floor,  ard  shook  him 
to  and  fro  as  if  he  were  a  puppet.     The  spirit  of  the  proud 


192  THE  JESUITS. 

son  of  the  forest  quailed  in  the  grasp  of  the  sinewy  master; 
and  the  other  Indians  upon  beholding  such  treatment  of  their 
champion  ran  off  in  the  utmost  terror.  But  the  lesson  proved 
a  salutary  one;  and  at  the  next  meeting  there  was  a  very 
marked  improvement  in  the  deportment  of  the  congregation. 
This  incident  also  led  to  an  improvement  in  the  teacher;  for, 
finding  that  one  main  cause  of  the  Indians'  merriment  was  his 
misuse  of  words  and  particularly  his  mistakes  in  pronunciation, 
Ugarte  now  assiduously  applied  himself  to  a  more  careful 
study  of  the  native  language;  and,  instead  of  relying  any 
longer  upon  the  adult  men,  who  he  ascertained  had  been 
accustomed  to  mislead  for  the  purpose  of  afterwards  laughing 
at  him,  he  henceforth  turned  to  the  boys  and  children,  upon 
whom  he  could  place  more  reliance. 

It  is  further  related  of  Father  Ugarte  in  confirmation  of 
the  accounts  of  his  great  physical  strength  and  courage,  that 
on  one  occasion  he  fought  a  cougar  or  California  lion  with  no 
other  weapons  than  two  stones,  and  succeeded  in  killing  it. 
He  then  threw  the  carcass  upon  his  horse  and  carried  it  to  his 
mission,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  Indians,  who  were  hor- 
rified to  think  of  the  danger  he  had  run.  "  I  acknowledge," 
says  the  writer  of  the  incident,  "  that  I  am  unable  to  narrate 
it,  without  expressing  my  own  astonishment,  and  particularly 
when  I  consider  the  great  fund  of  virtue  and  charity,  which 
must  have  existed  in  the  heart  of  a  man,  who  at  their  impul- 
sion could  have  done  so  many  wonders.  Father  Ugarte  will 
pass  down  in  history  as  the  Hercules  of  the  Society  of  Jesus 
in  the  province  of  Mexico.  An  admirable  man,  as  God 
liveth,  well  worthy  of  immortality."  1 

The  fruits  of  this  busy  man's  toils  soon  began  to  show 
themselves.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years  he  had  not  only 
built  up  his  mission,  brought  his  people  to  acknowledge  the 
faith  and  inured  them  to  habits  of  industry;  but  he  saw 
around  him  orchards,  gardens,  smiling  fields,  plentiful  har- 
vests and  increasing  flocks.     He  had  truly  made  the  desert 

1  Histori'a  <le  la  Compnnia  de  Jesus  en  Nueva  Espafia,  by  P.  Francisco  Javier 
Alegre;  Mexico,  1842  III,  185,  186. 


UGARTE.  !!»:'. 

blossom  as  the  rose.  He  not  only  raised  maize  and  wheat 
and  other  grains  and  various  garden  vegetables;  but  he  had 
also  planted  vines  and  made  a  considerable  quantity  of  gen- 
erous wine,  with  which  he  afterwards  supplied  all  the  missions 
of  Lower  California  and  even  furnished  some  for  exportation 
to  the  opposite  coasts  of  the  gulf.  He  likewise  bred  horses, 
cattle  and  sheep  and  by  degrees  became  a  sort  of  purveyor- 
general  for  the  other  missions:  and  on  more  than  one  occa- 
sion the  supplies,  which  he  was  able  to  provide,  alone  saved 
them  from  starvation  and  destruction.  Some  years  after- 
wards, when  his  flocks  had  sufficiently  increased,  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  making  of  distaffs,  spinning-wheels  and  looms 
and  taught  the  Indians  how  to  prepare  the  wool  and  spin  and 
weave  it  into  cloth;  so  that  in  time  he  also  saw  his  people 
clothed.  Thus  at  last  Father  Ugarte  accomplished  what 
might  almost  have  been  regarded  as  impossibilities  and  more 
than  succeeded  in  his  grand  design  of  making  his  establish- 
ment self-supporting.  In  June,  1707,  only  about  six  years 
after  he  had  commenced  his  labors,  at  a  time  when  most  all 
of  New  Spain  was  suffering  with  drought  and  famine  and 
was  in  fact  reduced  to  great  distress,  he  was  enabled  to 
write:  "  It  is  now  for  two  months  that,  even  with  the  sailors 
and  landsmen  who  have  come  over  to  us,  we  have  been  eat- 
ing good  wheaten  bread  of  our  own  raising,  while  the  poor 
on  the  opposite  coasts  of  Sinaloa  and  Sonora  are  perishing. 
Who  would  have  dreamed  of  such  things  ?  "  l 

1  Ugarte's  words  were:  "  Gracias  a  Dios,  ya  va  para  dus  meses,  que  comemos 
aqui  con  la  gente  de  mar  y  tierra  buen  pan  de  nuestra  cosecha  de  trigo,  pere- 
ciendo  los  pobres  de  la  otra  vanda,  assi  en  Cinaloa,  como  en  Sonora.  Quien  lo 
huviera  sofiado  ?  Viva  Jesus,  y  la  Gran  Madre  de  Gracia,  y  su  Esposo,  Obtene- 
dor  de  imposibles. " — Venegas,  P.  Ill,  §  6,  pp.  118,  119. 


i3    Vol.  I. 


CHAPTER    V . 

DIFFICULTIES   AND   OBSTACLES. 

IT  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  because  Father  Ugarte 
finally  succeeded  in  reducing  the  desert  slopes  of  Vigge 
Biaundo  to  cultivation  and  covering  its  native  sterility  wi£h 
smiling  fields  and  laughing  vines,  that  he  had  no  other  obsta- 
cles to  encounter  than  those  of  which  mention  has  thus  been 
made.  Nor  was  he  by  any  means  permitted  to  pursue  his 
great  labors  without  serious  interruptions.  Frequently,  in 
the  first  years  of  his  struggles,  he  and  his  people  were  com- 
pelled to  resort  to  the  wild  fruits  and  roots  of  the  mountains 
for  their  subsistence.  But  in  these,  as  in  all  the  other  works 
in  which  he  took  a  part,  he  was  the  foremost  in  undertaking 
labor  and  bearing  burdens.  In  the  summer  of  1702,  after 
he  had  planted  his  first  crops  and  while  he  was  exerting  him- 
self in  supporting  and  keeping  his  people  together,  an  out- 
break occurred  amongst  them,"  which  resulted  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  his  expected  harvest.  It  seems  that  by  this  time  he 
had  with  him  several  of  the  soldiers  from  Loi-eto.  One  of 
them,  a  violent  fellow  by  the  name  of  Poblano,  had  that  spring 
married  an  Indian  wife.  In  June  and  while  the  newly  mar- 
ried couple  were  apparently  living  together  in  harmony,  the 
wife's  mother  made  them  a  visit  at  the  camp  and  invited  her 
daughter  to  return  to  her  native  rancheria;  it  being  then  the 
festive  season  when  the  pitahayas  or  fruits  of  the  cactus  were 
ripe.  Poblano  did  not  relish  the  proposition;  but  the  young 
bride,  too  ready  to  listen  to  any  proposal  for  a  party  of  pleas- 
ure, stole  away  with  her  mother  in  the  night  time;  so  that 
next  morning  the  soldier  found  himself  again  a  bachelor. 
(194) 


DIFFICULTIES  AND  OBSTACLES.  195 

He  asked  permission  to  go  after  the  runaway;  but  failed  in 
the  time  allowed  him  to  find  her.  His  love  or  his  resentment 
increased  with  her  absence;  and  in  a  few  days  afterwards  he 
went  a  second  time.  On  this  occasion  he  took  his  musket 
along  and,  upon  approaching  the  rancheria,  brandished  it 
threateningly,  when  an  Indian  came  out,  advised  him  to  go 
away,  and  cautioned  him  that,  if  he  persisted,  his  life  would 
be  in  danger.  Poblano,  however,  would  listen  to  no  reason; 
and,  getting  into  an  altercation,  he  shot  the  Indian  dead  upon 
the  spot.  At  this  the  other  Indians  in  great  numbers  came 
running  from  the  rancheria;  and,  surrounding  Poblano,  they 
killed  him  with  their  arrows.  From  this  beginning  the  insur- 
rection started.  As  usual,  a  number  of  the  rancherias  con- 
federated. There  were  several  attacks,  in  one  of  which 
Father  Ugarte's  fields  were  torn  up  and  a  number  of  his 
domestic  animals  slaughtered.  At  one  time  his  church  and 
buildings  were  threatened  with  destruction;  but  the  soldiers 
managed  to  save  them;  and  at  length,  after  a  few  skirmishes 
in  which  some  blood  was  spilled,  the  disturbances  seemed  for 
the  time  to  be  quelled., 

In  the  early  part  of  1703,  Ugarte  having  found  his  labors 
rendered  abortive  and  having  gone  off  for  the  purpose  of 
procuring  horses,  cattle  and  supplies  to  re-establish  his  settle- 
ment, another  outbreak  occurred.  The  malcontents,  headed 
by  the  chief  who  had  led  the  last  conspiracy,  formed  them- 
selves into  a  body;  fell  upon  the  Indians  who  remained 
faithful  at  Vigge  Biaundo,  and  murdered  them  all,  except  a 
very  few,  who  managed  to  escape.  Intelligence  of  this  out- 
rage having  reached  Loreto,  Captain  Lorenzo,  taking  his 
soldiers  and  a  body  of  friendly  Indians,  started  out  to  punish 
the  insurgents.  He  succeeded  in  coming  upon  them  by  sur- 
prise and  killed  several;  but  the  leader  fled  to  the  rocky 
recesses  of  the  mountains,  whither  it  was  unsafe  to  follow 
him.  Lorenzo,  nevertheless,  was  determined  to  secure  his 
capture  and,  by  threatening  vengeance  upon  the  tribes,  suc- 
ceeded in  having  him  delivered  up.  Once  caught,  he  was  put 
upon  his  trial  before  an  informal  court-martial;  and,  it  ap- 


196  THE  JESUITS. 

pearing  by  the  testimony  adduced  that  he  had  taken  the 
leading  part  in  several  designs  of  destroying  the  missions; 
that  he  had  had  the  chief  hand  in  the  killing  of  Poblano,  and 
that  he  had  instigated  the  late  murders,  Lorenzo  pronounced 
upon  him  the  sentence  of  death.  Before  proceeding,  however, 
to  carry  his  sentence  into  execution  he  advised  the  fathers  at 
Loreto  of  what  had  been  done.  Piccolo,  who  by  that  time 
had  returned  from  Mexico,  came  at  once  and  favored  releas- 
ing the  culprit;  but  Lorenzo  stood  up  for  the  military  law. 
Salvatierra  also  came  and  proposed  that  the  prisoner  should 
be  banished  across  the  gulf;  but  Lorenzo  remained  inflexibly 
of  the  opinion  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  make  a 
public  example  of  him;  and  all  that  he  could  be  brought  to 
grant  was  a  respite  until  the  wretch  could  be  catechised  and 
baptized.  This  was  accordingly  done  by  Father  Juan  Manuel 
de  Bassaldua,  a  new  arrival,  while  Salvatierra  and  Piccolo, 
having  acquiesced  in  or  being  unwilling  to  interfere  with  the 
resolute  determination  of  Lorenzo,  withdrew  to  their  mission 
of  Loreto.  It  is  said  that  the  Indian,  after  being  baptized, 
became  another  man ;  warned  his  people  against  the  evil 
example  he  had  set  them,  and  welcomed  his  death  with  pious 
resignation.  It  seems  certain  that  his  fate  produced  a* lasting 
effect  upon  the  Indians;  and  for  a  considerable  period  after- 
wards there  were  no  disturbances  or  signs  of  insubordination 
amongst  them. 

In  the  summer  of  1704,  and  before  the  replanted  fields  of 
Vigge  Biaundo  were  ready  for  the  harvest,  there  was  another 
season  of  scarcity  and  want.  The  vessels,  that  had  been  sent  to 
Sonora  and  Sinaloa  for  provisions, had  been  several  times  driven 
back  by  contrary  winds;  and  the  fathers,  soldiers  and  colonists 
in  the  peninsula,  then  amounting  to  sixty  persons,  found  them- 
selves reduced  to  almost  as  great  straits  as  had  been  suffered 
in  1698.  At  length,  when  there  seemed  little  further  hope, 
Salvatierra  called  together  his  companions  and  in  a  serious 
address  represented  to  them  the  extremities  to  which  they 
were  brought.  As  for  himself,  he  had  made  up  his  mind  and 
was  resolved  to  remain  at   any  risk;    and  he  believed    that 


DIFFICULTIES  AND  OBSTACLES.  197 

Father  Ugarte  would  do  the  same;  but  he  did  not  wish  to 
obtrude  this  hard  necessity  upon  the  others;  nor  was  it,  in  his 
opinion,  reasonable  or  to  be  expected  of  them  that  they 
should  sacrifice  themselves.  It  was  plain,  he  said,  that  they 
especially  deserved  the  support  of  the  Spanish  government; 
and  he  was  informed  that  the  king  had  ordered  for  them  a 
liberal  provision;  but  for  various  reasons  the  intended  supplies 
had  not  come  and,  though  their  wants  grew  every  day  more 
and  more  pressing,  speedy  succor  was  not  to  be  looked  for, 
and  there  was  no  prospect  of  relief  for  an  indefinite  time  to 
come.  Under  these  circumstances,  he  continued,  he  had 
called  them  together  freely  and  unreservedly  to  determine 
whether  they  would  remain  in  California  or  pass  over  to  the 
opposite  coasts  in  the  vessels,  which  were  at  hand  ready  to 
carry  them,  and  there  await  a  more  favorable  opportunity  to 
resume  and  prosecute  their  conquest. 

As  soon  as  Salvatierra  had  spoken,  Piccolo  rose  and  stated, 
speaking  for  himself,  that  he  was  willing  to  abide  by  the 
decision  of  the  others;  and  that  he  would  therefore  not  en- 
deavor by  his  vote  one  way  or  the  other  to  influence  the  final 
determination.  But  Ugarte,  when  it  came  to  his  turn  to 
speak,  resolutely  opposed  their  quitting  the  country.  He 
was  indeed  willing  that  all  who  desired  should  not  only  have 
full  permission  to  go  but  should  receive  certificates  of  what 
was  due  them.  But  for  himself,  Father  Salvatierra  had 
already  announced  to  them  his  fixed  and  unalterable  deter- 
mination. As  to  those  who  were  willing  to  remain,  he  en- 
gaged, with  their  assistance,  to  provide  from  the  Vigge  moun- 
tains wild  fruits  and  roots,  such  as  he  had  more  than  once 
before  been  compelled  to  depend  upon;  and  as  they  were 
good  enough  for  his  Indian  friends  and  for  years  had  formed 
the  staple  of  their  food,  it  would  be  presumptuous  in  him,  in 
the  present  posture  of  affairs,  to  ask  for  more.  No  sooner 
had  Ugarte  thus  expressed  himself  than  his  indomitable 
spirit  became  infectious.  His  brother,  Father  Pedro  Ugarte, 
who  had  but  recently  arrived,  seconded  him  with  great  zeal, 
as  did  likewise  Father  Bassaldua;  and  then  Father  Piccolo,  to 


198  THE  JESUITS. 

the  great  joy  of  Salvatierra,  gave  his  vote  the  same  way. 
Captain  Lorenzo  and  his  soldiers,  when  the  proposal  of 
removing  across  the  gulf  was  laid  before  them,  solemnly  pro- 
tested that  they  would  not  for  a  moment  think  of  such  a 
thing.  Notice  was  then  given  to  the  colonists  that  whoever 
desired  might  take  advantage  of  the  sailing  of  the  vessels; 
but  one  and  all,  without  exception,  catching  tlie  spirit  of 
Ugarte,  cried  out  with  enthusiasm  that,  whatever  might  betide, 
they  would  stand  by  the  fathers.  The  vessels  were  accord- 
ingly dispatched  without  passengers;  and  Ugarte,  forming 
the  people  into  companies,  set  out  with  them  for  the  moun- 
tains and  commenced  systematically  gathering  wild  fruits, 
roots  and  whatever  clean  provision  could  be  found,  with 
which  he  returned  laden  to  Loreto.  In  the  autumn  the  ves- 
sels returned  with  full  supplies,  and  about  the  same  time 
Ugarte's  harvests  at  San  Xavier  came  in;  and  from  this  time 
forward  there  was  no  serious  scarcity.  Ugarte  had  not  only 
started  agriculture  but  had  demonstrated  the  practicability  of 
making  the  wilderness  yield  a  tolerable  support. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  moneys,  which  had  been  directed  by 
Philip  V  to  be  disbursed  to  the  Californian  missions,  were  in 
arrears.  Father  Piccolo  in  1702,  during  his  visit  to  Mexico 
in  that  year,  had  managed  to  procure  six  thousand  dollars, 
and  with  them  had  purchased  and  loaded  a  new  vessel,  the 
same  in  which  he  returned  and  brought  with  him  Father 
Bassaldua,  already  mentioned,  and  Father  Geronimo  Minutili. 
In  the  latter  part  of  1703,  Philip  V.,  having  ascertained  that 
his  directions  in  regard  to  California  had  not  been  executed, 
issued  new  mandatory  orders  that  the  Californian  settlements 
should  not  only  be  supported,  but  that  there  should  be  paid 
to  them,  without  deduction  or  delay,  a  further  yearly  sum  of 
seven  thousand  dollars  in  addition  to  the  six  thousand  already 
assigned.  He  also  directed  that  a  royal  garrison  should  be 
established,  a  suitable  ship  provided  for  the  service  of  the 
province,  and.  if  possible,  a  port  discovered  and  fortified  as  a 
refuge  for  the  Philippine  ships.  These  mandates  reached  the 
hands  of  the   Duque  de   Albuquerque,   the   then  viceroy  of 


DIFFICULTIES  AND  OBSTACLES.  199 

New  Spain,  in  the  month  of  April,  1704;  and  word  was 
immediately  sent  to  California  that  the  presence  of  Father 
Salvatierra  was  required  for  the  due  execution  of  them. 
Salvatierra,  however,  upon  receiving  the  summons  felt  him- 
self irresistibly  detained  by  the  low  state  to  which  his  peo- 
ple had  been  reduced,  being  unwilling  to  leave  them  in  their 
distress.  But  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year,  after  these 
distresses  were  relieved  as  has  been  shown,  he  crossed  the 
gulf  and  proceeded  by  the  way  of  Guadalajara  to  the  city  of 
Mexico.  There  he  ascertained  to  his  great  grief  that  he  had 
been  promoted  to  the  office  of  provincial  of  his  order  and  that 
the  duties  of  his  new  position  would  prevent  him  from  devot- 
ing his  time  and  attention  exclusively  to  California,  as  he 
desired.  He  therefore  begged  to  decline  his  new  honors. 
But  the  customs  of  his  society  and  his  vows  of  obedience 
would  not  admit  of  his  refusal  to  serve.  Nevertheless,  while 
he  felt  compelled  to  assume  the  functions  of  spiritual  super- 
visor of  the  entire  province,  he  sent  off  letters  to  his  old 
friend  Tyrso  Gonzalez,  the  father-general,  in  Spain,  imploring 
as  a  last  favor  that  he  might  be  allowed  for  once  and  all  to 
go  back  to  his  beloved  California.  It  was  there  in  that  land, 
rugged  as  it  was,  and  among  the  devoted  friends  with  whom 
he  had  struggled  and  suffered,  that  he  wished  to  spend  the 
remainder  of  his  days.     It  was  there  he  wished  to  die. 

With  such  feelings  enlisted  in  favor  of  the  new  missions 
he  had  founded,  it  was  natural  for  Salvatierra  to  call  into 
requisition  all  his  energies  on  their  behalf.  He  pleaded  with 
the  viceroy,  who  listened  with  much  greater  condescension  to 
him  as  father-provincial  than  he  would  have  listened  to  him 
as  mere  father-priest.  He  procured  councils  to  be  called 
and  laid  before  them  statements  of  the  condition  of  the  new 
establishments  and  the  mandatory  orders  of  the  king  in  rela- 
tion to  them.  In  May,  1705,  he  presented  a  very  long  and 
complete  memorial;  setting  forth  their  whole  history  from  the 
time  of  Admiral  Atondo  down  to  the  time  of  writing;  pointing 
out  the  errors  that  had  been  committed  and  the  successes  that 
had  been  gradually  worked  out;    presenting  in   strong  light 


200  THE  JESUITS. 

the  advantages  in  a  political  as  well  as  in  a  religious  point  of 
view  to  be  derived  from  a  thorough  reduction  of  the  country, 
and  urging  the  immediate  payment  of  the  appointed  stipends 
and  the  arrearages  that  were  due.  Still,  strange  as  it  may 
appear,  even  these  efforts  were  in  vain.  The  memorial  was 
transmitted  from  one  office  to  another;  difficulties  were 
raised  in  unexpected  quarters;  new  instructions  were  asked 
from  the  royal  council  and  the  king;  even  the  old  slanders 
against  the  Jesuits  and  their  conduct  in  Californian  affairs 
found  new  circulators  and  supporters.  In  June,  1705,  Salva- 
tierra  in  his  character  of  provincial  made  a  visit  to  Loreto 
and  carried  with  him  all  the  supplies  he  could  collect;  but 
as  yet  no  more  of  the  government  money  was  forthcoming. 
At  length,  it  being  apparent  that  the  viceroy  was  inimical  to 
California  and  that  he  more  than  any  one  else  was  the  cause 
of  the  difficulties  which  had  supervened,  Salvatierra  as  pro- 
vincial, with  the  advice  and  concurrence  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent of  the  other  Jesuits,  resolved,  as  a  last  resort  and  as  a 
decisive  step,  to  formally  renounce  and  relinquish  California 
into  the  hands  of  the  viceroy,  and  suggested  the  necessity  of 
his  immediately  taking  the  responsible  charge  of  its  concerns. 
This  stroke  of  policy  had  the  desired  effect.  The  viceroy 
found  himself  in  a  position  which  might  cost  him  more  than 
he  bargained  for;  and  in  a  very  short  time  the  stipends  for 
the  current  year  were  disbursed.  But  the  blow  rankled  in 
his  breast:  thenceforward  the  very  name  of  California  was  an 
abomination  to  him;  and,  being  a  man  of  ability,  he  made 
his  enmity  felt.  If  the  fathers  begged  and  solicited,  he  was 
smooth  in  his  answers;  but  such  answers  were  the  only  replies 
they  received.  If  they  sent  remonstrances,  he  knew  how  to 
remove  their  edge  or  divert  them  from  their  destination.  If 
they  plotted,  he  counter-plotted.  If  they  mined,  he  under- 
mined. .  Me  even  secreted  the  royal  mandates  and  schedules 
relating  to  the  subject;  and  during  the  remainder  of  his  ad- 
istration,  which  lasted  till  the  latter  part  of  17 10,  notwith- 
standing all  the  efforts  of  the  fathers  and  the  orders  of  the 
king,  and  the  excitement  occasioned  by  the  destructive  visit 


DIFFICULTIES  AND  OBSTACLES.  201 

of  Captain  Woodes  Rogers  in  1709,  not  another  real  of  royal 
money  found  its  way  to  the  peninsula. 

The  evil  effects  of  the  Duque  de  Albuquerque's  resentment 
were  felt  for  a  long  time  even  after  his  retirement.  Though 
he  was  succeeded,  in  1711,  by  the  Duque  de  Linares,  who 
was  a  friend  to  the  Jesuits  and  consequently  a  patron  of  their 
establishments  in  California,  the  absence  of  the  royal  man- 
dates, which  had  been  so  closely  secreted  by  his  predecessor 
that  he  knew  knothing  of  them,  prevented  him  from  securing, 
as  he  would  otherwise  have  done,  the  payment  of  the  regu- 
larly appointed  subsidies.  He,  however,  gave  largely  of  his 
own  means  and  procured  liberal  contributions  from  others. 
His  example  was  also  followed  by  his  successor,  the  Marques 
de  Valero,  who  moreover  gave  the  most  substantial  testimo- 
nial of  his  sympathy  by  bequeathing  to  the  Californian 
missions  five  thousand  doubloons,  the  whole  of  his  disposable 
fortune.  In  the  meanwhile  the  admirable  plans  of  Father 
Ugarte  had  already  begun  to  yield  their  fruits:  his  fields  and 
gardens  increased;  his  herds  and  flocks  multiplied;  excur- 
sions and  expeditions  were  made  in  every  direction;  the 
work  of  conversion  advanced;  the  Indians,  as  they  were 
induced  to  accept  the  new  order  of  things,  were  collected  into 
villages  and  towns;  new  missions  were  founded  and  fur- 
nished, and  by  degrees  a  very  large  portion  of  the  country 
to  the  north  and  south  of  Loreto  was  reduced  to'  order.  In 
the  latter  part  of  1705  the  first  rude  beginnings  were  laid  to 
the  mission  of  San  Juan  Bautista  de  Malibat  6  Ligui  to  the 
southeast  of  Loreto  and  about  twenty  leagues  distant,  and 
also  to  that  of  Santa  Rosalia  de  Mulege  near  the  mouth  of 
the  little  river  Mulege  to  the  northwest  of  Loreto  and  about 
forty  leagues  distant.  The  former  was  founded  by  Father 
Pedro  Ugarte;  the  latter  by  Father  Bassaldua.  In  each  case 
the  method  of  procedure  in  bringing  together  the  natives, 
weaning  them  from  their  wanderings,  procuring  them  to  aid 
in  clearing  the  ground,  manufacturing  adobes  and  erecting 
buildings,  was  much  the  same  as  that  adopted  with  so  much 
success    by   Father    Juan    Ugarte    at    Vigge    Biaundo.     But 


202  THE  JESUITS. 

Pedro  Ugarte  somewhat  improved  on  his  brother's  plan  of 
getting  work  out  of  the  Indians  by  making  it  a  sort  of  amuse- 
ment. As  soon  as  his  bed  of  clay  intended  for  adobes  was 
ready,  he  invited  them  and  especially  the  boys  to  a  dance 
upon  it.  Taking  off  his  sandals  and  himself  leading  the  way, 
he  challenged  them  to  follow;  a  few  did  so;  a  song  was  started 
and  they  took  it  up;  others  joined;  the  spirit  of  emulation 
was  roused;  and  in  a.  short  time,  with  singing  and  shouting, 
the  entire  company  was  engaged  in  very  entertaining  sport  as 
well  as  very  good  work. 

While  these  new  missions  were  thus  being  founded,  Father 
Juan  Ugarte  turned  his_  attention  to  the  other  or  ocean  coast 
of  the  peninsula  with  the  object  of  discovering  a  port  suitable 
for  the  relief  of  the  Philippine  ships.  The  securing  of  such  a 
port  had  always  been  one  of  the  great  purposes  of  the  settle- 
ment of  California  and  had  invariably  been  put  forward  as 
one  of  the  principal  reasons  why  the  government  should 
encourage  and  assist  projects  of  colonization.  The  govern- 
ment had  recognized  its  importance;  and  the  royal  instruc- 
tions of  1703,  providing  for  an  increase  in  the  subsidies  to 
be  paid  to  the  fathers,  had  called  especial  attention  to  the 
subject.  In  the  early  part  of  1705,  when  Salvatierra,  then 
provincial,  presented  his  great  memorial  to  the  viceroy  at 
Mexico,  he  referred  to  the  same  matter  and  spoke  in  feeling 
terms  of  the  multitudes,  who  died  of  scurvy  on  the  long  pas- 
sage across  the  Pacific,  and  the  necessity  for  a  port  such  as 
was  contemplated;  and  he  suggested  that,  if  the  increased 
subsidies  provided  for  were  paid,  the  missionaries  would  soon 
extend  their  establishments  to  the  ocean  coast  and  the  plans 
of  the  king  would  be  accomplished  without  any  further 
expense  to  the  treasury.  And  now,  though  the  subsidies 
were  still  unpaid,  it  was  deemed  prudent,  in  view  of  all  that 
had  been  said  and  done,  to  take  at  least  a  preliminary  step 
in  that  direction.  Ugarte,  therefore,  after  completing  his 
preparations  by  the  procurement  of  a  body  of  forty  reliable 
Yaqui  Indians  and  a  number  of  beasts  of  burden  and  provis- 
ions from  across  the  gulf,  and  taking  with  him  Jay  me  Bravo, 


DIFFICULTIES  AND  OBSTACLES.  203 

an  active  assistant  who  had  recently  been  brought  over  by 
Salvatierra,  and  also  Captain  Lorenzo  and  twelve  of  his  sol- 
diers, set  out  in  1706.  The  cavalcade  passed  over  the  narrow 
trail  through  the  Vigge  mountains  to  San  Xavier  and  thence 
westward  over  a  rough,  mountainous  country  to  the  ocean. 
Along  the  shore  they  found  various  companies  of  Guaycuros 
Indians  who  were  very  hostile;  and  they  were  consequently 
compelled  to  march  with  great  care  and  circumspection. 
They  first  went  many  leagues  to  the  south  of  the  point  where 
they  struck  the  ocean,  but  found  only  a  bold  coast  and  very 
little  fresh  water.  Thence  they  turned  round  and  marched 
as  far  to  the  northward  of  the  same  point;  but  the  coast  in 
that  direction  was  the  same,  and  fresh  water  still  scarcer.  At 
one  time  they  were  in  danger  of  perishing  from  thirst;  but  a 
Yaqui  Indian  managed  to  find  a  spring  in  a  spot,  which  the 
others  had  repeatedly  passed  over  in  their  search,  and  thus 
saved  himself  and  companions  from  the  death  with  which 
they  were  threatened.  The  expedition,  however,  proved  fruit- 
less; and  for  the  very  good  reason  that  there  was  no  port  in 
that  part  of  the  coast,  nor  a  good  one  ,for  a  long  distance 
either  to  the  south  or  north  of  it. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

MISSIONARY   GOVERNMENT. 

IN  the  same  year,  1706,  that  Ugarte  made  his  journey  to 
the  ocean  coast,  Salvatierra  succeeded  in  obtaining  release 
from  his  office  of  provincial  and  was  again  enabled  to  devote 
his  exclusive  attention,  as  he  desired,  to  California.  He 
resolved  at  once  to  return  to  Loreto.  Accordingly,  after 
making  the  proper  disposition  of  his  affairs  in  Mexico,  he 
proceeded  to  Ahome  in  Sinaloa  and  at  the  end  of  January, 
1707,  embarked  to  cross  the  gulf.  But  scarcely  had  he  lost 
sight  of  land,  when  one  of  those  terrific  gales  came  on, 
which  had -so  often  disturbed  and  still  continue  to  disturb  the 
navigation  of  that  narrow  sea.  As  the  night  approached  it 
became  excessively  dark;  the  wind  blew  a  hurricane;  the 
waves  dashed  over  the  deck;  the  rudder  broke;  the  sailors 
gave  up  in  despair;  and  the  vessel  was  driven  without  guid- 
ance, helpless  and  to  all  appearance  hopeless.  In  all  his 
journeys  and  voyages,  Salvatierra  had  never  known  what  it 
was  to  be  in  danger  and  distress  till  now.1  It  was  one  of 
those  gales,  short  and  terrific,  afterwards  known  as  the  Cor- 
donazos  de  San  Francisco,  or  Scourges  of  St.  Francis.  It 
usually  occurs  two  or  three  months  before  the  end  of  the 
year.  But  there  are  exceptions.  During  the  dry  season  the 
winds  in  general  are  regular  and  navigation  easy;  but  after 
the  rainy  season  sets  in,  which  in  that  latitude  lasts  from 
about  June  till  January,  there  is  always  a  liability  to  stormy 
weather  and  the  season  sometimes  ends  with  one  of  those 


1  Venegas,  P.  Ill,  s  i",  p.  201. 
(204) 


MISSION AR  Y  GO  I  rERJS WENT.  2  5 

terrible  cordonazos.1  On  this  occasion,  as  fortune  willed  it, 
the  ship  escaped  destruction;  and,  as  the  storm  did  not  last 
long,  it  reached  its  destination  without  much  loss  of  time. 

Upon  arriving-  at  Loreto,  Salvatierra  again  took  charge  as 
principal  of  the  missions,  directing  his  attention  to  the  super- 
vision of  those  already  founded  and  to  the  erection  of  new 
ones.  In  the  beginning  of  1708  he  and  Father  Juan  Ugarte 
aided  Father  Julian  de  Mayorga  in  the  foundation  of  a  fifth 
establishment  at  a  spot  about  twenty  leagues  northwest  of 
Loreto,  thenceforth  known  as  San  Jose  de  Comondu,  of  which 
Mayorga  became  the  missionary.  In  1709  he  again  crossed 
the  gulf  for  the  purpose  of  looking  after  one  of  his  vessels, 
which  had  stranded  on  the  coast  of  Sonora,  and  was  obliged 
to  spend  much  time  in  that  country.  After  his  return  he 
again  resumed  his  labors  of  superintendence  and  continued 
assiduously  at  work  during  the  remaining  eight  years  of  his 
life,  attending  to  the  wants  of  the  missions  and  endeavoring 
to  pacify  the  hostile  Guaycuros. 

Itjvili-be-bunie  iirmmd-thai  hitherto,  and  the  same  remark 
will_apply  for  a  long  period  afterwards,  none  of  the  Califor- 
nian  missions  were  established  at  government  expense;  but 
alPof  them  on  private  foundations.  The  usual  allowance  to 
a  missionary  in  New  Spain  was  three  hundred  dollars  a  year; 
but  this  sum  was  increased  to  five  hundred  for  the'  missions 
of  California  on  account  of  their  remoteness  and  the  greater 


1  "  Durant  la  saison  seche,  le  temps  est  constamment  beau.  Les  vents  souf- 
flent  regulierement,  pendant  le  jour,  du  nord-ouest  A  l'ouest,  en  suivant  la  direc- 
tion de  la  cote,  et  ils  sout  remplaces  la  nuit  par  une  legere  brise  de  terre  ou  par 
des  calmes.  La  saison  des  pluies,  qui  commence  en  juin,  est  d'abord  indiquee 
par  des  calmes  et  de  legers  grains  de  pluie;  a  mesure  qu'  elle  avance,  les  grains 
deviennent  plus  forts,  et  au  lieu  de  ri  arriver  que  la  nuit,  ils  commencent  dans 
l'apresmidi,  et  se  terminent  par  des  orages  tres-violents,  accompagnt^s  d'eclats  de 
tonnerre  fort  dangereux  et  de  vents  impetueux  soufflant  de  tous  les  points  de 
l'horizon.  Le  temps  se  maintient  de  la  suite  jusqn  a  la  fin  de  septembre,  et  il 
arrive  parfois  que  la  saison  se  termine  par  un  ouragan  terrible,  qui  ordinairement 
a  lieu  du  ier  au  5  octobre,  jour  de  la  fete  de  Saint  FranQois.  Ces  ouragans,  qui 
soufflent  tonjours  du  sud-est  ou  sud-ouest,  ont  peu  de  dunSe;  mais  ils  ont  tant  de 
violence  et  rendent  la  mer  si  haute,  que  rien  ne  peut  leur  register.  C"est  ce  que 
Ton  nomme  dans  le  pays  le  Cordonazo  de  San  Francisco.  .  .  .  le  Cordo- 
nazo,  trompant  les  previsions  des  navigateurs,  arrive  quelquefois  plus  tard  qu'  a 
la  Saint  Frangois." — Duflot  de  Mofras,  I,  170,  171. 


206  THE  JESUITS. 

difficulty  and  expense  of  providing  supplies.  A  foundation 
in  California,  therefore,  represented  a  fund  of  ten  thousand 
dollars,  counting  the  annual  income  at  five  per  cent;  and  the 
manner,  in  which  the  foundation  was  provided  for,  was  to 
invest  the  necessary  sum  in  Mexico  and  order  the  interest 
paid  to  the  missionary.  These  investments  were  not  al- 
ways safe;  and  in  one  instance  at  least,  that  of  San  Juan 
Bautista  de  Ligui,  in  which  the  patron  retained  the  principal 
in  his  own  hands  and  afterwards  became  insolvent,  the  se- 
curity entirely  failed.  When  Salvatierra  was  provincial  and 
during  the  time  he  was  obliged  to  remain  in  Mexico,  he  took 
occasion  to  look  after  the  various  investments  of  the  funds 
so  devoted  to  Californian  missions-  and  managed  to  have 
them  laid  out  securely  in  the  purchase  of  real  estate,  chiefly 
farms.  Out  of  the  produce  of  these  farms,  each  missionary 
was  furnished  with  apparel,  provisions,  utensils,  medicines 
and  other  necessaries  nearly  to  the  amount  of  his  allowance; 
and  the  balance  was  given  in  money  for  extraordinary  ex- 
penses. Philip  V.  had  ordered,  in  addition  to  the  stipend 
already  so  often  referred  to  that  the  Californian  missions 
should  be  provided  at  public  expense  with  bells,  images, 
ornaments,  lamps,  oil  and  sacramental  wine;  but,  like*  his 
other  orders,  these  were  not  obeyed;  and  the  fathers  were 
compelled  to  provide  themselves  as  best  they  could.  Each 
missionary  had  charge  of  his  own  church  and  establishment 
and  was  expected,  out  of  his  yearly  stipend,  to  keep  it  up 
and  carry  it  on.  It  is  therefore  clear  that  the  Jesuit  fathers 
did  not  engage  in  their  California  work  with  any  purpose  of 
acquiring  earthly  riches. 

There  is  no  very  minute  or  reliable  account  of  the  real 
character  of  the  sway  exercised  by  the  Jesuits  over  the  Indi- 
ans of  Lower  California;  and  it  must  therefore  be  judged 
chiefly  by  its  results  and  by  incidents,  here  and  there  related, 
which  throw  light  upon  it.  It  seems  to  have  depended 
almost  entirely  up©n  the  individual  character  of  the  mission- 
ary, whether  it  was  kind  and  gentle  or  oppressive  and  severe. 
While  he  was  priest,  teacher,  general  provider,  surgeon,  phy- 


O I  'ERXMENT. 


207 


;  ;    inatb  •  ■ 
rhe  exhil 

I 

:r  of  the  father  . 

i. 

ill 

■ 


' 


also  task-master  and  despot, 
;n  life  and  absolutely  irrespon- 
iot  only  to  impose  regulations 
d  offenses;  and  he  was  always 

dependent  upon  his  will  to 
most  usual  punishments  were 
:  stocks,  though  on  some  occa- 
ias  been  described,  death  was 
lass  or  other  exercises  of  the 
lerly  conduct,  and  especially 
will  towards  the  missionary  or 
lisdemeanors  or  crimes  accord - 
upposed  to  be  indicated  or  the 

In  each  village  or  rancheria 
ral  he  who  showed  most  zeal 
ibmission  to  the  new  order  of 

catechist;  and  it  became  his 
.  mortcomings  of  his  neighbors 
s.  Altogether  the  system,  so 
ied,  was  one  of  tyranny.  They 
>le  for  mass  and  afterwards  to 
n  obliged  to  go  to  their  labors, 
hem;  and  at  night  all  had  to 
s.  Twice  or  thrice  a  week  a 
Sunday,  besides  attending  the 
s,  they  were  compelled  to  form 
irch  about  their  villages.  Un- 
'Utinued  and  strictly  enforced, 
ley  ma}-  have  once  possessed 
.hey  originally  may  have  been 
bonds,  they  now  became  noth- 
d  become  completely  so — corn- 
was  no  longer  a  struggle  or  a 
he  missionaries,  the  land  was 
of  the  cross  complete. 
ult  with  the  Jesuits  in  particu- 
3    outgrowth   of   their   circum- 


208  THE  JESUITS. 

stances  and  of  their  age.  Nor  is  it  intended  to  find  fault  with 
such  men  as  Kino,  Salvatierra  and  Ugarte;  for  no  one  will  be 
disposed  to  withhold,  or  desire  to  qualify,  the  praise  and 
admiration  due  to  the  labors  they  performed,  the  steadfast- 
ness they  manifested,  thejr  extraordinary  energy  and  their 
sincerity  of  purpose.  Nor,  perhaps,  can  it  be  said  Nvith  any 
certainty  that  the  Indians  were  capable,  by  any  means  within 
the  powers  of  the  Jesuit  fathers  during  the  time  of  their 
dominion,  of  any  greater  improvement.  Many,  indeed,  may 
be  disposed  to  think  that  bringing  them  under  subjection  by 
the  hand  of  power  and  compelling  them  to  exchange,  jtheir 
wandering,  precarious  and  brutish  existence  for  one  of  regu- 
larity and  assured  sustenance,  however  slavish  in  other  re- 
spects, was  as  beneficent  a  change  as  could  be  secured  for 
them.  But  when  the  intelligent  philanthropist  considers  .that 
he  and  his  cotemporaries  have  sprung  from  savage  races  and 
that  there  is  a  capability  in  all  human  beings,  however  de- 
based, of  rapidly  advancing  under  favorable  circumstances  in 
the  paths  which  lead  to  true  civilization;  he  cannot  help 
deploring,  when  he  comes  to  review  the  history  of  these 
undertakings,  that  the  circumstances  were  not  more  favor- 
able. With  all  the  aids  of  the  church  and  the  fathers,  there 
was  nothing  ever  accomplished  at  any  of  the  missions  among 
the  Californian  Indians  that  could  at  all  compare,  even  in  the 
remotest  degree,  with  the  civilization  which  the  native  races 
worked  out  for  themselves  in  ancient  Mexico  or  old  Peru. 

As  to  the  Spanish  soldiers  in  Lower  California,  it  will  be 
recollected  that  when  the  Jesuits  undertook  the  settlement  of 
the  peninsula,  one  of  the  articles  of  their  license  was  the 
power  of  enlisting  soldiers  and  appointing  a  commander. 
These  soldiers  were  to  be  enlisted  in  the  name  of  the  king 
and  they  were  to  enjoy  the  rights  and  privileges  of  soldiers  in 
the  royal  armies;  but,  as  the  enlistments  were  to  be  at  the 
expense  of  the  fathers  and  the  soldiers  consequently  riot  only 
dependent  upon  them  for  pay  but  under  the  command  of  an 
officer  of  their  appointment,  the  military  power  was  entirely 
subordinate  to   and  under  the    control   of  the    missionaries. 


MISSIONARY  GOVERNMENT.  209 

The  number  of  the  soldiers  for  this  reason  depended  upon 
the  amount  of  funds,  which  could  be  spared  for  their  pay- 
ment— the  regular  wages  of  an  ordinary  man  being  three 
hundred  dollars  a  year  and  those  of  a  captain  five  hundred. 
When  the  king  directed  subsidies  to  be  paid,  it  was  intended 
to  apply  them  chiefly  to  the  support  of  the  military  forces. 
But,  on  account  of  the  failure  in  their  payment,  the  expenses 
of  the  forces  during  nearly  all  the  earlier  years  of  the  missions 
fell  upon  the  private  funds,  which  were  contributed  for  other 
purposes;  and,  according  as  the  contributions  became  larger 
or  smaller,  the  soldiery  was  increased  or  reduced.  After- 
wards, when  the  subsidies  were  paid  and  the  military  power 
in  the  peninsula  became  considerable  enough  to  attract  pub- 
lic attention,  great  fault  was  found  and  great  indignation 
expressed  with  an  arrangement,  which  thus  subjected  the 
caballero  to  the  priest.  But  the  fathers  managed,  notwith- 
standing the  numerous  complaints  which  were  made,  to  pre- 
serve their  authority;  and  they  continued  to  govern  the 
soldiery,  as  well  as  the  colonists  and  the  Indians,  as  they 
thought  most  advantageous  for  the  interests  of  their  estab- 
lishments. 

While  the  power  of  the  missionaries  over  the  Indians  was 
despotic  and  liable  to  great  abuse,  that  which  they  exercised 
over  the  soldiers  was  subject  to  so  many  limitations  that  it 
could  not  be  oppressive.  The  soldier,  if  dissatisfied,  not  only 
had  the  right  to  resign  or  to  appeal  to  a  higher  power,  which 
would  listen  to  him;  but  he  held  arms  in  his  own  hands,  and 
there  would  have  been  danger  in  provoking  him.  As  a  gen- 
eral rule,  however,  there  was  no  cause  for  disagreement;  and 
it  cannot  be  doubted  that,  so  far  as  the  good  of  the  country 
was  concerned,  the  subordination  of  the  military  to  the  fathers 
was  beneficial.  Had  the  soldiers  been  allowed  to  employ  or 
rather  to  compel  the  Indians  to  fish  for  pearls,  as  they  some- 
times did  by  stealth,  the  result  would  have  been  very  disas- 
trous, so  much  so  probably  as  to  involve  the  missions  in 
absolute  destruction.  But  Salvatierra,  from  the  very  begin- 
ning, had  foreseen  the  dangers  of  granting  any  privileges  of 

14    Vol.  I. 


210  THE  JESUITS. 

this  kind  and,  notwithstanding  repeated  and  urgent  requests 
on  the  part  of  the  soldiers,  he  invariably  refused  and  to  the 
end,  under  all  circumstances,  continued  unshaken  in  his  reso- 
lution. So  determined  was  he  upon  this  point  that  he  made 
it  a  constant  rule  to  discharge  every  soldier  detected  in  a 
single  act  of  disobedience  in  this  respect;  and  at  one  time, 
during  the  early  days  of  his  settlement,  he  felt  himself 
obliged  to  enforce  it  so  often  that  he  found  himself  without 
any  soldiers  at  all  and  was  compelled  to  wait  for  a  fresh 
reinforcement  from  across  the  gulf. 

The  •only  person  in  the  peninsula,  besides  the  fathers,  who 
possessed  any  show  of  authority,  was  the  commander  or,  as 
he  was  sometimes  called,  the  captain-general;  but  he  too,  as 
has  been  seen,  as  an  appointee  of  the  fathers,  was  under  their 
control.  He  was  supposed  to  represent  not  only  the  military 
but  also  the  civil  department  of  government.  He  was  nom- 
inally the  chief  justiciary  of  the  province  and  had  the  general 
superintendence  of  all  the  people,  except  the  clergy.  He 
was  also  captain  of  the  sea  and  had  jurisdiction  over  all  the 
seamen  and  the  vessels  belonging  to  the  missions,  the  largest 
of  which  usually  carried  his  ensign  and  enjoyed  the  privilege 
of  being  called,  in  his  honor,  the  capitana.  In  case  of  a 
hostile  attack  or  insurrection,  he  led  forth  the  forces  and 
assumed  the  management  of  the  campaigns  against  the 
Indians;  and  in  some  cases,  as  in  the  instance  of  the  inflic- 
tion of  the  death-penalty  on  the  slayer  of  Poblano,  he  even  vent- 
ured to  oppose  his  views  of  policy  to  those  of  his  employers. 
But  his  chief  duty  was  to  see  to  the  enforcement  of  their 
regulations  and  the  execution  of  their  orders  and  decrees. 
The  office  was  clearly  one  that  could  be  filled  with  comfort 
and  success  only  by  a  person  who,  like  Captain  Lorenzo,  was 
a  friend  of  the  missionaries  and  in  entire  harmony  with  their 
system. 

Such,  in  few  words,  were  the  general  features  of  the  gov- 
ernment established  by  Salvatierra  in  Lower  California  and 
which,  during  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  after  resigning  his 
office  of  provincial,  he  devoted  himself  to  regulating  and  per- 


MISSION AR  Y  GO  VERNMENT.  2  1  1 

fecting.  But  Salvatierra  was  already  an  old  man,  troubled 
with  increasing  infirmities  and  particularly  with  that  painful 
disorder,  known  as  calculus  or  stone — a  disease  with  which  he 
was  often  so  violently  afflicted  as  to  be  unable  to  rise.  In 
1 71 7,  when  the  Marques  de  Valero  had  arrived  as  new 
viceroy  from  Spain  and  wished  to  confer  with  him  as  to 
the  best  mode  of  securing  the  payment  of  the  long-neglected 
royal  subsidies,  the  aged  father  deemed  it  his  duty,  in  spite 
of  years  and  pain  and  danger,  to  undertake  the  journey  to 
Mexico.  He  accordingly  at  the  end  of  March  of  that  year 
set  sail,  accompanied  by  his  faithful  assistant  Jayme  Bravo, 
for  the  port  of  Matanchel  on  the  opposite  coast  of  the  gulf, 
where  he  arrived  after  a  short  passage.  Thence  he  traveled 
to  Tepic;  but  the  motion  of  his  horse  increased  his  tortures 
to  such  a  degree  that  he  could  no  longer  ride  and  had  to  be 
carried  on  the  shoulders  of  Indians  to  Guadalajara.  There, 
after  suffering  for  two  months  the  greatest  agony,  perceiving 
his  end  approaching,  he  called  brother  Jayme  to  his  side 
and,  after  giving  him  his  last  instructions  in  reference  to  the 
affairs  of  California  and  composing  himself  for  his  last  great 
trial,  he  resigned  his  breath.  His  death  was  the  occasion  of 
general  grief.  All  were  loud  in  his  praise.  They  talked  of 
what  he  had  been  and  of  the  great  work  he  had  done;  and, 
when  his  remains  were  interred  in  the  chapel  of  Our  Lady  of 
Loreto,  at  Guadalajara,  the  whole  city,  to  do  him  honor, 
assisted  in  the  ceremonies. 


CHAPTER    VI  I. 

JAYME    BRAVO. 

THE  new  orders  in  favor  of  California,  that  had  been 
transmitted  by  the  hands  of  the  new  viceroy,  were  the 
work  of  the  Abbe,  afterwards  Cardinal,  Julio  Alberoni,  then 
prime  minister  of  Spain.  This  sagacious  statesman  enter- 
tained the  most  comprehensive  views.  As  soon  as  he  foimd 
himself  at  the  head  of  affairs,  he  contemplated  lifting  the 
Spanish  monarchy  out  of  the  degradation  into  which  it  had 
fallen  and  placing  it  again  in  the  first  rank  of  nations. 
Among  other  plans,  devised  by  him  with  this  purpose  in 
view,  was  the  extension  of  the  Spanish  commerce  in  the 
Pacific  and  particularly  the  trade  with  the  Philippines  and 
China  and  the  securing  for  the  Spanish  marine  of  the  carry- 
ing of  all  merchandise  not  only  between  Europe  and  America 
but  also  between  America  an>d  Asia.  He  was  quick  to  catch 
the  lessons  which  the  history  of  the  commercial  nations  of 
the  north  of  Europe  so  plainly  taught;  and,  while  he  held 
the  helm  of  government,  he  bent  all  his  vast  energies  to  take 
advantage  of  the  instructions  they  so  clearly  conveyed  to  his 
far-seeing  intelligence.  When,  therefore,  in  his  investigations 
of  American  affairs,  he  came  across  the  neglected  papers 
relating  to  the  occupation  and  settlement  of  California,  he 
at  once  saw  the  benefits  to  his  country  with  which  the  suc- 
cess of  such  an  enterprise  would  be  attended.  He  determined 
at  once,  and  with  all  his  influence  and  strength,  to  revive, 
encourage  and,  if  possible,  carry  out  to  completion  the  grand 
project  originally  conceived  by  Father  Kino  of  uniting  Cal- 
ifornia with  Sonora  by  a  series  of  mutually-assisting  settle- 

(212) 


JAYME  BRAVO.  213 

merits,  running  around  the  head  of  the  gulf  and  extending 
thence  to  the  northward,  and  of  occupying  and  fortifying  the 
entire  northwest  coast  as  far  as  it  reached. 

At  this  juncture,  and  while  the  minister  was  known  to  be 
busy  with  his  plans  for  the  prosecution  of  this  extensive  de- 
sign, an  enterprising  Mexican  speculator  offered  to  purchase 
the  territory  of  California  for  the  sum  of  eighty  thousand 
dollars.  This  individual's  idea  seems  to  have  been  to  assume 
the  exclusive  control  of  the  country  and  doubtless  to  manage 
its  affairs  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  his  investment  remunera- 
tive; and  it  is  likely  that  at  almost  any  other  time  an  offer  of 
that  character,  without  regard  to  the  melancholy  results  which 
would  have  been  sure  to  flow  from  its  acceptance,  would  have 
been  readily  embraced.  But  Alberoni,  though  his  vast  un- 
dertakings required  immense  sums  of  money  and  he  was 
straitened  for  want  of  means,  immediately  perceived  the  dan- 
gerous consequences  of  acceding  to  such  a  proposition  and 
declined  even  to  take  it  into  serious  consideration,  unless  cer- 
tificates were  first  produced  from  the  missionaries  that  the 
proposed  change  of  government  would  not  interfere  with  or 
be  detrimental  to  their  settlements.  This  answer,  of  course, 
put  a  quietus  upon  the  magnificent  speculation;  and  nothing 
more  was  heard  of  it.  On  the  other  hand,  the  archives  re- 
lating to  California  affairs  were  rummaged  over;  the  old 
neglected  memorials  and  documents  drawn  from  their  obscure 
receptacles,  and  the  former  schedules  and  repeated  mandates 
of  the  king  for  the  encouragement  of  the  missions  and  the 
payment  of  the  missionary  stipends  not  only  brought  to  light 
but  shown  to  be  still  unexecuted.  At  the  instance  of  the 
minister,  the  method  hitherto  pursued  of  administering  the 
royal  instructions  concerning  the  province  beyond  the  gulf 
was  now  to  cease.  The  new  viceroy  was  enjoined  and  com- 
manded, in  positive  and  absolute  terms  and  as  one  of  his  first 
duties,  to  vigorously  carry  out  the  former  orders.  He  was  by 
every  means  in  his  power  to  forward  the  conquest  that  had 
been  commenced,  without  altering  or  interfering  with  the 
regulations  or  form  of  government  adopted  by  the  fathers; 


214  THE  JESUITS. 

and  he  was  to  transmit  a  full  and  particular  report  of  his 
proceedings,  including  suggestions  of  such  further  measures 
for  the  advancement  of  the  general  object,  as  might  in  his 
judgment  be  deemed  advisable. 

It  was  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  as  to  the  best  mode  of 
carrying  out  these  directions  that  the  new  viceroy  had  sent 
for  Salvatierra.  The  last  sickness  and  death  of  the  latter  on 
his  way  to  Mexico,  as  has  been  seen,  prevented  him  from 
meeting  the  viceroy  or  finally  accomplishing  an  object,  which 
he  had  had  so  much  at  heart  and  for  which  he  had  assiduously 
labored  so  many  years.  But  his  companion,  Jayme  Bravo> 
who  had  received  his  last  instructions,  as  soon  as  the  vener- 
able master's  remains  were  duly  consigned  to  the  tomb,  re- 
paired to  Mexico  and  undertook  the  advocacy  of  the  cause 
of  the  missions  in  his  place;  and  he  did  so  with  such  zeal  and 
unexpected  ability  as  to  astonish  all  who  heard  him.  It  had 
been  proposed  by  the  viceroy  and  his  council,  without  much 
knowledge  of  the  country,  to  found  a  colony  on  the  western 
coast  of  the  peninsula.  But  brother  Jayme  described  the 
character  of  that  region,  the  absence  of  any  good  port,  the 
roughness  and  barrenness  of  the  land,  the  want  of  streams 
and  even  springs  of  fresh  water,  and  the  almost  insuperable 
difficulties  that  must  attend  any  settlement  of  the  kind  con- 
templated. He  had  himself  accompanied  Father  Ugarte  in 
his  journey  of  exploration  from  Loreto  to  and  along  the 
Pacific  coast  in  1706;  and  he  presented  a  clear  and  minute 
description  of  all  the  country  he  had  passed  over  and  the 
intense  sufferings  of  thirst,  which  he  and  his  companions  had 
undergone.  Having  thus  demonstrated  the  impracticability 
of  the  viceroy's  project,  he  next  spoke  of  the  other  side  of 
the  peninsula  and  the  various  spots  that  had  been  either  set- 
tled or  selected  for  settlement  by  the  fathers.  He  dwelt  upon 
what  they  had  accomplished;  drew  pictures  of  the  fertile 
little  valleys  found  here  and  there  along  the  gulf  or  among 
the  mountains,  and  dilated  upon  the  fields  and  flocks,  the 
orchards  and  vineyards,  the  gardens  and  pastures  of  Vigge 
Biaundo,  and  the  capability  of  improvement  of  many  other 


JAYME  BRAVO.  215 

places  in  the  same  manner.  He  not  only  spoke  what  he  had 
to  say;  but  he  also  drew  up  a  statement  in  writing,  in  which 
he  set  forth  with  much  greater  fullness  and  exactitude  all  the 
information  which  could  conduce  to  a  perfect  understanding 
of  the  subject. 

In  September,  17 17,  there  was  held  at  the  city  of  Mexico 
a  grand  council  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  the  reports  con- 
cerning California;  of  considering  and  discussing  its  affairs, 
and  of  determining  upon  the  next  action  to  be  taken  in 
relation  to  it.  At  this  council,  brother  Jaymc's  written 
statements  were  presented;  but,  more  important  than  these, 
brother  Jayme  himself  was  present  and  urged  the  cause  he 
represented  with  even  greater  ability  than  before.  The 
principal  articles  he  advocated  were:  pay  for  fifty  soldiers; 
the  establishment  of  a  garrison  either  at  La  Paz  or  Cape  San 
Lucas;  the  foundation  of  a  seminary  for  the  education  of  the 
children  of  California,  and  the  franchise  of  working  the  salt- 
pits,  which  had  been  discovered  on  Carmen  Island  in  the 
gulf  near  Loreto.  There  was  nothing  that  appeared  unrea- 
sonable in  these  demands;  and,  as  he  eloquently  presented 
them  and  gave  the  reasons  why  they  should  be  admitted  and 
allowed,  the  assembly  seemed  persuaded.  But  just  as  he 
was  upon  the  point  of  carrying  his  propositions,  the  tiecsurer, 
in  making  out  his  estimates,  discovered  that  the  sum  of  thir- 
teen thousand  dollars,  the  amount  of  the  subsidies  provided 
by  the  king,  was  far  from  sufficient  for  the  purposes  contem- 
plated; and  both  he  and  the  viceroy  were  unwilling  to  take 
the  responsibility  of  increasing  the  sum  to  be  expended. 
The  final  result  was  that  allowances  were  made  for  only 
twenty-five  soldiers  with  a  captain  and  for  the  maintenance 
of  two  vessels,  one  of  which  should  be  used  for  further  ex- 
plorations; but  it  was  provided  that,  if  the  regular  subsidies 
should  not  be  sufficient  for  these  purposes,  an  additional 
amount  should  be  appropriated  to  make  up  the  deficiency. 
As  to  allowances  for  a  garrison  at  La  Paz  or  San  Lucas, 
a  seminary  and  the  use  of  the  salt-pits,  they  were  refused. 
For    the  time  being,  Brother  Jayme    deemed  it    prudent  to 


216  THE  JESUITS. 

accept  what  he  had  thus  secured;  but  he  protested  that  the 
real  spirit  and  intent  of  the  royal  orders  contemplated  greater 
liberality;  and  he  accordingly  caused  a  report  of  all  the  pro- 
ceedings to  be  forwarded  to  the  king  for  more  explicit 
instructions.  To  this  report  were  added,  the  next  year,  a 
long  account  of  Californian  affairs  by  Father  Piccolo  and 
letters  from  others  friendly  to  the  missions.  These,  at  the 
instance  of  Alberoni,  were  laid  before  the  Supreme  Council 
of  the  Indies  at  Madrid;  and  very  shortly  afterwards  new 
royal  orders  were  issued  to  the  viceroy,  repeating  the  direc- 
tions which  had  been  previously  given  and  charging  him  in 
the  strongest  terms  to  see  to  their  immediate  execution.  But 
in  the  course  of  this  same  year,  1719,  Alberoni  ceased  to  be 
minister;  and  his  vast  projects,  in  reference  to  California, 
Sonora,  the  northwest  coast,  the  Philippine  trade,  the  com- 
merce of  the  world  and  the  general  rehabilitation  of  the  old 
Spanish  monarchy,  fell  to  the  ground. 

Jayme  Bravo,  as  has  been  said,  accepted  for  the  time  being 
all  the  aid  he  could  procure.  It  amounted  to  some  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars,  including  the  purchase  money  of  an 
old  Peruvian  vessel,  which  however  proved  worthless  and  was 
next  year  lost.  With  this  and  the  various  provisions  and 
supplies  he  purchased  in  Mexico,  he  returned  to  Loreto, 
where  he  arrived  in  July,  17 18,  and  was  received  with  great 
joy.  His  success,  though  it  was  by  no  means  satisfactory  to 
himself,  had  placed  his  abilities  in  so  strong  a  light  that  the 
next  year  he  was  selected  to  go  over,  on  behalf  of  the  mis- 
sions, into  Sinaloa.  Nor  was  this  all;  for  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  ever  on  the  alert  to  discover  talent  and  ever  ready  to 
recognize  and  promote  merit  in  any  of  its  members,  ordered 
his  immediate  admission  to  the  priesthood  and  his  appoint- 
ment as  a  missionary  with  all  the  powers  and  privileges  be- 
longing to  that  office.  His  services  were  in  fact  considered 
of  such  importance  that  the  ordinary  terms  of  promotion  were 
dispensed  with;  and,  passing  through  the  necessary  grada- 
tions in  three  successive  days,  the  humble  assistant  of  Salva- 
ticrra  on  the  third  found  himself  elevated  to  a  dignity  equal 


JAYME  BRAVO.  217 

to  that  of  his  former  master;  and  he  was  henceforth  known 
as  Father  Bravo  or,  by  those  who  were  most  familiar  with 
him,  as  Father  Jayme.  As  soon  as  he  was  thus  invested 
with  new  powers,  he  was  directed  to  proceed  again  to  Mexico 
for  the  purpose  of  making  renewed  efforts  for  the  peninsular 
missions  and  especially  of  taking  advantage  of  and  urging 
the  execution  of  the  new  royal  orders,  that  had  been  issued 
in  response  to  the  latest  efforts  of  Alberoni  in  their  behalf. 

In  March,  1720,  after  his  arrival  in  Mexico  in  accordance 
with  these  latest  directions,  another  grand  council  was  con- 
vened; and  again  Jayme  stood  up  and  now  pleaded  in  his 
own  name  the  cause  he  had  so  ably  advocated  before  in  the 
name  of  another.  He  dwelt  particularly  upon  the  necessity 
of  an  establishment  at  La  Paz;  and  so  impressive  were  his 
reasonings,  or  so  much  better  disposed  were  the  officers  of 
government  to  listen  to  him,  that  a  new  ship  with  arms  and 
supplies,  as  he  desired,  was  placed  at  his  disposal;  and  at  the 
same  time  the  Marques  de  Villa  Puente,  the  old  patron  of 
several  of  the  missions,  again  stepped  forward  and  advanced 
an  additional  fund  for  the  endowment  of  a  new  one  at  La 
Paz,  naming  Father  Jayme  as  the  person  whom  he  desired  to 
establish  and  take  charge  of  it. 

It  was  well  known  that  the  natives  about  La  Paz  or  those 
of  them  called  Guaycuros  had  ever  since  the  days  of  Ad- 
miral Atondo  manifested  a  hostile  spirit.  Several  unsuc- 
cessful attempts  had  been  made  to  pacify  and  christianize 
them.  The  last  of  these  was  in  17 16,  when  Salvatierra  sailed 
thither  and  endeavored  to  open  communications;  but  so 
much  cause  had  the  Indians,  on  account  of  what  they  had 
learned  of  the  monopolists  and  other  pearl-diving  expedi- 
tions of  former  years,  to  suspect  the  Spaniards,  that  upon  the 
approach  of  the  father's  vessel  they  fled  in  great  terror  and 
betook  themselves  to  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountains.  Some 
of  the  Loreto  Indians,  who  had  gone  along,  pursued  and 
caught  the  women,  who  were  unable  to  get  away  as  rapidly 
as  the  men.  These  women,  supposing  that  previous  scenes 
of  outrage  were  about  to  be  repeated  and  finding  escape  im- 


218  THE  JESUITS. 

possible,  turned  upon  their  pursuers  and  began  defending 
themselves  with  great  fury.  The  Loreto  Indians  became 
equally  furious;  and,  before  Salvatierra  was  aware  of  what 
they  were  doing  or  could  prevent  the  effects  of  their  mis- 
taken zeal,  they  fell  upon  the  women  with  savage  barbarity 
and  would  soon  have  destroyed  them  all,  if  the  nimblest  of 
the  Spaniards  had  not  arrived  in  time  to  stop  the  combat. 
No  sooner,  however,  had  the  fight  ceased  than  such  of  the 
Guaycuros  women,  as  were  still  able,  again  betook  themselves 
to  flight;  and  Salvatierra  found  it  impossible  to  accomplish 
his  purpose.1 

From  this  encounter  and  from  the  experience  of  Atondo 
and  his  companions  in  1683  and  from  all  that  was  known  or 
had  been  heard  since  those  times,  it  was  supposed  that  the 
Guaycuros  were  the  most  savage  and  intractable  of  all  the 
Indians  of  the  country;  while  at  the  same  time  they  inhab- 
ited that  portion  of  the  peninsula,  which  in  many  respects  it 
was  of  most  importance  to  reduce.  This  was  especially  the 
case  in  view  of  the  necessity,  which  became  more  and  more 
apparent,  of  providing  a  port  near  Cape  San  Lucas  for  the 
relief  of  ships  navigating  the  Pacific;  and  hence,  as  Father 
Jayme  clearly  and  distinctly  set  forth  in  his  addresses,  the 
one  important  project  to  be  next  attempted  was  a  permanent 
settlement  in  that  neighborhood.  When,  therefore,  in  re- 
sponse to  his  earnest  representations,  the  Marques  de  Villa 
Puente  offered  to  endow  a  mission  among  the  hostile  tribes 
provided  Jayme  would  undertake  the  task  of  founding  it,  the 
zealous  father  not  only  readily  consented;  but  he  accepted 
the  execution  of  the  enterprise  with  the  greater  ardor  on 
account  of  the  difficulties  and  dangers  it  presented  and  the 
signal  opportunities  it  would  afford  him  of  exhibiting  his 
devotion  to  the  cause  he  had  embraced.  He  accordingly 
immediately  loaded  his  new  vessel  and  returned  to  Loreto, 
full  of  enthusiasm  for  the  new  foundation  in  which  he  was  to 
take  the  leading  part. 


1  Venegas,  P.  Ill,  §  10,  pp.  228,  229. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

"EL   TRIUNFO    UE    LA   CRUZ." 

MENTION  has  already  been  made  in  terms  of  high  praise 
of  Father  Juan  Ugarte  as  the  founder  of  agriculture  in 
Lower  California.  His  plan  of  rendering  the  missions  self- 
sustaining;  his  undertakings  at  Vigge  Biaundo;  the  manner 
in  which  he  went  to  work;  the  way  in  which  he  prosecuted 
his  projects  and  at  length  carried  them  to  successful  issue — all 
point  him  out  as  a  man  of  extraordinary  merit.  He  also, 
with  his  spinning-wheels  and  looms,  established  the  first  man- 
ufactures. But  even  this  was  not  all.  He  has  still  further 
claims  to  mention.  He  cut  the  first  ship-timber  that  was 
ever  felled  and  built  the  first  vessel  that  was  ever  launched  in 
the  new  country. 

In  1719  the  missionaries  had  but  a  single  ship  and  that  a 
very  small  one,  which  had  been  tossed  about  for  years  and 
was  strained  and  racked  in  almost  every  joint.  All  the 
others  had  been  cast  away  and  destroyed.  Several  attempts 
had  been  made  to  repair  old  wrecks;  and  one  new  vessel  had 
been  constructed  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  gulf;  but  none 
of  these  proved  of  any  utility:  every  one  of  them  in  fact  soon 
went  to  pieces.  Another  ship,  and  of  a  kind  which  should  be 
well-built  and  reliable,  was  felt  to  be  a  necessity;  and  the 
only  way  to  procure  it,  after  so  many  fruitless  trials,  seemed 
to  be  to  build  it  in  the  country  itself,  where  the  laying  of 
every  plank  and  the  driving  of  every  spike  could  be  superin- 
tended. Ugarte  was  not  a  ship-builder;  but  neither  had  he 
been  an  agriculturalist  or  a  manufacturer.  He  was,  however, 
one  of  thosejoractical  geniuses  to  whom  all  occupations  seem 
subservient  and  to  whom  nothing  that  seems  indispensable  is 

impossible. 

(219) 


220  THE  JESUITS. 

Upon  looking  around  he  found  neither  timber,  nor  trees 
suitable  for  timber,  nor  iron,  nor  sails,  nor  tar,  nor  any  of  the 
other  necessary  materials;  nor  were  there  shipwrights,  or 
sawyers,  or  carpenters;  nor  even  any  surplus  of  provisions 
for  such  persons,  had  there  been  such  present,  To  most  other 
men  these  obstacles  would  have  proved  insurmountable.  But 
Ugarte  had  been  informed  by  the  Indians  that  in  the  mount- 
ains about  two  hundred  miles  to  the  northwest  of  Loreto 
there  were  large  and  straight  trees;  and  he  determined  to 
go  thither  and  see  for  himself  whether  they  would  answer 
and,  if  they  would,  whether  they  could  be  brought  to  the  sea- 
coast.  Accordingly,  procuring  the  attendance  of  a  shipwright 
from  across  the  gulf  and  taking  along  two  soldiers  and  sev- 
eral natives,  he  proceeded  to  the  mission  of  Santa  Rosalia 
and  thence  over  the  craggy  mountains  of  Guadalupe  for  the 
forests,  of  which  he  had  been  informed.  After  a  long  journey 
of  great  difficulty  and  toil,  they  reached  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  trees  suitable  for  their  purpose.  But  they  were  in  such 
apparently  inaccessible  situations  that  the  shipwright  deemed 
it  impossible  to  get  them  out  and  pronounced  the  project,  for 
which  he  had  been  employed,  altogether  impracticable. 
Ugarte  thought  differently;  but  finding  his  companion  posi- 
tive in  his  opinions,  he  made  no  effort  to  change  them  and 
without  more  ado  returned  to  Loreto;  where  his  whole  enter- 
prise had  been  looked  upon  as  visionary  and  was  now,  upon 
the  report  of  the  shipwright,  regarded  as  a  matter  of  jest  and 
ridicule. 

Ugarte,  however,  as  has  been  seen  in  the  history  of  his 
previous  undertakings,  was  not  a  man  to  be  turned  aside  by 
sneers  or  scoffs  or  deterred  by  difficulties.  He  had  always 
hitherto  found  that  his  best  resource  in  overcoming  obstacles 
was  his  own  stout  heart.  The  first  thing  he  now  did  was  to 
get  rid  of  his  shipwright;  and  then,  with  his  soldiers  and 
Indians,  taking  along  axes  .and  the  requisite  other  tools,  he 
returned  to  the  distant  mountains  and  himself  set  to  work, 
felling  trees  and  fashioning  planks.  He  likewise  cleared  and 
constructed  a  road  from  the  place  where  his  timber  lay  to 


"EL  TRIUNFO  DE  LA   CRUZ."  221 

Santa  Rosalia,  a  distance  of  thirty  leagues;  and  in  the  course 
of  four  months,  with  the  aid  of  the  oxen  and  mules  of  the 
missions  and  the  natives  whom  he  induced  to  assist  him,  he  had 
his  planks,  all  finished  and  ready  for  building,  on  the  beach 
at  the  mouth  of  the  little  river  Mulege.  The  greater  part  of 
his  labor  was  now  done.  He  next  procured  from  across  the 
gulf  such  materials  as  could  not  be  supplied  from  his  own 
establishment,  as  also  several  skilled  workmen;  and  in  a  short 
time,  himself  superintending  the  entire  work  as  well  as  taking 
a  part  in  all  the  labor,  he  saw  his  new  vessel  grow  up  from 
keel  to  bulwarks  and  ready  for  the  sea.  In  September,  17 19, 
he  nailed  a  cross  upon  its  bowsprit,  launched  it  upon  the 
brine  and  christened  it  "  El  Triunfo  de  la  Cruz — the  Triumph 
of  the  Cross."  By  the  time  he  had  finished  the  vessel,  all  the 
moneys  of  the  missions  under  his  control  were  exhausted  and 
even  the  presents  and  trinkets,  that  had  been  sent  him  for 
private  use  by  friends  in  Mexico,  were  not  spared.  But  his 
ship,  compared  with  the  vessels  then  in  use,  was  large  and 
strong;  and  for  beauty  as  well  as  service  it  was  afterwards, 
by  competent  judges  of  marine  architecture,  pronounced 
superior  to  anything  of  the  kind  that  had  ever  before  been 
seen  in  those  waters. 

In  November,  1720,  soon  after  the  return  from  Mexico  of 
Father  Jayme  Bravo  full  of  his  project  of  founding  the  new 
mission  of  La  Paz,  Ugarte's  ship,  being  then  fully  completed, 
made  its  first  considerable  voyage.  This  was  from  Loreto  to 
La  Paz,  a  distance  of  eighty  leagues  and  with  the  object  of 
carrying  Father  Bravo  and  his  assistants  to  their  destination. 
Upon  the  voyage,  Father  Ugarte  seems  to  have  taken  upon 
himself  the  command  of  the  vessel;  and  he  showed  himself 
as  successful  a  navigator  as  ship-builder.  Arrived  at  La  Paz 
the  fathers,  in  view  of  the  supposed  hostile  reception  they 
would  meet  with  from  the  Guaycuros,  landed  with  great  cau- 
tion. But  it  soon  appeared  that  the  danger  was  not  so  great 
as  had  been  anticipated.  The  Indians  had  by  this  time 
learned  that  the  missionaries  were  a  very  different  kind  of 
visitors  from  the    pearl-divers;    and,  instead  of  standing    to 


222  THE  JESUITS. 

their  arms  as  they  at  first  seemed  disposed  to  do,  they  soon 
laid  them  aside;  sat  down  upon  the  ground  in  token  of 
friendly  disposition,  and  received  the  fathers  with  affection 
and  welcome.  For  a  while  they  appeared  shy  of  the  soldiers; 
but  in  a  few  days  all  reserve  was  thrown  off;  and  all  the  tribes 
for  a  distance  round  about  came  in  and  joined  in  the  general 
good  feeling:  a  result  due  in  great  part  to  the  wonderful 
influence  which  Ugarte's  singular  talent  and  long  experience 
of  the  savages  enabled  him  to  exercise  over  them.  In  the 
course  of  a  week  or  so,  with  the  full  concurrence  and  assist- 
ance of  the  natives,  a  space  for  the  new  mission  was  cleared; 
and  a  church  and  village  started;  and,  while  they  were  being 
erected,  the  provisions  and  supplies  and,  to  the  great  surprise 
and  delight  of  the  Indians,  such  cattle  as  had  been  brought 
along  were  landed  from  the.  ship.  And  thus,  at  the  end  of 
the  year  1720,  was  founded  the  mission  of  Nuestra  Sefiora 
del  Pilar  de  La  Paz. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  mission  of  La  Paz  was  thus 
founded  to  the  southeastward  of  Loreto,  that  of  Nuestra 
Seiiora  de  Guadalupe  was  founded  in  the  Guadalupe  mount- 
ains sixty  leagues  to  the  northwestward  and  near  where 
Father  Ugarte  had  cut  the  timber  for  his  ship.  While  he 
had  been  busy  in  felling  trees  and  hewing  planks  in  17 19,  he 
had  not  been  unmindful  of  the  salvation  of  the  Indians,  who 
assisted  in  his  labors.  Such  portions  of  his  time  as  he  could 
spare  he  devoted  to  their  instruction  and  conversion.  He  also 
selected  a  site  for  a  new  mission  amongst  them.  Afterwards, 
upon  embarking  with  Father  Bravo  for  La  Paz,  he  left  direc- 
tions for  Father  Everardo  Helen,  who  had  recently  arrived  at 
Loreto,  to  proceed  to  Guadalupe  and  found  the  new  estab- 
lishment, for  which  he  had  thus  prepared  the  way.  Helen 
entered  upon  the  work  with  much  the  same  zeal  as  the  other 
founders  of  new  missions.  The  Indians  were  naturally  much 
more  friendly  and  peaceable  than  those  of  La  Paz  and  had 
never  had  cause,  like  the  others,  to  resent  Spanish  outrage 
and  oppression.  They  willingly  brought  in  and  destroyed 
their  amulets  and  charms  and  all  the  little  trumpery,  imposed 


"£Z  TRIUNFO  DF  LA  CRUZ."  223 

upon  them  by  their  medicine-men,  and  submitted  themselves 
to  the  teachings  and  instructions  of  the  new  faith.  Both  here 
and  at  La  Paz  the  missionary  work  progressed  rapidly  and 
proved  successful.  At  La  Paz  there  was  some  planting;  but 
the  Guadalupe  mountains  were  too  barren  to  admit  of  culti- 
vation; and  the  converts  there  were  obliged  to  rely  upon  the 
wild  fruits  and  other  provisions  afforded  by  the  wilderness, 
eked  out  in  times  of  scarcity  by  supplies  from  the  other  mis- 
sions. 

While  these  two  new  missions  were  being  founded,  still 
another  was  under  way  at  a  spot  between  Guadalupe  and 
Comondu  and  a  little  to  the  south  of  westward  from  Mulege. 
The  site  had  been  selected  by  Father  Bassaldua,  the  founder 
of  Santa  Rosalia.  Like  Guadalupe  and  Comondu,  it  was 
among  the  mountains;  but  the  little  valleys  afforded  some 
good  soil;  and  it  was  seen  that,  by  collecting  and  economiz- 
ing the  springs  of  water,  there  might  be  cultivation  and  pas- 
turage. In  i/i/  Father  Nicolas  Tamaral  had  proceeded 
thither  and  made  preparations  for  the  mission  of  La  Purisima 
Concepcion.  One  of  his  first  cares  had  been  the  digging  of  an 
irrigating  canal,  which  however  was  washed  away  the  next  win- 
ter, and  the  construction  of  a  road  or  trail  to  Santa  Rosalia,  the 
source  of  his  supplies.  The  next  season  he  made  a  new 
canal,  which  was  more  permanent  than  his  first  one;  and  in 
the  course  of  a  few  years  he  had  a  church  and  other  buildings, 
several  fields  of  maize,  gardens  and  pastures.  By  degrees  he 
induced  the  vagrant  natives  of  the  neighborhood  for  many 
leagues  around  to  settle  in  villages;  instructed  them;  bap- 
tized about  two  thousand,  and  formed  them  into  one  of  the 
most  peaceable  and  successful  establishments  in  the  peninsula. 
This,  with  the  other  missions  which  have  been  mentioned, 
made  eight  that  had  been  established  in  the  country  up  to  the 
time  of  the  return  of  Father  Ugarte  from  La  Paz  in  172 1. 
And  as  everything  now  appeared  to  be  in  successful  opera- 
tion and  the  conquest  of  the  country  assured;  it  was  thought 
desirable  to  again  turn  attention  to  the  great  object,  which 
had  always   been    regarded  as   of  so   much  importance  and 


224  THE  JESUITS. 

towards  which  nothing  practicable  had  as  yet  been  done — 
the  discovery  of  a  good  port  for  the  Philippine  ships. 

Father  Kino  had  seen  that  the  Colorado  river  alone  sepa- 
rated the  mountains  of  California  from  those  of  Sonora  at 
the  head  of  the  gulf.  But  so  many  stories  had  been  told  of 
passages  and  arms  of  the  sea  and  of  ships  sailing  through 
them  that  it  was  still  supposed  there  might  be  some  canal 
from  the  gulf  to  the  ocean,  south  of  the  mountain  chain  seen 
by  Kino  and  north  of  Loreto.  If  such  there  were,  it  would 
probably,  in  some  part  of  its  course  or  at  its  exit,  in  what- 
ever latitude  that  might  be  found,  afford  the  desired  port; 
and  in  that  case  it  was  plain  that  the  government  of  Spain, 
on  account  of  the  interests  of  commerce  if  for  no  other  rea- 
son, would  waken  up  much  more  than  it  had  ever  hitherto 
done  to  the  importance  of  the  new  country.  Upon  Ugarte's 
return  from  La  Paz,  therefore,  all  the  missions  being  then  in 
peaceful  and  prosperous  operation  and  his  California-built 
ship  having  in  the  late  voyage  proved  itself  a  safe,  staunch 
and  swift  sailor,  he  resolved  upon  making  a  complete  exam- 
ination and  survey  of  the  gulf  shore  north  of  Loreto,  with 
the  object  mainly  of  sailing  into  and  through  the  passage, 
if  any  such  existed,  and  finding  the  much  wished-for  port, 
if  any  such  were  in  that  way  to  be  discovered.  A  recent 
land  expedition  by  Father  Clcmente  Guillen,  accompanied 
by  Captain  Lorenzo,  to  the  bay  of  Magdalena  had  shown 
that  place  to  be  impracticable  as  a  haven  of  refuge  on 
account  of  the  barrenness  of  the  country  and  the  absence  of 
fresh  water;  the  expedition  made  by  Father  Ugarte  in  1706 
had  ascertained  that  there  was  no  port  to  the  northward  of 
it  for  a  very  long  distance  and  that  the  coast  as  far  as  he  had 
followed  it  was  rough  and  forbidding;  and  consequently,  so 
far  as  was  known  or  could  be  surmised,  every  hope  and  pros- 
pect of  relief  for  the  commerce  of  the  more  northerly  parts 
of  the  Pacific  now  depended  upon  the  contemplated  explo- 
ration to  the  northward  along  the  gulf  shore. 

It  was  on  May  15,  1721,  that  Ugarte  set  sail  in  his  little 
vessel  "El  Triunfo  de  la  Cruz,"  from  Loreto.     He  had    on 


" EL  TRIUNFO  DE  LA  CRUZ.  225 

board  twenty  persons,  six  of  whom  were  Europeans,  and  was 
attended  by  a  boat  or  pinnace,  intended  for  shore  work, 
manned  by  eight  persons,  two  of  whom  were  natives  of 
the  Philippine  Islands.  All  these  had  seen  much  of  the  sea; 
the  others  were  Indians.  The  pilot  was  Guillermo  Estrafort, 
a  navigator  of  learning  and  experience.  From  Loreto  they 
sailed  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mulege.  at  which  point  Ugarte 
commenced  his  explorations  carefully  draughting  the  coast 
as  far  as  the  group  of  islands  then  known  as  Salsipuedes,  the 
largest  of  which  is  now  called  Tiburon.  From  there  he 
crossed  over  to  the  Sonora  side  of  the  gulf  for  the  purpose  of 
procuring  supplies.  Upon  reaching  that  shore,  all  that  could 
be  seen  was  a  solitary  Indian,  who  erected  a  cross  upon  the 
beach  and  then  retired.  Ugarte's  men,  as  soon  as  they 
jumped  upon  the  sand  proceeded  to  the  cross  and  fell  upon 
their  knees  before  it;  whereupon  the  Indian  gave  a  shout 
and  immediately  a  large  party  of  his  countrymen,  who  had 
remained  concealed,  made  their  appearance  and  received  the 
strangers  with  all  the  signs  of  friendship  and  welcome;  and 
many  of  them  threw  themselves  into  the  water  and  swam  to 
the  vessel  for  the  purpose  of  embracing  the  father  and  ob- 
taining his  blessing.  It  afterwards  appeared  that  Salvatierra 
had  instructed  them  that  by  these  signs  they  would  always 
be  able  to  recognize  the  missionaries  and  particularly  so  when 
the  approaching  ship  carried  the  cross  on  her  bow-sprit,  as 
was  the  case  here. 

After  supplying  himself  with  water,  Ugarte  proceeded 
along  the  channel  between  the  island  of  Tiburon  and  the 
mainland;  stopped  for  a  short  time  with  the  Indians  at  the 
northern  end  of  the  channel,  and  thence  proceeded  to  the 
mouth  of  the  little  river,  upon  which  the  Sonorian  mission  of 
Caborca  was  situate,  whence  he  obtained  provisions.  While 
at  the  latter  place  the  sea  was  so  rough  that  the  force  of  the 
waves  carried  away  the  bow-sprit  of  his  ship  and  the  cross 
that  was  nailed  upon  it;  and  this  loss  threw  the  company 
into  great  dejection,  being  regarded  as  an  omen  of  evil  presage, 
till  an   Indian  plunged  into  the  foaming  flood  and  recovered 

15    Vol.  I. 


226  THE  JESUITS. 

it.  From  the  mouth  of  the  river  Caborca,  Ugarte  re-crossed 
the  gulf  and  re-commenced  his  survey  of  the  peninsular 
shore  northward  from  the  place  where  he  had  left  off.  At 
one  place  the  Indians,  upon  seeing  the  vessel  approach,  came 
down  to  the  shore  in  large  numbers  fully  armed;  drew  a  line 
upon  the  sand,  and  made  signs  that  the  visitors  should  not 
set  foot  beyond  it.  But  as  soon  as  they  found  the  ship  to  be 
that  of  the  missionaries,  they  altered  their  greeting  and  not 
only  carried  the  new-comers  to  their  villages  but  accompanied 
them  on  their  further  voyage  and  pointed  out  a  large  bay  and 
showed  them  the  various  watering  places  along  the  coast. 

As  Ugarte  advanced  northward  the  tides  became  larger  and 
the  currents  stronger  and  especially  in  the  narrower  channels, 
where  they  rose  three  fathoms  and  came  on  with  the  roar  of 
a  torrent.  In  one  of  these,  where  the  pinnace  had  been 
drawn  up  for  a  short  time  on  the  sand,  the  rise  was  so  sudden 
and  violent  that,  before  the  boat  could  be  secured,  it  was 
thrown  upon  the  rocks  and  split  from  stem  to  stern.  At 
length  the  voyagers  approached  the  head  of  the  gulf;  the 
water  became  shoaler  and  more  turbid,  being  sometimes  of 
an  ashy  color  and  sometimes  black  but  generally  of  a  muddy 
red;  and  it  became  necessary  to  exercise  great  caution.  The 
sounding  line  had  to  be  used  at  every  advance.  In  this  way 
Ugarte  crept  along,  at  one  time  taking  advantage  of  the 
tides  and  at  another  hugging  the  shore  to  avoid  them,  until 
he  finally  arrived  at  the  issue  of  the  Colorado  river  and  found 
it  discharging  itself  by  two  mouths,  which  brought  down  large 
quantities  of  drift,  among  which  were  many  trunks  of  trees, 
most  of  which  were  partially  burned.  It  was  now  certain 
that  no  passage  leading  into  the  ocean  existed  to  the  north  of 
Loreto;  and,  having  thus  found  that  the  desired  port  was 
not  to  be  sought  in  that  direction,  Ugarte  turned  around  for 
his  return.  By  this  time  the  rainy  season  had  set  in;  violent 
tempests  and  storms  of  rain,  accompanied  by  lightning  and 
thunder,  were  frequent;  and  on  a  number  of  occasions,  as 
they  pursued  their  way  southward,  the  voyagers  were  in  im- 
minent danger.     But  in  the  midst  of  most  of  their  perils  they 


"EL  TRIUNFO  DE  LA  CRUZ."  227 

were  encouraged  by  the  appearance  about  the  mast-heads  of 
their  ship  of  those  electrical  phenomena  known  as  St.  Elmo's 
fire,  which  were  supposed  to  indicate  supernatural  protection. 
Their  greatest  peril  occurred  shortly  before  reaching  Mulege, 
when  a  water-spout  was  seen  rapidly  approaching;  they  soon 
became  enveloped  in  dark  clouds;  the  noonday  became 
black  as  midnight,  and  they  gave  themselves  up  for  lost. 
But  a  sudden  shift  in  the  winds  drove  the  tempest  to  the 
northwestward;  and,  as  they  ran  out  of  the  darkness  into  the 
sunshine  again,  they  saw  the  clouds  discharging  their  torrents 
of  rain  upon  the  peninsular  mountains  far  in  the  distance. 
By  the  middle  of  September  they  returned  safely  to  Loreto. 

Ugartc,  however,  was  not  satisfied  until  he  had  accom- 
plished the  great  object  for  which  his  expedition  had  been 
undertaken,  that  is  to  say,  the  finding  of  a  port  for  the  Phil- 
ippine ships.  Hardly,  therefore,  had  he  returned  to  Loreto 
before  he  began  making  preparations  for  a  new  expedition  to 
be  undertaken  by  land  along  the  ocean  coast  to  the  north- 
ward of  that  part  of  it  which  he  had  previously  examined. 
He  had,  however,  suffered  much  from  various  disorders  and 
partly  from  scurvy  in  his  late  voyage  and  could  not  accom- 
pany this  expedition;  but  he  pointed  out  the  course  to  be 
pursued  and  gave  such  instructions  as  would  secure  its  safety. 
In  November  it  set  out  under  the  lead  of  Father  Sistiaga  of 
the  mission  of  Santa  Rosalia  and  Captain  Lorenzo.  They 
traced  the  ocean  coast  from  the  parallel  of  San  Xavier  to 
that  of  Cerros  Island  and  in  that  distance  found  three  harbors 
with  watering  places,  though  on  shores  that  were  barren. 
Their  report,  together  with  maps  and  charts  and  the  journal 
of  Estrafort,  the  pilot  of  the  voyage  up  the  gulf,  were  sent 
by  Ugarte  to  the  viceroy  and  through  him  transmitted  to  the 
king  and  Supreme  Council  of  the  Indies  in  Spain,  with  urgent 
solicitations  that  the  government  should  now  do  its  part 
towards  establishing  the  great  port  so  long  sought  for.  But 
nothing  of  importance  was  done  by  the  government.  The 
helm  of  state  was  no  longer  in  the  hands  of  an  Alberoni. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

REBELLION. 

THE  late  expedition  and  voyage  in  search  of  a  port  had 
shown  that  the  northern  parts  of  the  peninsula  were 
more  plentifully  watered  and  therefore  less  barren  than  the 
southern,  and  that  the  natives  of  those  regions  were  more 
peaceable  and  tractable  than  the  Guaycuros  and  other  tribes 
of  the  south.  The  latter,  who  were  known  under  the  general 
name  of  Pericues,  were  almost  constantly  at  war  with  one 
another;  and  they  carried  on  their  mutual  hostilities  in  the 
most  treacherous  and  barbarous  manner.  Of  these  the  Coras, 
who  ranged  from  La  Paz  southward  to  Cape  San  Lucas  and 
who  in  the  time  of  Atondo  were  supposed  to  be  cowardly  and 
spiritless,  now  proved  themselves  quite  as  warlike  as  their  old 
enemies,  the  Guaycuros,  and  continually  raided  upon  them 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighboring  islands  of  San  Jose, 
Espiritu  Santo  and  Cerralvo.  On  the  other  hand  the  Guay- 
curos, who  were  west  of  La  Paz,  and  the  islanders  raided  on 
the  Coras;  and  the  Uchities,  who  ranged  north  of  La  Paz, 
attacked  and  were  attacked  in  return  sometimes  by  one  and 
sometimes  by  another.  One  depredation  brought  on  a  sec- 
ond and  a  third;  those  who  were  robbed  at  one  time  became 
the  robbers  on  the  next  occasion;  and,  when  one  or  two  had 
been  killed,  nothing  would  satisfy  the  vengeance  of  the  sur- 
vivors but  the  blood  of  many.  Thus  a  system  of  petty 
warfare  or  rather  of  pillage,  rapine  and  murder  prevailed 
throughout  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula,  against  which 
the  mission  of  La  Paz  alone  could  not  make  head.  It  was 
therefore  deemed  necessary  to  found  other  missions,  one 
(228) 


REBELLION.  229 

between  the  Uchities  and  the  Guaycuros  and  one  or  more 
among  the  Coras.  The  former  was  founded  by  Father 
Guillen  in  1721  at  a  place  about  forty  leagues  south  of  Loreto 
and  was  called  that  of  Nuestra  Senpra  de  los  Dolores  del  Sur. 
Upon  its  foundation  the  old  establishment  of  San  Juan  Bau- 
tista  de  Malibat  6  Ligui,  the  fund  for  which  had  failed,  was 
abandoned.  During  the  same  year  also  was  founded  by 
Father  Ignacio  Maria  Napoli,  to  the  south  of  La  Paz  and  a 
little  less  than  half  way  between  it  and  Cape  San  Lucas,  the 
mission  of  Santiago  de  los  Coras.  Both  these  missions,  like 
most  of  the  others  in  Lower  California,  were  endowed  by  the 
munificent  Marques  de  Villa  Puente.  The  history  of  their 
beginnings  was  much  the  same  as  that  of  the  other  missions, 
with  the  exception  that,  on  account  of  the  hostilities  among 
the  surrounding  tribes,  there  was  more  difficulty  in  securing 
a  settlement;  and,  as  was  proved  in  the  sequel,  the  troubles 
that  disturbed  their  commencement  were  but  the  earnest  of 
widespread  disaffection  and  disorder  among  the  natives,  which 
in  the  course  of  a  few  years  involved  the  new  establishments, 
and  in  fact  all  the  work  of  the  fathers  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  peninsula  in  common  destruction. 

While  these  southern  missions  were  struggling  with  the 
warring  tribes,  Father  Juan  Bautista  Luyando  arrived  from 
Mexico.  He  appears  to  have  been  possessed  of  a  fortune, 
which  he  resolved  to  devote  to  the  endowment  of  a  mission 
and  had  come  over  to  become  its  founder.  Being  referred  to 
the  extreme  north  as  the  most  promising  field  for  his  labor, 
he  set  out  in  the  beginning  of  1728  with  nine  soldiers  from 
Loreto  and  proceeded  to  a  spot  in  the  mountains  nearly  as 
far  north  as  the  parallel  of  Cerros  Island,  which  had  been 
selected  by  Father  Sistiaga  on  his  journey  of  exploration  for 
a  port.  There  Father  Luyando  founded  the  mission  of  San 
Ignacio  and  before  the  end  of  the  year  he  had  his  church 
nearly  finished.  The  natives  of  that  part  of  the  country  were 
known  by  the  general  name  of  Cochimies;  they  were  more 
active  and  intelligent  than  the  southern  Indians  and  assisted 
with  alacrity  in  erecting  the  new  buildings  and  establishing 


230  THE  JESUITS. 

the  settlement.  The  country  in  the  neighborhood  was  suit- 
able for  agricultural  purposes;  and  large  fields  were  planted 
in  maize  and  wheat.  The  very  first  year  there  was  a  consid 
erable  harvest,  and  in  four  years  the  yield  was  about  two 
thousand  bushels.  Luyando  also  planted  five  hundred  vines, 
also  olives,  fig  trees  and  sugar  cane,  and  started  the  breeding 
of  horses,  cattle  and  sheep.  In  the  meanwhile,  however, 
after  all  the  soldiers  but  two  had  returned  to  Loreto  a  wild 
tribe  of  the  north  attacked  the  settlement  and  murdered  sev- 
eral of  the  catechumens.  Luyando  at  first  tried  to  pacify  the 
assailants  with  presents;  but  he  soon  found  that  this  was  the 
worst  plan  of  pacification  that  could  be  adopted ;  for  the 
marauders,  considering  such  conduct  as  an  indication  of  fear, 
became  bolder  and  began  ranging  the  country  in  predatory 
bands,  spreading  terror  and  consternation  on  every  side. 
The  danger  became  so  imminent  that  Luyando  deemed  it 
prudent  to  withdraw  with  his  two  soldiers  to  Guadalupe, 
where  he  took  counsel  of  Father  Sistiaga,  who  had  had  more 
experience  of  the  natives  and  knew  better  how  to  manage 
them.  Sistiaga  promptly  determined  that  no  time  was  to  be 
lost,  not  even  to  send  to  Loreto  for  more  soldiers.  He  imme- 
diately summoned  all  the  Indians  of  his  neighborhood  upon 
whom  he  could  rely  and  armed  them  as  well  as  he  could  with 
pikes,  at  the  ends  of  which  the  soldiers  fastened  knives.  He 
then  told  them  to  make  as  much  noise  in  their  war-like  prep- 
arations as  possible,  for  the  purpose  not  only  of  encouraging 
their  friends  but  of  striking  terror  into  the  enemy;  and,  as  he 
rightly  judged,  the  fame  of  his  fierce  little  army  preceded  him 
to  San  Ignacio  and  produced  a  considerable  effect  before  he 
arrived.  UJpon  mustering  his  forces  he  found  he  had  seven 
hundred  men.  From  these  he  chose  three  hundred  and  fifty; 
and,  putting  himself  and  Luyando  at  their  head,  he  marched 
for  the  seat  of  war. 

The  Indians  had  no  idea  of  discipline;  they  were  accus- 
tomed to  march  in  small  bands  under  the  leadership  of 
separate  chiefs;  but,  upon  approaching  San  Ignacio,  Sistiaga 
acquainted  them  with  the  necessity  of  acting  in  cono&rt  and 


REBELLION.  23] 

under  one  command.  At  his  directions  two  captains  were 
appointed;  one  chosen  by  himself,  the  other  by  the  Indians; 
and  both  these  were  to  act  under  his  general  orders.  The 
preliminaries  being  satisfactorily  arranged,  the  army  again 
took  up  its  march;  and,  learning  that  the  enemy  lay  camped 
about  a  spring  near  the  base  of  a  mountain,  it  proceeded  under 
the  generalship  of  Father  Sistiaga  and  the  leadership  of  his 
captains  to  surround  the  place  in  the  night  time,  and  then 
began  closing  in  on  all  sides.  At  sunrise,  the  various  com- 
panies at  a  concerted  signal  raised  the  war-whoop  and  rushed 
in  upon  the  unsuspecting  marauders,  who,  finding  themselves 
surprised,  threw  down  their  arms.  A  few  managed  to  escape; 
but  thirty-four  were  made  prisoners  without  the  spilling  of 
blood.  After  securing  them  Sistiaga  caused  the  country  to 
be  scoured  for  other  parties  ;  but  so  great  was  the  terror, 
which  his  little  army  with  its  noisy  preparations  and  the  suc- 
cess of  its  first  assault  had  occasioned,  that  not  another  enemy 
was  to  be  found.  He  therefore  led  his  victorious  troops  back 
to  San  Ignacio,  which  they  entered  with  their  prisoners  in  a 
kind  of  triumph.  The  next  day  the  entire  people  were  as- 
sembled and  the  prisoners  brought  to  trial  before  the  soldiers 
and  head  men  of  the  various  rancherias  as  judges;  and,  being 
convicted  of  capital  crimes,  they  were  sentenced  to  removal  to 
Loreto  to  be  dealt  with  as  might  be  there  determined.  No 
sooner  was  sentence  passed  than  the  prisoners  exhibited  the 
greatest  dejection,  while  the  catechumens,  imagining  they 
would  have  the  pleasure  of  killing  their  enemies  and  thus 
glutting  their  vengeance,  began  dancing  for  joy;  but  the 
fathers  reproved  their  exultations  and  took  occasion  to  in- 
struct them  in  the  duties  of  mercy  and  forgiveness.  The 
next  day  the  court  sat  again;  and,  at  the  request  of  the  fa- 
thers, the  judges  were  induced  to  commute  the  sentence  that 
had  been  pronounced  to  a  certain  number  of  lashes.  The 
execution  commenced  with  the  principal  offender,  when  the 
fathers  again  interceded;  and  the  rest,  after  being  deprived  of 
their  weapons,  were  pardoned  and  released.  This  lenity  was 
so  unexpected  to  them  that  they  immediately  desired   bap- 


232  THE  JESUITS. 

tism  in  testimony  of  their  gratitude;  and,  when  this  was 
refused,  they  desired  their  children  to  be  baptized.  Their 
wish  in  this  regard  was  shortly  afterwards  complied  with, 
except  in  the  case  of  the  principal  offender,  who  however 
returned  a  few  days  subsequently  with  his  little  son  in  his 
arms  and  with  tears  begged  that  his  child  might  be  received, 
even  though  he  himself  should  be  put  to  death.  His  contri- 
tion was  to  all  appearance  so  sincere  that  the  child  was  im- 
mediately baptized  and  the  parent  then  went  cheerfully  away 
to  rejoin  his  countrymen.  In  a  few  months  the  adults  them- 
selves gathered  around  the  missions  and,  after  proper  instruc- 
tions, all  were  received  into  the  church;  and  peace  reigned 
throughout  the  northern  settlements. 

It  was  very  different  with  the  establishments  in  the  south. 
There  the  disturbances  among  the  hostile  tribes  and  espe- 
cially among  the  Coras  grew  more  and  more  serious.  Besides 
the  missions  of  La  Paz  and  Santiago  already  mentioned,  two 
others  had  been  established  among  that  turbulent  people;  oite 
called  that  of  San  Jose  del  Cabo  at  Cape  San  Lucas  in  1730 
by  Father  Nicolas  Tamaral,  and  the  other  that  of  Santa  Rosa 
a  year  or  two  later  by  Father  Sigismundo  Taraval  at  the  bay 
of  Las  Palmas  on  the  gulf  shore  to  the  north  of  San  Lucas. 
The  former  was  endowed  by  the  Marques  de  Villa  Puente, 
who  seemed  never  to  weary  in  his  benefactions  to  the  coun- 
try, and  the  latter  by  his  sister-in-law,  Dona  Rosa  de  la 
Pena,  from  whom  it  received  its  name.  Father  Tamaral 
was  the  same  who  had  founded  the  mission  of  La  Purisima 
Concepcion  in  the  north.  Father  Taraval  was  a  young  man, 
only  thirty  years  of  age,  who  had  but  recently  arrived  from 
Spain.  Being  highly  educated  and  fond  of  learning,  he 
devoted  much  time  to  collecting  materials  for  a  history  of 
the  Jesuit  settlements  in  the  peninsula;  and  it  is  to  his  labors, 
incorporated  into  the  work  of  the  historian  Venegas,  that  the 
world  is  indebted  for  most  of  the  particulars  which  have  been 
preserved.  But  the  establishment  of  the  new  missions  was 
still  insufficient  to  restrain  the  natives:  on  the  contrary  it 
seems  rather  to  have  heightened  the  general  discontent  and 
precipitated  the  impending  catastrophe. 


REBELL10X.  233 


fa 


^he  Indians,  particularly  those  of  the  south,  had  been 
accustomed  to  live  in  the  most  beastly  licentiousness;  and, 
especially  at  their  feasts,  their  conduct  was  entirely  devoid  of 
decency  or  shame. j  This  the  missionaries  from  the  beginning" 
of  their  ministrations  had  endeavored  to  reform.  Father 
Jayme  Bravo,  the  founder  of  La  Paz,  and  Father  Napoli,  the 
founder  of  Santiago,  had  placed  themselves  in  uncompromis- 
ing opposition  to  the  prevailing  manners;  but  they  had  man- 
aged to  temper  their  zeal  with  prudence;  and  during  their 
time  no  very  disastrous  outbreaks  occurred.  But  the  constant 
labor  they  were  compelled  to  undergo  wore  upon  their  health 
and  compelled  them  to  withdraw  about  the  time  of  the  foun- 
dation of  the  new  missions,  and  their  places  were  supplied  by 
Father  Guillermo  Gordon  at  La  Paz  and  Father  Lorenzo 
Carranco  at  Santiago.  These  two,  as  well  as  Tamaral  and 
Taraval,  pursued  the  same  general  policy  that  had  been 
adopted  by  their  predecessors,  but  without  the  gentle  mod- 
eration and  prudent  patience,  which  long  experience  among 
these  vacillating  savages  had  taught  those  predecessors. 
There  were  still  great  numbers  of  the  natives,  who  had  not 
been  converted  and  who  obstinately  refused  all  the  offers  of 
the  missionaries;  and  the  more  strenuous  the  fathers  were  in 
their  opposition  to  the  general  licentiousness,  the  more  bitter 
became  the  gentiles  in  their  hostility.  Not  only  did  they 
continue  their  indecencies  and  ill-will  ;  but,  on  several  oc- 
casions before  the  final  outbreak  came,  they  endeavored  to 
combine  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  the  missionaries  and 
stirred  up  a  spirit  of  insubordination  even  among  the  cate- 
chumens. 

Among  the  Indians  of  Santiago  was  one  called  Boton,  the 
offspring  of  an  Indian  mother  and  a  mulatto  father.  Me  was 
a  man  of  more  than  common  capacity;  had  raised  himself  to 
a  position  of  prominence  among  his  people,  and  on  this 
account  had  been  named  by  the  fathers  as  governor  of  his 
village.  For  a  while  his  honors  acted  as  a  restraint;  but  he 
gradually  relapsed  into  the  scandalous  manner  of  living,  to 
which   he  had   before   been   accustomed,  and  committed  aW 


234  THE  JESUITS. 

kinds  of  excesses.  Father  Carranco  at  first  reprimanded  him 
and,  when  this  proved  ineffectual,  deposed  him  from  his  office 
and  sentenced  him  to  a  public  whipping.  This  chastisement 
filled  him  with  the  most  rancorous  resentment  and  from  that 
time  forward  he  devoted  himself  to  revenge.  He  found  a  fel- 
low-conspirator after  his  own  heart  in  the  person  of  a  mulatto, 
named  Chicori,  who  lived  at  San  Jose  del  Cabo.  This  man 
had  been  consorting  in  the  most  abandoned  manner  with  a 
number  of  women,  when  Father  Tamaral  founded  his  mission 
and  seriously  interfered  with  his  pleasures  and  the  prospect  of 
keeping  up  his  harem.  The  two  now  joined  and  secretly  laid 
their  plans  for  a  general  uprising.  They  passed  from  place 
to  place  fomenting  sedition.  But  at  the  same  time  they  kept 
their  machinations  so  well  concealed  that  the  fathers  had  lit- 
tle or  no  intimation  of  the  storm  which  was  about  to  burst 
and  in  a  short  time  sweep  away  the  labors  of  years. 

In  the  beginning  of  1734,  while  Boton  and  Chicori  were 
busily  at  work  in  the  interior,  a  large  ship  was  seen  to  ap- 
proach Cape  San  Lucas  and  after  beating  on  and  off  for  some 
time  it  ran  into  the  bay  of  San  Bernabe  and  came  to  an 
anchor.  It  proved  to  be  the  Philippine  galleon  and  was  the 
first  that  had  ever  voluntarily  stopped  there.  The  object  of 
its  visit  was  to  procure  fresh  water  and  relief  for  the  many 
on  board  who  were  down  with  the  scurvy.  Father  Tamaral 
received  the  visitors  with  due  kindness  and  not  only  placed 
at  their  disposition  all  the  provisions  he  had  at  his  own  mission, 
but  slaughtered  his  cattle  and  sent  off  to  the  other  missions 
for  further  supplies.  The  relief  thus  afforded  was  so  season- 
able that  Geronimo  Montero,  the  commander  of  the  vessel, 
made  a  special  report  of  it  upon  his  subsequent  arrival  in 
Mexico.  The  consequence  was  that  orders  were  given  for  all 
the  Philippine  galleons,  on  their  passage  from  Manila  to 
Acapulco,  to  stop  at  San  Lucas;  and  arrangements  were 
initiated  for  making  the  proper  provision  there  for  their  re- 
ception and  more  appropriate  succor  than  could  be  afforded 
by  the  unassisted  missions. 

In   the    meanwhile  everything  about   San   Lucas  bore  the 


appearai. 
lismissed 
id  c 

:ers,  and 
passed  ai 

managed  to  cc 
I  even  suca. 

'he 
ltd 
and  putting  then 
■  .    I 
d;  and  the  1 

inspiracy,  eix 
raurdering  another  by  1 

the  soldier  had  .. 
come  himself  or  sl 

on  questioin.... 
ct  their  story  and  declined  stirring  .  . 

*  wo  sold hm'-.  About  the  same  time  the  ii 
Paz  broke  into  the  mission  of  that  place  and  murdered 
the  soldier,  who  was  there,  and  would  have  likewise  killed 
Father  Gordon,  had  he  not  at  the  time  happened  to  be  absent. 
While  these  event-  were  happening  at  the  last  named  mis- 
sions, a  soldier  from  Loreto  arrived  at  San  Jose  for  the  pur- 
pose of  attending-  upon  Father  Carranco  ;  but  having  in  his 
journey  observed  many  evident  of  a  general  outbreak, 

he  warned  the  father  of  his  dani  :d  him  t< 

draw  at  once,  adding  that  as  for  himself  he  was  unwilling 
to  stay  there  and  perish.  Carranco.  however,  made  light 
of  his  apprehensions  and  refused  to  accompany  the  soldier, 
who  marched  off  alone  towards  La  Paz.  Upon  nearing  that 
place  he  discharged  his  fire-arms  but  received  no  reply.  He 
then  approached  the  church  and  called,  but  still  received  no 
answer.  Upon  going  up,  he  found  the  doors  broken,  the  fur- 
niture scattered  and  traces  of  blood  upon  the  floor;  and,  judg- 
ing from   these  signs  that  the  expected  outbreak  had  com- 


ts,  a  dis- 

y  leagues, 
rranco  had 
ached  San- 
i  and  asked 
lers.       Being 
the  cattle,  the 
ng  the  father 
two  held  him 
body  and  then 
,nes.     While  this 
ooy,  who  had  been 
of  the  church  and, 
.n,  began  to  weep  bit- 
at  it  was  but  right  that 
jr,  seized  the  child  by  the 
jt  the  walls  of  the   church 
at  of  the  father,  which  though 
~  bCill  beating  and  stoning.     They  then 
..^h^a  together  a  quantity  of  wood;  and,  setting  it  on  fire, 
after  stripping  the  body  of  the  father  and  mutilating  it  in  the 
most  shocking  manner,  they  cast  it  into  the  flames,  together 
with  that  of  the  child.     They  then  pillaged  the  church  and 
houses  and,  amidst  shouts  and  execrations,  threw  the  cruci- 
fixes, pictures,  images  and   sacred   utensils  into  the  fire.     In 
the  meanwhile  the  half-breeds  returned  with  the  cattle;  but 
no  sooner  were  they  in  reach    than    they  too    were    struck 
down  and  their  still  living  bodies  also  thrown  into  the  flames. 
The  conspirators  then  proceeded  to  San  Jose,  which  they 
reached  two  days  afterwards.      It  was    Sunday  and    Father 
Tamaral  was  sitting  quietly  in  his  apartment.      Here  there 
was  no  soldier  and  there  was  nothing  to  fear.     The  ringlead- 
ers entered  and  after  a  few  words  they  struck  the  father  down 
and  dragged  him,  as  they  had  done  Carranco,  into  the  open 
air.     A  few  arrows  were  thrust  into  him;  but  a  much  speedier 
period  than  was  probably  intended  was  put  to  his  life  by  one 
of  the    murderers,   who  seized  a  knife  and   stabbed   him  to 


REBELLION.  237 

death.  The  same  insults  to  his  body  were  practiced  as  upon 
that  of  Father  Carranco — all  plainly  indicating  that  the  fury 
of  the  Indians  had  been  roused  by  the  opposition  of  these 
missionaries  to  the  abominable  licentiousness  that  prevailed. 
Much  the  same  scenes  that  marked  the  destruction  of  San- 
tiago took  place  also  at  San  Jose;  but  the  orgies  here  were 
more  outrageous  and  longer  continued.  It  was  to  this  chance 
that  Father  Taraval  at  Santa  Rosa  owed  his  preservation. 
Before  the  conspirators  could  reach  his  mission,  one  of  his 
people,  who  had  been  at  Santiago,  hurried  to  him  and  gave 
an  account  of  what  he  had  witnessed.  That  night,  accord- 
ingly, Father  Taraval,  gathering  up  the  ornaments  of  his 
church,  escaped  with  his  soldiers  to  La  Paz  and  thence 
crossed  over  to  the  island  of  Espiritu  Santo,  from  which 
place  they  took  passage  in  a  boat  sent  for  them  from  the 
mission  of  Dolores.  They  had  hardly  left  Santa  Rosa  before 
the  conspirators  arrived.  The  latter,  finding  the  father  and 
soldiers  gone,  pursued  to  La  Paz.  There,  finding  them- 
selves balked  of  their  expected  prey,  they  fell  first  upon  the 
catechumens  that  were  still  faithful  and  finally  turned  their 
arms  against  each  other.  The  result  was  not  only  that  the 
four  southern  missions  were  entirely  destroyed;  but  the  whole 
southern  country  was  involved  in  strife  and  bloodshed,  and 
affairs  were  in  a  much  worse  condition  than  they  had  ever 
been  in  before. 


CHAPTER    X . 

REDUCTION    AND    PACIFICATION. 

THE  venerable  Father  Juan  Ugarte  did  not  live  to  witness 
the  great  calamity  which  had  thus  befallen  the  settle- 
ments. He  had  spent  the  last  few  years  of  his  life  at  the 
mission  of  San  Xavier,  in  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  the  little 
paradise  he  had  with  so  much  labor  and  difficulty  formed 
about  him  among  the  once  barren  declivities  of  Vigge  Bia- 
undo.  In  1 731,  at  the  age  of  seventy  years,  after  a  service 
of  thirty  in  the  peninsula,  during  which  he  had  done  more 
for  the  cause  to  which  he  had  devoted  himself  than  any 
other  person,  he  peacefully  sank  to  rest,  and  the  land  he 
had  consecrated  and  blessed  with  much  more  than  the.  bless- 
ings of  the  church,  received  his  body.  The  year  previously 
Father  Piccolo  had  died  in  his  seventy-ninth  year  at  Lbreto; 
so  that  when  Ugarte  passed  away  he  was  the  last  of  the 
original  founders.  Nor  is  it  any  disparagement  to  the  others 
to  add  that  he  was  the  noblest,  bravest  and  greatest  of  them 
all. 

Upon  the  death  of  Ugarte,  Father  Guillen  became  the 
superior  of  the  missions.  At  the  time  the  news  of  the  insur- 
rection and  destruction  of  the  establishments  in  the  south 
reached  him,  he  was  at  his  mission  of  Dolores,  which  was  now 
the  most  southerly  of  those  that  were  left  unattacked.  But 
as  it  was  supposed  that  the  defection  of  the  Indians  was  gen- 
eral and  as  it  was  also  supposed  or  at  least  feared  that  those 
of  the  north,  if  not  already  seduced,  might  easily  be  incited 
by  the  example  of  their  southern  countrymen  to  rise  and 
commit  like  outrages,  it  was  deemed  advisable  for  all  the 
(23S) 


RED  UCTION  AND  PA  CIFICA  TIOX.  239 

fathers  to  withdraw  to  Loreto  and  there  await  the  pacifica- 
tion of  the  country.  Orders  to  that  effect  were  accordingly 
issued;  and  in  the  beginning  of  1735  all  the  outside  settle- 
ments were  abandoned  and  all  the  missionaries  and  soldiers 
in  the  land  assembled  on  the  spot  where  Salvatierra  had  first 
planted  the  cross  and  set  up  the  image  of  the  holy  mother- 
patroness  of  the  conquest.  At  the  same  time  word  was  sent 
across  the  gulf  to  Sinaloa  and  Sonora  and  also  to  the  viceroy 
in  Mexico  of  the  imminent  danger  to  which  the  Christians 
in  the  peninsula  were  exposed  and  soliciting  immediate  as- 
sistance. 

The  viceroy  at  that  time  was  Juan  Antonio  Bizarron.  He 
was  an  officer  of  much  the  same  character  as  many  of  his 
predecessors;  profuse  in  words  of  sympathy  but  barren  in 
deeds  of  help;  in  promise  mighty,  in  performance  nothing. 
To  the  earnest  call  for  speedy  succor,  he  answered  that  the 
California  missions  were  of  great  importance  and  were  greatly 
exposed  and,  if  the  missionaries  would  send  off  to  Spain  and 
acquaint  the  king  with  their  peril,  he  would  willingly  exe- 
cute the  commands  of  his  majesty  for  their  relief.1  Substan- 
tially similar  answers  were  returned  from  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernors of  Sinaloa  and  Sonora;  so  that,  if  the  fathers  had  been 
obliged  to  depend  solely  upon  their  countrymen  in  New 
Spain,  their  condition  might  have  been  desperate  indeed. 
But  the  aid  and  comfort,  which  the  miserable  officials  were 
unwilling  to  afford,  were  forthcoming  from  another  quarter. 
The  Yaqui  Indians,  who  lived  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
present  port  of  Guaymas  and  who  had  recently  become  con- 
verted, as  soon  as  they  heard  of  the  disorders  in  the  peninsula 
and  the  jeopardy  in  which  their  fellow  Christians  on  the 
other  side  of  the  gulf  were  placed,  promptly  volunteered 
their  services  to  cross  over  and  protect  them.  A  little  army 
of  five  hundred  warriors  at  once  collected  and  marched  down 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Yaqui  river  ready  to  embark.  But  the 
vessel,  which  was  to  transport  them  and  which  proved  to  be 
Ugarte's  Triunfo  de  la  Cruz,  could  carry  only  a  limited  nura- 

1  Venegas,  P.  Ill,  §  20,  p.  483. 


240  THE  JESUITS. 

ber;  and  accordingly  sixty  picked  men,  the  strongest,  most 
active  and  best  armed,  were  selected;  and  with  these  the  ship 
immediately  sailed  for  Loreto. 

It  seems  that  the  means  of  communication  among  the 
natives  of  Lower  California,  even  between  those  who  were  . 
widely  separated,  were  very  perfect.  Hardly  had  the  insur- 
rection in  the  extreme  south  commenced  before  it  was  known 
by  the  Indians  of  the  extreme  north.  The  northern  people, 
as  has  been  already  explained,  were  much  more  peaceable 
and  trustworthy  than  the  southern;  but  still  there  were  signs 
of  insubordination  among  them;  and  it  was  probably  only  the 
early  retirement  of  the  missionaries  from  amongst  them  that 
prevented  atrocities  in  that  quarter  also.  However  this  may 
have  been,  when  the  northern  establishments  were  precipi- 
tately abandoned,  the  natives  of  those  regions  soon  became 
sensible  of  their  loss;  and  before  very  long  they  began  to 
concert  measures  for  inducing  their  instructors  and  providers 
to  return.  For  this  purpose  the  principal  men  amongst  them 
agreed  to  repair  in  a  body  to  Loreto;  and  accordingly,  rever- 
ently taking  the  crosses  of  the  missions  of  San  Ignacio, 
Guadalupe  and  Santa  Rosalia  upon  their  shoulders,  they 
marched  down  in  solemn  procession  to  the  church  at  Loreto, 
where  the  fathers  were  all  assembled.  Arrived  there,  with 
tears  and  entreaties  they  assured  the  missionaries  of  their 
faithfulness  and  besought  that,  as  they  had  been  accepted 
and  baptized  in  the  faith,  they  should  not  now  be  left  to 
return  to  their  former  evil  ways  and  utterly  perish.  They 
represented  that  it  was  unjust  that  they  should  suffer  for  the 
faults  and  crimes  of  others  and  that  they  were  willing  and 
anxious  to  deliver  up  to  condign  punishment  every  one,  who 
had  either  acted  or  spoken  amiss  or  against  whom  any  cause 
of  just  suspicion  could  be  found.  And  they  finally  begged, 
if  their  teachers  and  pastors  would  not  return  and  rely  upon 
their  fidelity,  to  be  allowed  to  bring  their  families  to  Loreto 
and  settle  themselves  there;  for  they  were  unwilling,  they 
said,  to  live  apart  from  those  who  had  led  them  into  the  paths 
of  rectitude  and  in  whose  hands  their  salvation  rested.     Such 


RED  UCT10N  A ND  PA  CIFICA  TION.  2 4 1 

pleas  as  these,  expressed  as  they  were  with  all  the  signs  of 
sincerity,  were  irresistible.  But  it  was  thought  prudent  to 
delay,  for  a  short  time  at  least,  acquiescence  with  their 
request.  The  pilgrims  were  therefore  detained  some  days; 
at  the  end  of  which  time,  it  plainly  appearing  that  there  was 
no  treachery  concealed  under  the  cloak  of  piety  and  affection, 
and  the  Yaqui  warriors  having  arrived  for  the  restoration  of 
order  in  the  revolted  districts,  the  missionaries  consented  to 
return  to  their  several  missions;  and  they  were  escorted  back 
with  hosannahs  and  shouts  of  joy.  Some  of  the  natives  who 
had  given  indications  of  discontent  and  disquiet,  were  slightly 
punished,  more  to  gratify  the  rest  of  the  people  than  because 
of  any  fear  of  trouble  from  them;  and  a  few,  who  were  clearly 
guilty,  were  temporarily  banished,  so  that  no  sparks  of  rebell- 
ion might  be  left  in  the  neighborhood. 

Meanwhile,  the  Yaqui  auxiliaries  having  placed  themselves 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Lorenzo  and  his  soldiers, 
arrangements  were  directly  made  for  a  campaign  in  the 
south.  A  sufficient  guard  having  been  left  at  Loreto,  the 
others  proceeded,  some  by  land  and  some  by  sea,  to  La  Paz 
and  formed  a  military  camp  there.  Upon  the  approach  of 
those,  who  went  by  sea  and  who  arrived  first,  the  rebel 
Indians  collected  on  the  shore  and  made  several  attacks,  in 
which  there  were  some  losses  on  both  sides;  but  upon  the 
appearance  of  the  larger  party,  who  went  by  land  and  among 
whom  there  were  several  horsemen,  the  enemy  was  intimi- 
dated and  fled  into  the  interior.  There  they  hid  among  the 
rocks  and  caverns;  and,  when  driven  from  one  place  of  con- 
cealment, it  was  only  to  scatter  and  take  refuge  in  others  still 
more  inaccessible;  so  that  Lorenzo,  with  his  limited  forces, 
found  it  impracticable  to  dislodge  them  before  he  was  recalled 
and  the  conduct  of  the  campaign  assumed  by  the  governor 
of  Sinaloa,  who  had  at  length  been  ordered  to  cross  over  and 
take  charge  of  the  war.  This  individual  did  as  he  was 
ordered;  but  he  was  a  person,  as  it  proved,  whose  superiority 
in  rank  to  Captain  Lorenzo  was  but  a  poor  compensation  for 
his  inferiority  in  ability. 

16    Vol.  I. 


24  2  THE  JESUITS. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  the  commander  of  the  Philippine 
galleon,  which  touched  at  Cape  San  Lucas  in  the  beginning 
of  1734,  procured  an  order  from  the  viceregal  government  at 
Mexico  that  all  the  Philippine  galleons  thenceforth  should 
touch  at  the  same  place.  The  galleon  of  the  next  year 
accordingly  ran  in  to  San  Bernabe  bay,  in  the  expectation  of 
procuring  fresh  water  and  provisions;  and,  upon  nearing  the 
shore  its  pinnace  was  hoisted  out  and  thirteen  sailors  sent  to 
acquaint  Father  Tamaral  of  their  arrival.  Upon  landing  they 
were  surprised  to  see  no  one  to  receive  them.  Instead,  how- 
ever, of  suspecting  anything  wrong,  they  left  one  or  two  of 
their  number  to  take  care  of  the  pinnace  and  the  rest  pro- 
ceeded up  the  country  towards  the  mission.  But  they  had 
not  gone  far  when  the  Indians  rushed  upon  them  from  an 
ambush  and  killed  them  all.  The  savages  then  ran  to  the 
pinnace;  killed  those  who  were  in  charge  of  it,  and  began  to 
break  up  the  boat.  The  commander  of  the  galleon,  after 
waiting  some  time  in  vain  for  the  return  of  the  pinnace,  sent 
out  his  long-boat  with  a  party  of  armed  marines;  and  they> 
upon  approaching  the  land  and  ascertaining  the  true  state  of 
the  facts,  attacked  the  murderers;  killed  a  few;  wounded  a 
numberj  and  took  four  prisoners.  With  these  they  returned 
to  the  galleon,  which,  having  many  sick  on  board  and  being 
on  short  allowance,  immediately  weighed  anchor  and  sailed 
for  Acapulco.  As  soon  as  the  news  of  this  sad  event  reached 
Mexico  and  the  result  of  the  viceroy's  refusal  to  send  succor 
to  California  was  thus  made  strikingly  manifest,  that  official 
found  himself  obliged  by  the  force  of  public  opinion  to  take 
action,  without  being  able  as  before  to  shield  himself  under 
the  pretense  of  waiting  for  express  orders  from  the  king.  He 
therefore  directed  the  governor  of  Sinaloa  to  cross  over  to 
the  peninsula  with  a  body  of  troops  and  put  a  stop  to  the 
disorders  there,  at  the  same  time  authorizing  him  to  take  the 
conduct  of  the  war  into  his  own  hands  and  pay  no  further 
attention  to  the  directions  of  the  fathers  than  he  might  deem 
proper.  Under  these- circumstances  the  governor  of  Sinaloa 
sent  word    in    advance  that  Captain  Lorenzo  and    his    men 


REDUCTION  AND  PACIFICATION.  243 

should  be  recalled;  and,  himself  landing  with  a  flourish  of 
trumpets,  he  marched  his  soldiers  to  the  seat  of  hostilities. 

The  new  commander  soon  manifested  his  intention  of  re- 
ducing the  insurgents  in  his  own  way  and  refused  to  listen  to 
the  advice  of  those,  who  knew  much  more  of  the  country  and 
the  character  of  the  enemy  than  he  did.  But  after  parading 
up  and  down  the  peninsula  for  about  two  years  and  accom- 
plishing nothing,  except  the  consumption  of  provisions  and 
royal  treasure  enough  to  have  fortified  the  country  under 
anything  like  proper  management,  he  was  compelled  to  make 
the  mortifying  confession  that  his  plans  were  not  adapted  to 
effect  the  object  desired.  After  making  this  confession,  he 
consented  to  change  his  course  of  action  and,  at  the  advice  of 
the  fathers,  managed  to  force  the  rebels  to  a  general  engage- 
ment, in  which  they  were  overwhelmed  and  defeated  with 
great  slaughter.  This  overthrow,  however,  was  not  sufficient 
to  satisfy  the  Indians.  To  such  a  height  had  their  hostility 
and  insolence  by  this  time  grown,  that  they  still  refused  to  sur- 
render and  kept  up  the  war  by  skirmishes.  But,  by  pursuing 
the  same  policy,  they  were  forced  to  a  second  general  engage- 
ment and  more  severely  punished  than  before.  This  finished 
the  insurrection  and  closed  the  war.  The  defeated  rebels, 
upon  their  submission,  were  required  to  deliver  up  their  ring- 
leaders. These,  instead  of  being  executed  as  Lorenzo  would 
have  insisted,  were  merely  banished  On  their  passage  across 
the  gulf,  they  rose  upon  their  guard  and  attempted  to  make 
themselves  masters  of  the  ship;  but  the  soldiers  fired  upon 
them  and  killed  almost  all.  Among  those  who  survived, 
were  Boton  and  Chicori;  but  these  too  soon  afterwards  lost 
their  lives  in  Sonora,  the  land  of  their  exile,  one  by  being 
killed  in  a  quarrel  and  the  other  by  falling  among  the  rocks 
and  receiving  fatal  bruises. 

While  these  events  were  taking  place  in  California,  infor- 
mation of  the  insurrection  and  of  the  loss  of  the  Philippine 
galleon's  pinnace  at  San  Lucas  reached  Spain;  and  the  king 
immediately  ordered  the  viceroy  of  Mexico  to  establish  a 
royal  garrison  in  the  peninsula.     It  was  at  first  intended  that 


244  THE  JESUITS. 

La  Paz  should  be  head-quarters;  but  subsequently,  in  consid- 
eration of  the  convenience  of  the  Philippine  ships,  the  loca- 
tion was  changed  to  Cape  Sar.  Lucas.  This  new  establish- 
ment introduced  a  very  important  change  into  the  government 
of  the  country;  for,  oy  tne  terms  of  the  royal  orders  and  at 
the  suggestion  of  the  viceroy,  the  captain-general  and  his 
soldiers  were  to  be  entirely  independent  of  the  fathers  and 
subject  only  to  the  government  at  Mexico.  Against  such  an 
arrangement,  the  missionaries,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
loudly  protested.  But  by  this  time  the  Jesuits,  as  a  body, 
had  become  exceedingly  unpopular.  The  tide  of  public 
opinion  had  already  for  a  long  period  been  setting  strongly 
in  opposition  to  them  and  to  a  great  extent  had  caused  the 
slights  and  neglect  of  the  California  missions  to  which  refer- 
ence has  already  been  made.  No  attention  was  therefore 
paid  to  the  remonstrances  of  the  missionaries;  and,  in  the 
choice  of  a  captain-general  of  the  new  garrison,  care  was 
taken  that  the  appointee  should  not  be  too  much  under  their 
influence.  Bernardo  Rodriguez  Lorenzo,  son  of  the  old  cap- 
tain who  had  grown  gray  in  the  service  of  the  fathers,  was 
the  first  appointee;  but  he  was  soon  afterwards  temoved  on 
account  of  his  deference  to  the  instructors  of  his  youth;  and 
the  place  was  filled  by  the  appointment  of  Pedro  Alvarez  de 
Acevedo,  who  was  bound  by  no  such  ties.  Under  the  new 
arrangement,  there  were  forty  soldiers;  ten  stationed  at  San 
Jose  del  Cabo,  ten  at  Santiago,  ten  at  La  Paz  and  ten  at 
Loreto. 

The  military  government  thus  organized  did  not  work  suc- 
cessfully. The  rebel  Indians  had  been  utterly  defeated  and 
deprived  of  their  leaders  and  gave  no  further  trouble.  But 
the  soldiers,  being  now  entirely  independent  of  the  fathers, 
began  to  commit  all  sorts  of  excesses  They  forsook  the 
missions;  neglected  their  duties;  oppressed  the  natives;  be- 
took themselves  to  the  pearl  fisheries,  and  spent  their  time  in 
riot  and  disorder.  In  a  few  years  there  was  nothing  but 
irregularity  and  confusion;  and  the  whole  country  was  on  the 
point  of  being  ruined  by  the  very  garrison  that   had  been 


REDUCTION  AND  PACIFICATION.  245 

formed  for  its  security.  Every  one  could  plainly  see  that 
the  policy,  which  had  been  adopted,  was  not  calculated  to 
accomplish  anything  but  harm.  The  excesses  of  the  soldiers 
became  so  enormous  and  outrageous  that  complaints  began 
to  be  heard  on  every  side;  and  the  viceroy  found  himself 
obliged  again  to  change  his  plan  of  government.  Captain- 
general  Acevedo  was  discharged;  the  soldiers  were  again 
placed  under  the  directions  of  the  Jesuits,  and  their  enlist- 
ments, discharges  and  payments  put  upon  the  former  footing. 
As  soon  as  these  alterations  were  effected,  the  work  of  the 
missionaries  again  went  forward.  The  ruined  missions  were 
restored  and  re-established;  the  dispersed  catechumens  were 
collected,  and  new  converts  in  great  numbers  gathered  into 
the  fold.  Not  only  this;  but  the  Spanish  court,  hearing  of 
the  successful  progress  that  was  now  being  made,  ordered 
that  all  the  charges  and  extraordinary  expenses,  which  had 
been  occasioned  by  the  insurrection  and  the  troubles  that  had 
followed  it,  should  be  made  good  out  of  the  royal  treasury, 
and  that  new  and  more  effectual  measures  than  had  yet  been 
employed  should  be  taken  for  the  further  settlement  and 
total  reduction  of  the  country. 

One  of  the  last  acts  of  the  reign  of  Philip  V.  was  a  new 
royal  schedule  or  mandate,  dated  November  30,  1745,  relating 
to  California  affairs  and  providing  for  the  execution  of  the 
above  designs.  With  these  objects  in  view,  it  was  ordered 
that  a  series  of  new  and  well-guarded  settlements  should  be 
made  around  the  head  of  the  gulf  and  thence  westward,  so 
that  the  natives  might  be  insulated  from  their  wild  neighbors 
further  north  and  that  the  reduction  of  the  province  should 
then  proceed  in  opposite  directions;  by  which  plan  it  was 
intended  that  the  work  should  be  more  speedily,  as  well  as 
more  completely,  accomplished.  It  was  also  ordered,  in  con- 
templation of  the  extension  of  the  field  of  labor,  that  the 
number  of  the  missionaries  should  be  largely  increased;  and, 
in  order  to  secure  harmony  and  success,  that  the  fathers 
should  continue  to  have  the  exclusive  management  and  con- 
trol of  the  country.     This  order  or  mandate,  so  issued  by 


246  THE  JESUITS. 

Philip  V  shortly  before  his  death,  was,  in  June,  1746,  rehabil- 
itated and  transmitted  by  his  son  and  successor,  Ferdinand 
VI.,  to  the  Conde  de  Fuen-Clara,  then  viceroy  at  Mexico; 
and  measures  were  immediately  taken  for  putting  it  in  proc- 
ess of  execution  and  carrying  it  out  not  only  according  to  its 
letter  but  also  according  to  its  spirit. 


CHAPTER      XI. 

EXPULSION    OF    THE   JESUITS. 

TO  enable  the  plans  thus  newly  adopted  to  be  successfully 
prosecuted,  it  became  important  to  secure  the  complete 
reduction  of  that  large  portion  of  Sonora  lying  between  the 
gulf  and  the  Gila  river  and  known  under  the  general  name 
of  Pimeria.  This  had  been  the  field  of  Father  Kino's  later 
labors;  and  it  will  be  recollected  that  it  had  been  the  grand 
project  of  his  life  to  extend  his  settlements  northwestward 
beyond  the  Colorado  and  even  as  far  as  Monterey  and  Men- 
docino. But  after  his  death  in  1710,  little  or  no  progress  had 
been  made  in  that  direction;  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  several 
of  the  churches  built  by  him,  within  a  few  years  after  his 
active  labors  ceased,  were  neglected  and  fell  into  ruins.  In 
1 73 1  efforts  were  made  to  recover  the  ground  that  had  been 
lost  and  seven  missions  managed  to  maintain  their  existence; 
but  still  the  country  was  far  from  being  pacified  or  secure. 
In  1743  and  1744  attempts  were  made  to  extend  the  Sono- 
rian  establishments  northward  into  what  is  now  known  as 
Arizona  and  for  this  purpose  Father  Ignacio  Keler  made  a 
journey  of  exploration  beyond  the  Gila  and  Father  Jacob 
Sedelmayer  re-explored  the  ground  that  had  been  previously 
traversed  by  Kino.  But  up  to  the  time  when  the  royal  sched- 
ule of  1746  was  issued,  Pimeria  was  almost  as  wild  as  it  had 
been  before  and  particularly  so  on  account  of  its  continued 
exposure  to  the  incursions  of  the  Apaches,  who  were  then, 
as  they  are  still,  the  great  obstacles  to  the  establishment  of 
peace  and  order  within  the  range  of  their  predatory  attacks. 
The  importance  of  the  complete  reduction  of  Pimeria  arose 

(247) 


248  THE  JESUITS. 

not  only  from  the  necessity  of  forming  a  barrier  against  the 
destructive  incursions  of  the  Apaches  and  establishing  a  safe 
and  continuous  road  for  the  progress  of  colonization  to  the 
northwestward,  but  also  from  the  necessity  of  providing  a 
source  of  supplies  for  the  contemplated  settlements  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  Californian  peninsula.  On  account  of 
the  rugged  and  barren  character  of  all  of  that  region  that 
was  as  yet  well  known,  it  was  plain  that  the  intended  north- 
ern settlements  could  not  subsist,  or  at  least  not  for  a  long 
time,  without  support  from  the  fields  and  pastures  of  Pimeria — 
any  better  than  the  southern  settlements  could  have  subsisted 
without  aid  from  those  of  Sinaloa.  For  these  reasons,  and 
in  this  indirect  way  to  further  and  eventually  carry  out  the 
ulterior  intention  of  starting  a  new  settlement  of  California 
from  the  north,  it  was  deemed  indispensable  to  commence 
by  strengthening  the  missions  on  the  frontiers  of  Sonora 
and  gradually  bringing  Pimeria  into  complete  subjection. 
And  this  was  accordingly  the  purport  of  the  recommenda- 
tions made  by  the  Jesuits  in  their  reports  as  to  the  proper 
mode  of  carrying  out  the  great  object  contemplated  by  the 
king.  The  plan  was  substantially  a  revival  of  the  design 
first  conceived  by  Father  Kino  and  in  the  prosecution  of 
which  that  unwearied  worker  had  undertaken  so  many  jour- 
neys and  undergone  so  many  fatigues. 

To  second  the  same  general  purpose,  it  became  desirable 
that  a  new  survey  of  the  northern  portions  of  the  gulf  should 
be  made;  and  this  was  accordingly  accomplished,  in  the  year 
1746,  by  Father  Fernando  Consag.  He  sailed  from  Loreto 
with  four  boats  in  June  and  examined  with  great  care  every 
headland,  bay  and  watering  place  from  that  point  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Colorado.  He.  found  the  Indians  in  many 
places  hostile,  but  managed  to  gain  their  good  will  and  ren- 
der them  not  averse  to  communicating  with  him.  They 
would  usually  attempt  to  prevent  his  landing  by  threatening 
gestures  and  by  jumping  from  rock  to  rock,  brandishing  their 
weapons  and  uttering  angry  cries.  It  was  a  great  amusement 
to  the  voyagers  to  see  one  of  these  warriors,  who  had  exhibited 


EXPULSION  OF  THE  JESUITS.  249 

extraordinary  activity  of  this  kind,  make  a  misstep  and  tumble 
down  a  declivity;  for,  though  he  soon  got  up  again,  it  was 
in  a  much  more  peaceable  spirit.  He  no  longer  threatened 
or  brandished  his  spear  or  jumped  from  rock  to  rock,  but 
limped  away  and  hid  himself  quite  chopfallen.  In  one  part 
of  the  coast,  opposite  the  vexed  and  stormy  Islands  of  Sal- 
sipuede^,  Consag  noticed  that  the  native  women  went  en- 
tirely naked,  without  even  the  little  aprons  which  modesty 
had  suggested  to  their  countrywomen  further  south.  At 
another  place  more  to  the  north,  where  his  soldiers  had 
taken  a  few  prisoners,  the  Indians  offered  their  women  as 
ransom:  a  very  sure  indication  that  the  pearl-divers,  to  whom 
such  ransom  might  have  been  acceptable,  had  been  there  be- 
fore him.  He  found  that  the  pearl-beds  extended  north  to 
within  a  few  degrees  of  the  head  of  the  gulf,  where  the  waters 
became  thick  and  turbid  and  the  bottom  foul  and  slimy. 
The  mouth  of  the  Colorado  he  found  to  consist  of  several 
different  channels,  caused  by  three  large  islands;  and  its 
water  he  found  of  such  a  malignant  quality  that,  upon  com- 
ing in  contact  with  the  skin,  it  caused  inflammation  and  blisters 
which  remained  for  months — an  experience  similar  to  that  of 
Father  Ugarte  with  the  same  water  twenty-five  years  before. 
Altogether  his  surveys,  his  descriptions  and  his  charts  were  so 
particular  and  minute  that  they  became  justly  celebrated;  and 
for  a  long  time  they  remained  the  only  reliable  guides  to  the 
navigation  of  the  seas  he  had  thus  so  ably  examined  and 
mapped. 

About,  the  same  time  that  Father  Consag  made  his  voyage 
and  with  a  view  to  the  intelligent  prosecution  of  the  new. 
plans  for  the  further  settlement  and  reduction  of  the  penin- 
sula, information  was  diligently  collected  in  reference  to  its 
geography;  its  peculiarities  and  productions;  its  races  and 
tribes;  and  particularly  in  reference  to  the  condition  of  the 
missions  and  their  progress  in  the  work  for  which  they  had 
been  founded.  For  this  purpose  each  of  the  missionaries  was 
required  to  furnish  an  account  of  his  establishment.  In 
addition  to  these,  several  writers  of  marked  ability  devoted 


250  THE  JESUITS. 

attention  to  the  same  subject.  Father  Sigismundo  Taraval, 
the  same  who  so  narrowly  escaped  death  at  the  time  of  the 
insurrection  of  the  Indians  at  Cape  San  Lucas,  gathered 
materials  for  an  account  of  the  missions;  and  subsequently, 
about  the  year  1739,  Father  Miguel  Venegas  at  Mexico  wrote 
a  full  history,  in  which  he  collected  and  set  forth  in  a  very 
able,  eloquent  and  perspicuous  manner  all  that  was  then  known 
about  the  country.  His  manuscript  was  carried  to  Spain 
about  the  year  1749,  where  it  was  thoroughly  examined  and 
various  additions  from  other  sources  made  to  it  by  Father 
Andres  Marcos  Burriel;  and  afterwards  in  1757,  with  all  the 
requisite  licenses  and  formalities  of  the  day,  it  was  published 
at  Madrid  under  the  title  of  "  Noticia  De  La  California  y 
De  Su  Conquista  Temporal  y  Espiritual  Hasta  El  Tiempo 
Presente."  The  book  attracted  immediate  attention  both  in 
Spain  and  in  other  countries;  it  was  translated  into  various 
languages,  an  English  edition  appearing  in  1759  and  a  French 
one  in  1767;  and  by  its  means  the  peninsula  became  generally 
known  throughout  the  civilized  world. 

The  work  of  Venegas  closed  with  an  ardent  prayer  that 
the  blood  of  the  martyrs  spilt  in  what  was  then  known  as 
California  might  avail  in  the  sight  of  heaven  for  the  com- 
plete reduction  of  that  benighted  land  and  the  conversion  of 
its  savage  inhabitants  from  their  brutal  and  enormous  vices 
to  the  paths  of  virtue  and  religion.  And  in  view'  of  the 
recent  orders  of  the  government  and  the  new  information 
that  had  been  collected  and  spread  abroad,  it  seemed  likely 
that  the  Jesuit  fathers  would  live  to  see  their  establishments 
rapidly  increase  and  fill  up  the  country.  But  while  they 
were  entertaining  these  hopes  and  flattering  themselves  with 
these  brilliant  prospects,  events  were  taking  place  in  Europe 
which  were  soon  to  destroy  their  anticipations  of  further 
dominion.  There  has  already,  in  several  instances,  been 
occasion  to  notice  the  ill  will  with  which  the  Jesuits  were 
coming  to  be  regarded.  From  a  small  beginning  under 
Ignatius  Loyola,  their  founder,  in  1539,  they  had  rapidly 
grown  into  an  immense  power  and  ramified  into  all   parts  of 


EXPULSION"  OF  THE  JESUITS.  251 

the  world.  Not  content  with  devoting  themselves  to  strictly- 
religious  avocations,  they  had  assumed  to  interfere  in  political 
affairs;  became  more  or  less  involved  in  all  the  great  events 
of  the  day,  and,  wherever  they  were  able,  attempted  to  guide 
and  direct  them  to  suit  their  own  purposes.  Consisting  of 
constantly  increasing  numbers,  amounting  in  1749  to  over 
twenty-two  thousand,  persons  of  experience  and  ability;  dis- 
tributed throughout  almost  every  region  of  the  earth;  bound 
by  the  strictest  oaths  to  obey  the  commands  of  the  head  of 
their  order,  and  recognizing  no  superior  allegiance  except  to 
the  pope,  they  had,  in  two  hundred  years,  encouraged  as  they 
were  by  the  sovereigns  who  occupied  the  thrones  of  Spain, 
France  and  Portugal,  become  truly  formidable.  But  the  day 
of  reckoning  was  at  hand;  and,  almost  simultaneously,  they 
were  driven  forth  from  their  places  of  honor  and  authority 
in  each  of  those  countries  and  rendered  exiles  and  fugitives. 
The  movement  com-menc-ed-in  Portugal,  where  it  was  sup- 
posed that  they  had  not  only  instigated  rebellion  in  the 
provinces  but  had  also  been  privy  to  a  conspiracy  to  .assas- 
sinate the  king.  A  complaint  against  them  was  first  laid 
before  the  pope  and  their  suppression  demanded.  But  the 
papacy  hesitated;  and  the  government  of  Lisbon  then  took 
the  matter  into  its  own  hands.  The  result  was  a  royal  edict, 
issued  in  1759,  declaring  the  Jesuits  traitors;  suppressing  the 
order  throughout  the  Portuguese  dominions,  and  confiscating 
all  its  property.  In  France  there  was  a  similar  movement: 
but  the  occasion  different.  There  the  Jesuits  had  a  powerful 
enemy  in  the  person  of  the  Due  de  Choiseul,  the  prime  min- 
ister of  Louis  XV.  But  it  was  not  until  they  had  assumed 
to  interfere  in  the  domestic  arrangements  of  the  king  by 
demanding  the  dismissal  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  his 
mistress,  that  their  fate  was  sealed.  This  action  on  their 
part  compelled  the  mistress  to  unite  with  the  minister;  and 
nothing  could  withstand  their  conjoined  powers.  Louis  XV., 
urged  on  by  private  entreaties  of  the  mistress  as  well  as  by 
public  solicitations,  suggested  and  encouraged  by  the  min- 
ister, demanded  of  the    pope  that   the  order  should    be  re- 


252  THE  JESUITS. 

formed  by  placing  those  in  France  under  a  superior  of  their 
own — a  change  which  would  have  dismembered  and  destroyed 
them.  The  reply  was  the  famous  answer,  '  Sint  ut  sunt, 
aut  non  sint — they  must  be  as  they  are,  or  not  be."  This 
reply  being  unsatisfactory,  the  French  government  like  the 
Portuguese  acted  on  its  own  account;  and  in  1764  the  order 
in  France  also  was  suppressed.  In  Spain  their  expulsion 
was  effected  three  years  afterwards  by  Charles  III.,  one 
of  the  ablest,  if  not  the  very  ablest,  of  the  Spanish  kings. 
He  had  mounted  the  throne  on  the  death  of  Ferdinand  VI. 
in  1759.  His  prime  minister,  the  Count  de  Aranda,  was  the 
friend  and  pupil  of  Choiseul  of  France.  Both  king  and  min- 
ister were  great  reformers,  inimical  to  priestcraft,  and  hardly 
needed  an  occasion  to  take  vigorous  measures  against  an 
order  so  powerful  and  so  dangerous  to  the  many  radical 
reforms  they  contemplated.  It  was  indeed  charged  that 
the  Jesuits  had  conspired  against  the  king  and  that  treason- 
able writings  had  been  found  in  one  of  their  colleges;  but 
it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the  action  of  king  and  min- 
ister would  have  been  the  same  under  any  circumstances. 
They  took  no  counsel  of  the  pope,  but  went  on  and  fully 
matured  their  plans  before  a  movement  was  made  or  any- 
thing known  of  the  impending  blow.  The  first  intimation 
the  nation  had  of  it  was  an  order,  promulgated  simultaneously 
in  Spain  and  in  its  various  colonies,  for  the  immediate  arrest 
of  all  the  Jesuits  and  their  expulsion  from  every  part  of  the 
Spanish  dominions.  At  the  same  time  all  their  wealth  and 
possessions  were  confiscated;  and,  so  great  was  the  animosity 
of  the  government  against  them,  that  it  was  further  ordered 
if  any  Spanish  subject  should  attempt  in  writing  to  vindicate 
them,  that  he  should  be  deemed  guilty  of  treason  and  suffer 
death. 

The  time  fixed   for  the  execution  of  the  royal   order  wal 
July,  1767.     In  that  month  all  the  Jesuit  colleges  in  Mexic 
and  the  missions  not  too  far  removed  were  suddenly  take. 
possession  of  by  soldiery,  and  the  Jesuit  fathers  seized   am 
marched   off  under  strict  guard   to  Vera  Cruz,  where   the\ 


EXPULSION  OF  THE  JESUITS.  253 

were  put  on  board  vessels  and  sent  away.  Those  of  Sinaloa, 
Sonora  and  Pimeria,  fifty  in  number,  were  seized  in  like 
mannei  and  marched  to  Guaymas,  whence  they  were  shipped 
in  a  small  and  ill-provided  vessel  to  Matanchel.  The  voyage 
between  these  two  places  is  usually  made  in  five  or  six  days; 
but  on  this  occasion  it  required  forty-eight;  and  the  Jesuits, 
cramped  up  and  in  want  of  wholesome  provisions,  suffered 
dreadfully.  From  Matanchel  they  were  compelled  to  take 
up  their  march  overland  for  the  same  port  of  Vera  Cruz  from 
which  their  brethren  had  been  shipped — a  distance  of  about 
three  hundred  leagues.  Their  march  for  the  first  day  was 
through  a  low,  marshy  country;  some  were  so  ill  that  they 
frequently  fell  from  their  horses;  others,  who  went  on  foot, 
often  had  to  travel  through  mud  and  water  up  to  their  knees. 
Besides  this  they  had  little  or  nothing  to  eat.  In  a  few  days 
almost  all  of  them  were  dangerously  sick  with  malarious 
fevers;  and,  being  unprovided  with  proper  care  and  attention, 
twenty  died.  The  remaining  thirty,  after  they  had  sufficiently 
recovered  to  proceed,  were  driven  forward  and,  only  after  a 
long,  toilsome  and  terrible  march,  reached  Vera  Cruz.  There 
they  were  shipped  for  Cadiz,  which  they  did  not  reach  until 
about  two  years  after  leaving  Guaymas.1 

The  execution  of  the  royal  order  in  California  was  com- 
mitted to  the  charge  of  Gaspar  de  Portola.  He  was  directed 
to  proceed  thither  with  fifty  soldiers;  to  expel  the  Jesuits; 
turn  over  their  missions  to  the  fathers  of  the  Franciscan  col- 
lege of  San  Fernando  of  Mexico,  who  were  to  follow  him, 
and  himself  assume  the  government  and  control  of  the  coun- 
try as  military  governor.  He  was  to  proceed  with  great 
circumspection,  so  as  to  take  the  Jesuits  unawares- and  before 
they  could  conceal  the  treasures  they  were  supposed  to  pos- 
sess or  arm  the  Indians  in  their  defense.  Ever  since  the  time 
of  Captain  Mendoza,  there  had  been  a  suspicion  that  Califor- 
nia was  a  land  of  wealth.  Its  pearl-beds  had  yielded  largely; 
and  it  was  supposed  by  many  to  be  richer  in  mines  of  gold 
and  silver  than   in    pearls.     Several  argentiferous  veins  had 

1  Baegert's  Nachrichten,  P.  Ill,  §  io,  pp.  299-301. 


254  THE  JESUITS. 

been  discovered  near  Cape  San  Lucas  and  partially  worked; 
and  though  the  returns  from  them  were  in  fact  small,  it  was 
easy  to  believe  them  great.  There  were  even  some  who  felt 
convinced  that  the  Jesuits,  from  these  and  various  other 
sources,  of  which  little  or  nothing  was  known,  had  accumu- 
lated and  were  accumulating  immense  riches  and  that  they 
decried  the  land  and  represented  it  as  a  region  of  utter  bar- 
renness for  the  purpose  of  deterring  others  from  visiting  it 
and  interfering  with  their  acquisitions.  Why  else  had  they 
spent  their  lives  in  such  a  desolate  wilderness  ?  Why  else 
had  they  clung  so  persistently,  under  so  many  obstacles  and 
for  so  many  years,  suffering  the  extremes  of  heat  and  thirst, 
to  bare  rocks  and  thorny  declivities  ?  That  they  were  capa- 
ble of  concealments  was  not  thought  too  much  for  men  who 
were  supposed  to  contemplate  absolute  sovereignty.  That 
they  were  capable  of  deception  and  fraud  was  not  thought 
out  of  place  for  men  who  were  supposed  to  regard  allegiance 
to  the  head  of  their  order  as  superior  to  that  due  to  their 
king  and  country.  In  the  prosecution  of  their  purposes  they 
were  believed  to  prefer  underhanded  measures  and  crooked 
paths;  and  nothing  seemed  too  bad  to  charge  them  with  or 
to  suspect  them  of.  The  very  name  of  Jesuit  had  to  many 
become  a  by-word  and  a  reproach — the  synonym  of  chicanery, 
falsehood  and  perjury. 

Gaspar  de  Portola  with  his  soldiers  arrived  in  the  peninsula 
in  October,  1767,  and  landed  at  Cape  San  Lucas.  He,  as  well 
as  his  people,  to  use  the  exaggerated  language  of  Father 
Baegert,  believed  that  the  land  was  paved  with  silver  and 
that  pearls  were  to  be  swept  up  with  brooms.1  They  there- 
fore leaped  ashore  with  alacrity;  made  themselves  masters  of 
the  neighboring  mission  of  San  Jose  del  Cabo,  and  prepared 
to  seize  its  supposed  uncounted  treasures.  The  fathers  had 
had  no  intimation  of  their  coming  and  did  not  dream  of  the 
fate  awaiting  them.  They  consequently  had  had  no  cause  or 
opportunity  to  conceal  anything.     Still  there  were  no  riches, 


1  "  Sic  meinten  Californien  war  mil  Silber  gepflastert  unci  man  fegte  die  Perlen 
darin  mit  Besern  zusamnien." — Baegert,  P.  Ill,  $  10,  pp.  304,  305. 


EXIULSJON  OF  THE  JESUITS.  255 

either  of  gold  or  silver  or  pearls,  to  be  found.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  ornaments  of  the  church  and  a  few  articles  of 
porcelain  and  silken  stuffs  left  by  the  Philippine  galleons, 
there  was  nothing  of  value  to  be  discovered;  and  Portola  soon 
found  that  he  and  those  who  thought  with  him  had  been 
mistaken,  and  that  the  supposed  wealth  of  the  Californian 
fathers  was  a  myth.  He  proceeded  next  to  the  mission  of 
Santiago  and  found  it  even  worse  provided  than  San  Jose. 
He  then  went  out  to  the  mines  and  satisfied  himself  of  their 
poverty  also,  and  the  extreme  penury  of  those  who  feebly 
worked  them.  He  then,  with  his  soldiers,  who  by  this  time 
had  begun  to  curse  the  country  and  bewail  the  day  they  had 
been  inveigled  into  it,  set  out  for  Loreto,  which  was  over  a  hun- 
dred leagues  distant.  Though  the  ordinary  daily  marches  of 
Spanish  soldiers  were  only  five  leagues,  they  here  found  them- 
selves obliged,  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  water  and  forage, 
which  were  found  only  at  long  distances  apart,  to  travel  ten 
leagues  and  more  at  a  time.  They  hastened  onward,  and 
about  the  middle  of  December  reached  their  destination  and 
seized  the  capital. 

■  The  superior  of  the  Jesuits  in  the  peninsula  at  this  time 
was  Father  Ducrue.  To  him  Portola  exhibited  his  commis- 
sion; delivered  the  royal  mandate  o/  expulsion,  and  in  the 
name  of  the  king  and  of  the  viceroy  demanded  possession  of 
the  country.  In  as  respectful  and  considerate  a  manner  as 
the  nature  of  his  office  would  permit,  he  asked  a  full  and 
complete  inventory  of  all  the  missions  and  everything  per- 
taining to  them,  and  he  suggested  that  the  fathers  should  be 
brought  together  as  speedily  as  possible  and  take  passage  in 
the  vessel,  which  lay  in  readiness  to  receive  them.  In  accord- 
ance with  these  requests  and  suggestions,  the  various  inven- 
tories were  made  out  and  placed  in  Portola's  hands;  and  the 
different  missionaries,  sadly  relinquishing  their  respective 
stations,  collected  at  Loreto.  They  were  there  received  by 
Portola,  as  was  the  Spanish  custom  of  the  day,  with  courteous 
embraces.  On  February  3,  1768,  the  collected  fathers,  fifteen 
in  all,  assembled  in  the  church  and  celebrated  their  last  high 


256  THE  JESUITS. 

mass  in  the  country.  The  image  of  Our  Lady  of  Loreto,  the 
patroness  of  the  conquest,  was  draped  in  mourning  Father 
Diez,  though  unprepared  yet  as  if  inspired  by  the  sad  circum- 
stances, preached  a  farewell  sermon,  which  affected  the  entire 
congregation  to  tears.  From  the  church,  the  fathers,  after 
being  again  embraced  and  bidden  adieu  by  the  new  governor, 
marched  down  to  the  beach  and  went  on  ship-board.  The 
entire  population  of  the  place  and  all  the  Indians  of  the 
neighborhood  and  many  from  distant  places,  all  weeping, 
accompanied  them  to  the  water's  edge.  By  this  time  the  sun 
had  sunk;  the  twilight  changed  into  dusk;  the  sails  were  run 
up  in  the  dark;  they  filled  and'swelled  with  the  winds  of  the 
night;  and  before  morning,  with  a  favoring  breeze  which 
accompanied  them  to  Matanchel,  they  were  far  distant  on 
their  way.     They  had  left  California  forever.1 


1  Baegert,  P.  Ill,  §  10,  pp.  307-312. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

PHYSICAL   GEOGRAPHY   OF    LOWER   CALIFORNIA. 

AT  the  time  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  from  the  penin- 
sula in  1768,  there  were  sixteen  of  them,  fifteen  priests 
and  one  lay  brother.  Of  these,  eight  were  Germans,  six  Span- 
iards and  two  Mexicans.  Exactly  the  same  number,  fifteen 
priests  and  one  lay  brother,  had  died  and  were  buried  in  the 
country.1  There  were  at  the  same  time  fifteen  missions;  sev- 
eral of  those  which  had  been  originally  founded  having  been 
either  changed  to  other  localities,  consolidated  with  others 
or  abandoned.  Commencing  at  Cape  San  Lucas  and  going 
northwestward,  these  were:  first,  San  Jose  del  Cabo  at  the 
Cape;  second,  Santiago  de  los  Coras  twelve  leagues  distant 
northwestward  and  four  leagues  from  the  gulf  coast;  and 
third,  Todos  Santos  in  about  the  same  latitude  as  Santiago, 
but  lying  on  the  coast  of  the  Pacific.  The  actual  distance  of 
Todos  Santos  from  Santiago  was  only  a  day's  journey;  but 
an  almost  impassable  mountain  lay  between  them  and  the 
traveled  trail  made  a  detour,  which  required  about  three 
days.  The  fourth  was  that  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  los  Dolores 
del  Sur,  more  than  seventy  leagues  from  Todos  Santos 
and  about  six  from  the  Californian  gulf;  the  fifth  that  of  San 
Aloysio  in  the  midst  of  the  mountains  midway  between  the 
gulf  and  the  ocean  and  six  leagues  from  Dolores.  The  sixth 
was  San  Francisco  Xavier  de  Vigge  Biaundo  in  the  Vigge 
mountains  thirty  leagues  from  San  Aloysio  and  eight  from 
the  gulf;  the  seventh  Nuestra  Senora  de  Loreto  at  the  capi- 
tal on  the  gulf  shore;  the  eighth  San  Jose  de  Comondu  a 
day's  journey  northwest  of   San  Xavier;  and  the  ninth  La 

1  Baegert,  F.  Ill,  §  10,  p,  312. 

17     Vol.  I.  (^57) 


258  THE  JESUITS. 

Purisima  Concepcion  near  the  Pacific  coa.st  and  about  the 
same  distance  from  San  Jose  Comondu  as  the  latter  was  from 
San  Xavier.  The  tenth  was  that  of  Santa  Rosalia  de  Mulege-, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  little  creek,  called  the  Mulege  river, 
about  half  a  league  from  the  gulf  and  a  long  day's  journey 
northeast  from  La  Purisima  Concepcion.  North  of  La 
Purisima  and  about  two  days'  journey  distant  was  the 
eleventh,  Nuestra  Seiiora  de  Guadalupe,  among  the  Guada- 
lupe mountains  and  not  very  far  from  the  Pacific;  and  a  day's 
journey  northeast  of  Guadalupe  and  about  the  same  distance 
from  Santa  Rosalia,  situated  in  the  middle  of  the  peninsula 
was  the  twelfth,  San  Ignacio.  The  thirteenth,  that  of  Santa 
Gertrudis,  was  two  days'  journey  northwest  of  San  Ignacio; 
the  fourteenth,  that  of  San  Francisco  de  Borja,  was  the  same 
distance  northwest  of  Santa  Gertrudis;  and  the  fifteenth, 
that  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  Columna,  three  days' journey  north- 
west of  San  Francisco  de  Borja.  The  last  and  most  north- 
erly was  in  latitude  310  and  had  only  been  founded  in  1766, 
the  year  before  the  arrival  of  Governor  Portola.1 

Among  the  Jesuits  expelled  from  the  peninsula  was  Father 
Jacob  Baegert,  a  native  of  the  upper  Rhine  in  Germany." 
He  had  arrived  in  the  country  in  175 1  and  lived  there  seven- 
teen years.  In  the  course  of  his  residence  he  had  traveled 
much;  talked  with  his  older  brethren,  and  familiarized  him- 
self with  the  missions,  the  geography,  natural  productions 
and  resources  of  the  land  and  the  character,  manners  and 
customs  of  the  Indians.  After  his  expulsion  and  upon  his 
return  to  his  native  country,  he  found  the  public  mind  vio- 
lently agitated  against  his  order;  and  there  seemed  to  be  a 
general  disposition  to  misrepresent  their  doings  in  the  penin- 
sula. The  "  Noticia  de  la  California  "  of  Venegas,  which  had 
appeared  in  Spanish  at  Madrid  in  1757,  in  being  translated 
into  English  and  published  at  London  two  years  afterwards, 
had,  as  he  charged,  been  considerably  altered  and  in  part 
suppressed. a     This    English    version,    so    altered,    had    been 

1  Baegert,  P.  Ill,  §  2,  pp.  211-214. 

2  Baegert,  P.  HI,  §  10,  p.  312. 

3  "  Ziemlich  beschnitten." — Baegert,  Vorrede,  p.  3. 


PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY.  259 

translated  into  French  and  published  at  Paris  in  1767;  and, 
soon  after  Baegert's  arrival  in  Germany,  a  German  translation 
of  the  English  version  was  announced.  Although  Baegert 
had  read  the  Spanish  original  only  in  part  and  could  not  read 
the  English,1  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the  French  version 
and  had  discovered  in  it  many  errors  and  misstatements, 
which,  and  especially  in  view  of  the  anticipated  speedy  ap- 
pearance of  a  German  translation,  he  deemed  it  his  duty  to 
correct.  He  accordingly  sat  down  and  wrote  a  highly  inter- 
esting work  in  his  native  German  tongue,  entitled  "  Nach- 
richten  Von  Der  Amerikanischen  Halbinsel  Californien 
— Account  of  the  American  Peninsula  of  California" — to 
which  he  added  two  appendices  of  what  he  called  "  Falsche 
Nachrichten — False  Accounts."  This,  with  permission  and 
license  of  his  order,  he  published  at  Mannheim  in  1773. 

Baegert,  though  he  wrote  in  the  spirit  of  a  disappointed 
man  and  of  a  country  from  which  he  had  been  expelled,  and 
though  he  sometimes  indulged  in  slings  and  slurs  and  some- 
times in  exaggerated  expressions,  gave  a  very  intelligible  and, 
one  cannot  help  believing,  a  very  correct  account  of  the  Cal- 
ifornia of  his  times.  He  spoke  as  an  eyewitness,  of  things 
he  himself  had  seen,  and  in  a  style  of  plain,  unhesitating 
directness;  frequently  unpolished,  often  even  blunt;  in  some 
instances  professedly  as  a  polemic  and  an  advocate;  but 
always  with  that  kind  of  eloquence  which  thorough  self-pos- 
session and  earnest  conviction  are  calculated  to  inspire.  His 
diction  is  far  from  that  of  a  Goethe  or  a  Lessing,  but  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  work  there  is  not  a  page  that 
can  be  called  dull  or  tedious. 

The  California  described  by  Baegert,  as  well  as  by  Venegas, 
was  only  the  peninsula  or  what  is  now  known  as  Baja  or 
Lower  California.  It  extended  from  about  the  latitude  of 
the  head  of  the  gulf,  running  in  a  general  southeasterly  direc- 
tion, to  Cape  San  Lucas,  a  distance  of  upward  of  seven  hun- 
dred miles.  Its  breadth  in  the  north,  where  it  joined  the 
continent,  was  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles:  from  there 

1  Baegert,  Vorrede,  p.  5. 


260  THE  JESUITS. 

it  gradually  diminished  but  with  many  variations  until  it 
reached  its  termination.  For  a  short  distance*  about  its  mid- 
dle it  was  nearly  as  wide  as  in  the  extreme  north;  but  its 
usual  width  .was  from  forty  to  sixty  miles.  It  consisted  of  a 
prolongation,  so  to  speak,  of  the  ranges  of  mountains  now 
known  as  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  Coast  Ranges.  These 
unite  into  one  chain  in  the  latitude  of  the  Santa  Barbara 
Channel;  run  thence  southeastwardly  and,  after  passing  the 
latitude  of  San  Diego,  form  the  entire  peninsula.  The  whole 
country  may  be  aptly  described  as  a  mountain  chain,  the 
bald,  rocky,  barren  ridges  of  which  alone  have  risen  above  or 
are  not  yet  sunken  beneath  the  waters  of  the  ocean  and  gulf. 
There  are  few  or  no  plains  and  nothing  deserving  the  name 
of  a  river,  though  several  small  rivulets  are  so  called,  from 
one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other.  One  of  these  little 
brooks  ran  by  the  mission  of  San  Jose  del  Cabo;  another  by 
that  of  Santiago,  and  a  third  by  that  of  Todos  Santos. 
There  was  a  fourth  at  San  Jose  Comondu;  a  fifth  at  La  Pur- 
isima,  and  a  sixth  and  the  largest  of  them  all  at  Santa 
Rosalia  de  Mulege.1  Nothing,  according  to  Baegert,  was 
more  common  in  California  than  rocks  and  thorn-bushes; 
nothing  so  rare  as  moisture,  wood  and  cool  shade.2 

The  climate  varied  much  with  the  latitude,  the  elevation 
and  the  exposure  to  the  winds.  Though  there  was  sometimes 
a  little  frost,  and  in  the  higher  regions  of  the  north  a  little 
snow  had  at  long  intervals  been  known  to  fall  and  a  thin  film 
of  ice  to  form,  the  temperature  was  usually  very  hot  and  very 
dry.  The  greatest  heat  began  in  June  and  lasted  till  October 
and  it  was  often,  for  a  European,  very  oppressive.  Baegert 
spoke  much  of  his  profuse  perspiration  and  the  difficulty  he 
had  in  finding  a  cool  resting  place  even  at  night.  Going  out 
of  doors  he  compared,  on  account  not  only  of  the  direct 
rays  of  the  sun  but  also  on  account  of  the  reflection  of  the 
hot  earth,  to  approaching  the  open  doors  of  a  flaming  furnace; 

1  Baegert,  P.  I,  §  3,  p.  26. 

2  "  Nichts  ist  so  gemein  in  Californien  als  Felsen  unci  Dornbiische,  aher  nichts 
so  rar  als  Feuchtigkeit,  Holz  und  kiihler  Schatten." — Baegert,  P.  I,  §3,  p.  21. 


PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY.  261 

and  he  said  the  wayfarer  found  it  inconvenient,  if  not  unsafe, 
to  sit  down  upon  a  stone  by  the  roadside,  without  first  rolling 
up  his  mantle  or  something  of  that  kind  and  placing  it  under 
him.1  It  required  but  eight  hours  even  in  the  shade  for  fresh 
meat  in  large  pieces  to  putrefy;  and  for  this  reason  the  only 
way  of  preserving  it  was  to  cut  it  into  thin  strips  and  dry 
it  in  the  sun:  in  other  words,  to  make  what  is  known  as 
"jerked  meat."  But,  notwithstanding  the  great  elevation  of 
temperature,  the  natives  themselves  never  complained  of  it: 
on  the  contrary  they  were  fond,  even  at  times  when  a  Euro- 
pean would  be  wet  with  perspiration,  of  lying  around  a  blaz- 
ing fire.2 

The  seasons  could  hardly  be  divided  into  spring,  summer, 
autumn  and  winter,  though  there  was  of  course  a  time  for 
grass  and  flowers  to  come  forth  and  for  birds  to  sing;  for 
fruit  to  ripen  and  for  leaves  to  wither  and  die.  The  main 
division  was  into  a  rainy  season  and  a  dry  season.  Showers 
and  occasional  heavy  rains  might  be  looked  for  from  about 
the  end  of  June  to  the  beginning  of  November;  a  storm 
sometimes  occurred  earlier  or  later;  but  often  very  little 
water  fell  in  the  course  of  an  entire  year;  and  in  what  was 
known  as  the  dry  season,  from  November  till  June,  showers 
were  rare.  The  storms  were  sometimes  accompanied  with 
lightning  and  thunder;  and  the  rainy  season  often  ended,  as 
has  been  already  stated,  with  a  hurricane  or  tempest  called  a 
cordonazo.  It,  however,  much  more  frequently  threatened 
to  rain  than  actually  rained;  and  the  showers  were  usually  of 
short  duration  and  limited  extent.  Owing  to  the  bare,  stony 
character  of  the  country,  the  rain-water  ran  off  rapidly  and, 
collecting  in  torrents,  rushed  through  the  gorges  with  destruc- 
tive force  and  great  noise.  These  torrents  in  their  irregular 
courses  frequently  scooped  up  large  quantities  of  earth  and 
left  puddles,  which  contained  more  or  less  water  for  months 
after  the  season  was  over  and  furnished  drink  to  the   cattle 

1  "  Musz  man  zudiesen  Zeit  im  Feld  Halt  rnachen,  so  kann  man  sich  auf  keinen 
Stein  setzen,  wenn  man  nicht  einen  zusammen  gerolten  Mantel  oder  sonst  etwas 
dergleichen  sich  unterleget." — Baegert,  P.  I,  §2,  p.  16. 

2  Baegert,  P.  I,  §  2,  pp.  16,  17. 


2G2  THE  JESUITS. 

and  people.  On  account  of  the  rarity  of  permanent  streams 
and  the  scarcity  of  springs,  many  regions  depended  exclu- 
sively for  water  during  the  dry  season  on  these  pools,  which, 
as  they  were  stagnant  and  used  promiscuously  by  man  and 
beast,  as  well  for  bathing  and  wallowing  as  for  drinking,  often 
became  very  foul.  At  these  pools,  according  to  Baegert,  the 
indigenous  Californian  stretched  himself  upon  his  belly  and 
sucked  up  the  water  like  an  ox.1 

There  were  sometimes  heavy  fogs,  not  only  in  the  autumn 
and  winter  months  but  also  in  summer.  They  rose  from  the 
ocean  and  were  therefore  heaviest  on  the  western  coast;  but 
usually  they  were  dissipated  early  in  the  day.  Some  sup- 
posed they  brought  with  them  a  noxious  principle,  which 
injured  grain  fields.  The  dews  were  about  the  same  as  in 
Europe.  Occasionally  the  sweet  deposit,  known  as  honey- 
dew,  was  seen  upon  the  leaves.  But  generally  throughout 
the  year,  day  and  night,  the  sky  was  clear  and  dry;  and, 
though  there  was  almost  always  a  gentle  breeze,  it  was 
almost  invariably  warm  or  even  hot.  Still  it  was  pure  and 
healthful  and,  when  one  became  accustomed  to  it,  not  unpleas- 
ant. Baegert  said  he  would  gladly  have  carried  the  climate 
with  him  when  he  had  to  leave."  On  account  of  the  climate 
and  the  character  of  the  ground,  planting  and  cultivation 
were  altogether  impracticable  except  in  the  few  spots  where 
soil  and  water  were  found,  or  could  be  brought,  together;  and, 
as  it  was  often  the  case  that  there  was  no  soil  where  there 
was  water  and  no  water  where  there  was  soil,  the  fields  and 
gardens  were  few  and  far  between  and  several  of  the  missions 
had  none  at  all.  Throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  country 
there  was  so  very  little  soil  that  it  barely  covered  the  rocks. 

1  "In  diesen  Siimpfen  baden  sie  sich,  mit  diesen  Wassern  erquicken  und  laben 
sich  Menschen  unci  Yiehe,  unci  endlich,  vor  diesen  legt  sich  der  Californier  auf 
den  Bauch  nieder  und  trinket  daraus  wie  eine  Kuhe,  weil  er  gemeiniglich  nichts 
hatzum  schopfen." — Baegert,  P.  I,  §  3,  p.  27. 

2  "  Was  ich  derohalben  aus  Californien  mit  mir  fort  tragen  zu  konnen  ge- 
wtinschet  hab,  ist  nichts  als  die  einzige  Witterung." — Baegert,  P.  I,  §  3,  p.  31. 

"  The  sky  is  constantly  serene  and  of  a  deep  blue,  and  without  a  cloud;  and 
should  any  clouds  appear  for  a  moment  at  the  setting  of  the  sun,  they  display  the 
most  beautiful  shades  of  violet,  purple  and  green." — Humboldt's  Political  Essay, 
Black's  Translation,  II,  326. 


PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY.  263 

At  the  mission  of  San  Aloysio,  for  instance,  Baegert  could 
find  no  ground  fit  for  a  burial  place;  and  he  was  therefore 
obliged,  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  the  labors  of  the  sextons 
more  easy  and  saving  their  picks  and  shovels,  to  prepare  one 
by  scraping  up  the  earth  from  wherever  he  could  find  it  in 
the  neighborhood  and  filling  in  a  sufficient  space,  formed  by 
the  four  walls  of  his  church-yard.1 

But  where  there  was  soil  and  natural  moisture  or  where 
there  was  soil  and  irrigation,  everything  wore  a  very  different 
appearance.  There,  one  could  plant  and  sow  almost  what  he 
would  and  it  yielded  a  hundred  fold.  Wheat,  maize,  rice, 
squashes,  melons,  cotton,  citrons,  plantains,  pomegranates, 
the  most  luscious  grapes,  olives,  figs,  fruits — in  fact  almost  all 
the  productions  of  both  temperate  and  torrid  zones  throve 
side  by  side  and  with  astonishing  exuberance.  Many  of 
these  places  yielded  a  second  or  even  a  third  crop  the  same 
year.  Such  a  spot  was  Vigge  Biaundo,  the  scene  of  Ugarte's 
great  labors;  and  other  spots  of  the  same  character  and  of 
greater  or  less  extent  were  found  here  and  there  along  the 
course  of  the  rivulets  before  described  and  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  springs  and  pools.  But  with  these  exceptions  the 
land  might  be  described  as  a  desert  waste,2  a  land  of  miser- 
able thickets  and  thorns,  of  naked  rocks,  stones  and  sand 
heaps,  without  water  and  without  wood.3  It  seemed  to 
Father  Baegert  as  if  it  had  been  thrown  up  by  subterranean 
forces  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea  after  the  other  parts  of  the 
world  were  finished  and  apparently  after  the  creative  energy 
had  been  well-nigh  spent.* 

As  a  consequence  of  the  dry  climate  and  arid  soil,  there 
was  hardly  anything  that  could  be  called  a  wood  and  much 
less  a  forest  in  the  country.  There  were  a  few  trees  on  the 
promontory  of  Cape  San  Lucas,  also  in  the  Guadalupe  mount- 

1  "  Weswegen  ich  die  vier  Mauren  meines  Kirchhofs,  schier  bis  oben  an,  mit 
Erd  hab  anfullen  lassen,  um  den  Todtengriibern  die  Arbeit  zu  minderen  und  das 
Eisenwerk  nicht  so  bald  unbrauchbar  zu  machen." — Baegert,  P.  I,  §  4,  pp.  32,  33. 

2  "Terra  deserta  et  invia  et  inaquora." — Baegert,  P.  I,  §  4,  p.  32. 

3  "Von  armseligem  Geheck,  eitel  Dornbuschen  und  kahlen  Felsen,  von  Stein- 
und  Sand-haufen  ohne  Wasser  und  Holz." — Baegert,  Vorrede. 

art,  P.  I,  §  4,  p.  41. 


264  THE  JESUITS. 

ains;  and  in  the  extreme  north  there  were  a  few  firs  and 
oaks  in  the  mountains.  The  native  trees  of  the  middle  and 
southern  portions  of  the  peninsula  were  generally  mesquite 
and  in  some  places  a  species  of  willow  and  here  and  there 
some  unfruitful  palms.  It  was  of  the  mesquite  that  Ugarte 
built  his  ship;  but  even  these  were  so  infrequent  that  almost 
all  the  timber,  used  by  the  missionaries  in  building  their 
churches,  was  brought  from  across  the  gulf.  Baegert  com- 
plained of  the  difficulty  of  finding  wood  enough  to  burn  a 
limekiln.1  When  the  mountains  and  hills  were  not  entirely 
bare,  they  were  covered  with  thickets  of  chaparral,  among 
which  was  found  a  kind  of  wild  plum  tree  that  exuded 
the  resin  or  gum  used  in  the  churches  in  place  of  frankin- 
cense. There  were  also  many  species  of  cactus;  and  among 
others  several  which  yielded  pitahayas,  the  most  important 
wild  fruit  produced  in  the  country.  With  the  exception  of 
the  cacti,  almost  all  the  plants  of  the  chaparral  were  legumi- 
nous and  all  or  nearly  all  covered  with  strong,  tough  and  sharp 
thorns.'*  In  addition  to  the  pitahayas  and  other  fruits  of  dif- 
ferent species  of  cacti,  there  were  several  esculent  roots, 
among  the  principal  of  which  were  gicamas.  There  were  also 
various  kinds  of  seeds  used  by  the  Indians,  some  resembling 
red  beans,  others  resembling  hemp,  and  others  canary  seed.3 
Of  the  few  quadrupeds  there  were  deer,  hares,  rabbits, 
.cougars,  ounces,  wild  cats,  coyotes,  foxes,  polecats,  rats  and 
mice.  A  few  mountain  sheep  and  wild  goats  were  said  to  be 
found  in  the  heights,  particularly  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
peninsula;  sometimes  a  few  beavers  were  seen,  and  sometimes 
a  wolf;  but  no  mention  was  made  of  bears.  Bats,  rattlesnakes 
and  other  serpents,  tortoises,  toads,  lizards,  scorpions,  centi- 
pedes, tarantulas,  wasps,  ants,  locusts,  grasshoppers  and  other 
small  insects  were  plentiful.  There  were  not  many  birds;  but 
among  those  met  with  were  vultures,  buzzards,  hawks,  falcons, 
owls,  crows,  doves,  herons,  quails,  pigeons,  geese,  cranes,  ducks 
and  several  varieties  of  smaller  birds;  also  pelicans,  gulls  and 

1  Baegert,  P.  I,  §  5,  p.  48. 
-  Baegert,  P.  I,  §  5,  passim. 
»  Venegas,  P.  I,  §  4,  p.  53. 


PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY.  265 

other  sea  birds.1  Of  the  pelicans  Venegas  gives  a  curious 
account,  copied  from  Father  Assumpcion,  who  accompanied 
Viscarno  on  his  voyage  up  the  northwest  coast.  According 
to  him,  these  birds  were  so  helpful  to  one  another  that  they 
seemed  to  have  the  use  of  reason.  If  any  of  them  became 
sick,  feeble  or  maimed,  so  as  to  be  unable  to  seek  its  food, 
the  others  brought  fish  and  placed  them  before  it.  At  an 
island  in  the  Pacific,  not  far  from  Cerros,  he  found  one  tied 
with  a  cord  and  having  a  broken  wing.  Around  it  were 
multitudes  of  excellent  sardines  that  had  been  brought  for 
its  sustenance  by  its  companions.  The  Indians,  aware  of  the 
kindly  helpfulness  of  the  birds,  had  taken  advantage  of  them 
by  maiming,  tying  up  and  exposing  the  poor  decoy;  and  they 
feasted  themselves  by  robbing  it  of  the  abundance  with  which 
it  was  thus  supplied.2 

Of  fish  there  were  many  kinds,  ranging  in  size  from  whales 
to  sardines.  The  whales  were  of  several  species  and  so  num- 
erous both  in  the  ocean  and  in  the  gulf  that  various  places 
were  named  from  them.  There  were  also  large  numbers  of 
sea-lions  and  seals.  Immense  rays  and  sharks  were  plenti- 
ful and  sometimes  seriously  interfered  with  the  pearl-divers. 
According  to  Venegas  halibut,  cod,  salmon,  mackerel,  turbots, 
bonitas,  skates,  soles,  sardines  and  many  other  kinds,  both 
wholesome  and  palatable,  were  abundant.3  There  were  many 
kinds  of  shell-fish,  among  which  the  pearl  oysters  of  the  gulf 
shores  were  the  most  important.  Others  with  magnificently 
colored  shells  were  also  found  and  particularly  along  the 
ocean  coast. 

Add  to  the  foregoing  particulars  the  mineral  developments, 
which,  however,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  argentiferous 
veins  near  Cape  San  Lucas  not  worth  the  working4  and  the 
salt-pits  of  Carmen  Island,  consisted  only  of  a  few  sulphur 
banks  and  iron  beds;  and  a  tolerably  full  account  is  afforded 


1  Baegert,  P.  I,  §  7;  Venegas,  P.  I,  §  4. 
"  Venegas,  P.  I,  §  4,  pp.  48,  49. 
3  Venegas,  P.  I,  §  4,  p.  56. 

*  "  Das  Silber  graben  in  Californien  mehr  kostet  als  es  eintragt." — Baegert,  P. 
I,  §  9,  P-  80. 


266  THE  JESUITS. 

of  the  country,  its  general  features  and  natural  productions, 
as  known  to  the  Jesuits.  '  It  was,  altogether,  according  to 
Baegert,  one  of  the  most  miserable  countries  in  the  world,1 
fit  only  for  three  kinds  of  people:  self-sacrificing  priests;  poor 
Spaniards,  who  could  not  make  their  living  anywhere  else; 
and  native  Indians,  for  whom  anything  was  good  enough.2 

1  "  Aus  den  armselichsten  Landern  des  bewohnten  Erdkreiszes  eines  seye." — 
Baegert,  P.  I,  §  9,  p.  83. 
*  Baegert,  P.  I,  §  9,  p.  $5. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

INDIANS    OF    LOWER    CALIFORNIA. 

THE  native  races  of  the  peninsula  were  divided  by  the 
Jesuits  into  three  main  classes,  the  £ejdaJ^Sj  the.JVIon- 
cju]s_and  the  Cochimies.  The' first  inhabited  the  southern" 
portion  from  Cape  San  Lucas  to  the  neighborhood  of  La  Paz; 
the  second  the  middle  portion  from  La  Paz  to  beyond  Lo- 
reto;  the  third  the  northern  portion  from  above  Loreto  as 
far  as  known.  The  Pericues,  including  a  portion  of  the  Mon- 
quis,  were  sometimes  known  as  Edues;  the  Cochimies,  includ- 
ing the  other  portion  of  the  Monquis,  as  Laymones.  The 
Pericues  included  the  sub-branches  of  the  Coras,  Guaycuros 
and  Uchities;  the  Monquis  the  sub-branches  of  the  Liyues 
and  Didius;  the  Cochimies  numerous  sub-branches  not  spe- 
cially named  but  all  known  under  the  general  appellation. 
Each  of  the  sub-branches  were  again  divided  into  families  or 
rancherias,  bearing  different  names,  an  enumeration  of  which 
would  be  neither  useful  nor  interesting.  Baegert  gives  the 
names  of  eleven,  who  were  under  his  charge  at  San  Aloysio 
and  as  a  specimen  of  their  nomenclature  may  be  mentioned 
the  Mitschirikutarnanajeres.1  All  the  natives  in  general  were 
tall,  erect,  robust  and  well-made.  Their  features  were  not 
disagreeable;  but  they  usually  disfigured  themselves  by  pierc- 
ing and  inserting  bits  of  wood  or  bone  into  their  ears,  which, 
being  thus  enlarged,  sometimes  hung  down  upon  their  shoul- 
ders,'2 and  by  besmearing  their  faces  with  unguents  and  colored 
earths.  Their  complexions  were  darker  than  those  of  the 
Indians   of   Mexico.      Baegert    calls   them   dark  chestnut  or 

1  Baegert,  P.  II,  §  I,  p.  96. 

2  Baegert,  P.  II,  §  9,  p.  159. 

(267) 


268  THE  JESUITS. 

lye-colored,  approaching  black.  Their  color  became  more 
pronounced  with  growth;  for  at  birth,  he  says,  the  children 
differed  little  in  appearance  from  those  of  white  persons. 
Their  hair  was  coal  black  and  straight.  They  had  no  beards 
and  their  eyebrows  were  not  well-formed.  Their  eyes  were 
almond-shaped,  being  round  and  without  angles  next  the 
nose.     Their  teeth  were  large,  regular  and  white  as  ivory.1 

Baegert  estimated  the  native  population  at  about  forty  or 
fifty  thousand.  It  seems  probable,  however,  that  the  penin- 
sula proper  did  not  in  fact  contain  more  than  half  as  many. 
In  1767  a  census,  taken  in  fifteen  missions,  amounted  to  only 
twelve  thousand.  In  some  parts  of  the  country  a  person 
might  travel  four  or  five  days  and  not  see  a  single  Indian. 
JOf  their  origin  nothing  can  be  affirmed,  nor  has  ethnology  or 
philology  as  yet  detected  any  special  relationship  with  any 
other  people.  They  had  no  records  or  even  traditions  worthy 
of  consideration.  Baegert,  being  unwilling  to  believe  that  any 
people  could  inhabit  such  a  country  of  their  own  free  will, 
supposed  that  they  had  been  driven  out  of  the  more  favored 
regions  of  the  north  by  more  powerful  races  and  had  taken 
up  their  abode  among  the  rocks  and  wastes  of  the  peninsula 
as  a  place  of  refuge.  But  at  the  advent  of  the  Spaniards  they 
had  lost  all  knowledge  of  the  coming  of  their  ancestors. 
They  believed  California  to  be  the  entire  world;  they  knew 
no  other  people  except  their  neighbors;  they  visited  none 
and  were  visited  by  none.  Some  of  them  thought  they  orig- 
inated from  a  bird;  others  from  a  stone;  others,  more  wisely 
perhaps,  did  not  think  upon  the  subject  and  cared  for  noth- 
ing but  filling  their  stomachs  and  toasting  their  idle  shins 
around  a  fire.'2 

They  had  nothing  that  could,  properly  speaking,  be  called 
a  town  or  village.  As  a  general  rule  they  slept  on  the  naked 
ground,  under  the  open  sky,  and  in  whatever  place  they  hap- 
pened to  find  themselves  after  the  .day's  wanderings.     In  the 

cooler  seasons  they  sometimes  built  screens  of  twigs  to  pro- 

_ . 

!  Baegert,  P.  II,  §  1,  pp.  89,  90. 
3  Baegert,  P.  II,  §  1. 


INDIANS  OF  10  WE R  CALIFORNIA.  269 

tect  themselves  against  the  winds;  but  it  was  seldom  they 
slept  more  than  two  or  three  nights  in  succession  in  the 
same  spot;  They  rambled  from  place  to  place  as  they  found 
water,  fruits  and  other  articles  of  provision.  If  they  con- 
structed a  hut,  as  was  sometimes  the  case  to  shield  a  sick  per- 
son from  the  heat  or  cold,  it  was  so  low  and  narrow  that  one 
could  not  get  in  except  upon  his  hands  and  knees:  there  was 
no  room  for  a  second  person  to  sit  by  or  wait  upon  the  suf- 
ferer; there  was  no  place  for  one's  husband  or  wife.  If  not 
upon  the  hunt,  they  would  sit  or  lie  in  an  idle,  impassive  man- 
ner upon  the  ground.  At  the  missions,  when  their  lessons 
were  over,  they  would  squat  upon  the  floor;  the  men  with 
their  feet  twisted  under  them  in  the  Asiatic  style;  the  women 
with  their  legs  extended  in  front.1  As  they  had  no  houses, 
so  they  could  hardly  be  said  to  have  any  clothing.  The  men 
were  entirely  naked  and  among  the  Cochimies  or  northern 
Indians  many  of  the  women  also.  Among  the  Pericues  and 
Monquis  the  women  usually  wore  around  the  hips  a  belt,  to 
which  was  fastened  before  and  behind  a  great  number  of  loose 
strings  made  of  the  threads  or  fibers  of  the  aloe  plant.  The 
fashion  in  some  tribes  was  to  have  these  hanging  down  as  far 
as  the  knees,  in  others  as  far  as  the  feet.  Sometimes  the 
women  wore  the  skin  of  a  deer  or  of  a  large  bird.  They 
made  a  kind  of  sandals  by  tying  pieces  of  deer  skin  on  their 
feet.  Upon  their  heads  they  had  no  covering;  but  some  wore 
strings  of  shells  and  berries  in  their  hair  and  also  about  their 
necks.  When  the  missionaries  gave  them  clothing,  they 
would  wear  it  in  church;  but  as  soon  as  dismissed  they  would 
throw  it  aside  as  entirely  too  inconvenient." 

Their  property  consisted  of  a  bow,  arrows,  a  shark's  tooth 
or  sharp  stone  by  way  of  knife,  a  bone  or  (pointed  stick  to 
dig  for  roots"^  a  tortoise  shell  which  served  both  as  basket 
and  cradle;  the  stomach  or  bladder  of  a  large  animal  in 
which  to  carry  water  and  a  netted  sack  for  the  transportation 
of  provisions  on  their  rambles.     The  men    carried    burdens 

1  Baegert,  P.  II,  §  2. 

2  Baegert,  P.  II,  §  3. 


270  THE  JESUITS. 

upon  their  heads;  the  women  upon  their  backs,  supported  by 
a  strap  passed  around  their  foreheads.1  Their  bows  were 
over  six  feet  long  and  commonly  made  of  the  roots  of  the 
willow  tree;  they  were  three  or  four  inches  wide  in  the  mid- 
dle and  tapered  towards  the  ends.  The  bow-strings  were 
made  of  intestines.  The  arrows  were  made  of  reeds,  about 
four  feet  long,  notched  and  feathered  at  one  end  and  armed 
at  the  other  with  a  point  of  very  hard  and.  heavy  wood,  often 
tipped  with  flint  or  obsidian.  From  infancy  they  practiced 
archery  and  there  were  many  expert  bowmen  amongst  them. 
yThey  knew  little  or  nothing  about  cooking;  but  such  cook- 
ing as  was  done,  was  done  by  each  one  for  himself.  Day 
after  day  and  year  after  year  they  did  nothing  but  seek  their 
food,  sit  and  devour  it,  talk,  sleep,  and  idle  away  their  time.2 
They  ate  anything  and  everything;  and,  except  in  cases 
where  a  sick  person  or  an  infant  was  abandoned,  starva- 
tion was  rare.  The  race  in  general  was  strong  and  healthy. 
^Their  food  consisted  of  roots,  principally  those  of  the  yucca, 
which  they  roasted  in  the  fire,  and  those  of  water  flags,  which 
they  ate  raw;  fruits,  buds  and  seeds  of  various  descriptions; 
flesh  of  whatever  kind  they  could  procure,  from  that  of  deer, 
wild  cats,  rats,  mice,  owls  and  bats  down  to  snakes,  lizards, 
locusts,  grasshoppers  and  caterpillars;  and  lastly  whatever 
could  be  digested,  including  skins,  bones  and  carrion.  Bae- 
gert  says  that  nothing  was  thrown  to  the  hogs  in  Europe  which 
the  Californians  would  not  have  gladly  eaten.  At  one  time 
he  found  a  blind  old  man  cutting  up  his  deer  skin  sandals 
and  devouring  the  strips;  and  when  an  ox  was  slaughtered 
and  the  skin  thrown  upon  the  ground  to  dry,  it  was  soon 
covered  with  a  half  dozen  men  and  boys  scraping  up,  gnaw- 
ing off,  and  filling  their  stomachs  with  the  bits  of  adhering 
flesh  and  grease.  He  tells  several  other  stories,  showing  that 
their  filthiness  in  eating  was  something  extreme,  so  much  so, 
in  fact,  that  the  narrative  is  disgusting:' 

They  did  not  understand  dressing  food;  but  were  accus- 

1  IJaegert,  I'.  II,  S  <J- 

2  Kaegert,  P.  II,  §  4. 

3  "  In  des  heil.     Ignatii,  und  in  anderen  weiter  gegen  norden  gelegenen  T- 
zionen,    giebt   es   Leute,    welche   einen    Bissen     Fleisch    an    einen    Schnurlein 


INDIANS  OF  LOWER  CALIFORNIA.  271 

tomed  to  throw  their  game,  whatever  it  might  be,  or  how- 
ever procured,  flesh,  fish,  birds,  snakes,  bats  or  rats  upon  the 
fire  or  coals  and  eat  it,  entrails  and  all,  charred  on  one  side 
and  dripping  with  blood  on  the  other.  Only  the  aloe  or 
maguey  required  a  long  process  of  roasting  or  baking.  They 
also  roasted  seeds  and  ground  them,  as  they  also  ground  their 
grasshoppers,  caterpillars  and  other  insects,  between  stones; 
and  it  was  usual  to  eat  the  dry  meal  without  water.  They 
used  no  salt.  They  made  fire  by  rapidly  twirling  between 
their  hands  a  dry  stick,  the  point  of  which  was  placed  upon 
a  larger  piece  of  wood,  so  that  the  friction  soon  produced  a 
flame.  They  had  no  regular  time  to  take  their  meals; 
but  would  eat  whenever  they  had  anything  to  devour;  and, 
however  full,  it  was  seldom  they  ever  declined  eating  more, 
if  anything  were  offered.  Though  they  could  endure  hunger 
better  than  other  people,  they  could  gorge  fuller.  Baegert 
saws  that  twenty-four  pounds  of  meat  a  day  for  one  person 
was  not  too  much.  He  mentions  the  case  of  one  native,  who 
ate  seventeen  watermelons  at  a  sitting;  and  of  another,  who 
devoured  six  pounds  of  unrefined  sugar.  This  gluttony,  how- 
ever, cost  the  latter  his  life;  and  the  former  was  only  saved 
by  the  use  of  drugs.  When  cattle  were  killed,  the  Indians 
were  almost  sure  to  gorge  themselves.  But  on  the  other 
hand  none  of  them  were  cannibals;  nor  did  any  of  them 
make  intoxicating  drinks.1  Their  only  drunkenness  was  on 
the  occasions  of  their  feasts  and  such  as  could  be  produced 
by  smoking  wild  tobacco." 


gebunden,  zwdlf-und  mehrmal  in  den  Magen  hinunter  schlingen,  und  zwolfmal, 
wie  einen  Perlenrischer  aus  dem  Wasser,  wiederum  aus  dem  Magen  heraus  ziehen, 
am  den  Geschmach  und  Genusz  davon  desto  langer  zu  haben." — Baegert,  P.  II, 

§  5.  P-  "9- 

"  In  den  ersten  Theil  dieser  Nachrichten  hab  ich  gemeldet  dasz  die  Pitahajas 
erne  menge  kleinen  Saamen,  wie  Pulverkornlein,  in  sich  schlieszen,  welche  sich, 
vveisz  nicht  warum,  in  den  Magen  nicht  verzehren,  sondern  ganz  unversehrt  wieder 
ausgefuhrt  werden.  Diese  Komlein  zu  benutzen,  sammlen  die  Californier  zur 
Zeitder  Pitahajas  all  s.  v.  Excrementen.klauben  gesagten  Saamen  heraus,  rusten, 
zermahlen,  fressen  ihn,  und  machen  sich  dabey  lustig,  welches  die  Spanier  die 
nach  oder  die  zweyte  Ernd  der  Californier  heissen. " — Baegert,  P.  II,  §  5,  p.  120. 

1  Baegert,  P.   II,  §  5. 

-  "  No  havia,  6  no  se  usaba  entre  ellos  bebida,  u  zumo  que  embriagasse,  y  solo 
se  enfurecian  .n  sus  fiestas  con  el  humo  del  tobacocimarron  6  sylvestre." — Vene- 
P.  I,  §  6,  pp.  78,  79. 


272  THE  JESUITS. 

There  was  little  or  no  courtship  among  them.  Girls 
reached  puberty  at  the  age  of  twelve  years;  and  they  would 
often  demand  husbands  before  that  age.  Engagements, 
marriage  contracts  and  marriage  portions  were  unknown. 
They  had  no  marriage  ceremonies;  nor  any  word  to  express 
the  idea  of  marriage.  Their  word  for  husband  had  only  a 
vulgar  signification.1  They  practiced  polygamy  or,  more 
properly  speaking,  they  lived  promiscuously.  The  men 
seemed  to  have  no  preference  for  particular  females.  Jeal- 
ousy was  unknown;  and  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  a 
whole  tribe  and  sometimes  several  neighboring  tribes  to  run 
together  like  sheep.  At  their  feasts  the  widest  license  pre- 
vailed. The  women  were  not  fruitful;  and  many  infants  died 
soon  after  birth.  'Parturition  was  very  easy  and  usually  did 
not  detain  the  mother  from  her  ramblings  more  than  a  few 
hours.  As  soon  as  the  child  was  a  few  months  old,  it  was 
placed  on  its  mother's  neck,  with  its  legs  over  her  shoulders 
in  front;  and  thus  it  learned  to  ride  before  it  could  stand  or 
walk.  There  was  nothing  that  could  be  called  education. 
There  did  not  seem  to  be  much  display  of  affection  for  his 
children  on  the  part  of  the  father;  but  if  a  boy  or  girl  was 
punished  by  the  missionaries,  the  mother,  says  Baegert,  bel- 
lowed like  a  fury,  tore  her  hair  and  cut  herself  with  sharp 
stones.2 

Sickness  was  rare  and  such  diseases  as  gout,  apoplexy, 
dropsy,  chills  and  fever  and  typhoid  were  unknown.  They 
had  no  word  in  their  language  for  sickness  and  could  express 
the  idea  only  by  their  word  "  atembatie,"  to  lie  upon  the 
ground.  If  asked,  when  ill,  what  ailed  them,  their  usual 
answer  was  pain  in  the  chest.  They  were  patient  in  sickness 
and  looked  with  a  sort  of  stolid  indifference  upon  their  wounds. 
The  surest  sign  among  them  of  approaching  death  was  loss 

1  "Das  Wort,  Ehemann,  aber,  welches  sie  zwar  hatten  und  noch  brauchen, 
kann  von  einem  jeden  Mann,  de^  ein  Weibsbikl  misbrauchet,  in  all  seiner  Be- 
deutung  oder  Ethnologic  gesagt  werden." — Baegert,  P.  II,  §6,  p.  131. 

-  "Sie  brullet  gleich  finer  Uollen-Furie.  Isie*  nsisset  sich  die  Haar  aus  dem 
Knpf,  sie  zerschlagt  sich  mit  einem  Wackenstein  die  blosze  Brust  und  zersticht 
mit  <j.inem  spitzigen  Bein  oder  Holz  der  Kopfbis  das  Blut  davon  herab  rinnt;  wie 
ich  dessen  nicht  einmal  bin  Zeug  gewesen. " — Baegert,  Y.  II,  §  6,  p.  136. 


INDIANS  OF  LOWER  CALIFORNIA.  27:; 

of  appetite.  Their  therapeutics  and  surgery  consisted  in 
tightly  bandaging  and  binding  the  part  affected,  whether 
breast,  abdomen,  arm  or  leg.  They  also  practiced  blood-let- 
ting, which  was  performed  with  a  sharp  stone  and  evidently 
with  the  idea  of  letting  out  the  disease.  But  the  most  com- 
mon course  of  treatment  was  that  of  their  medicine-men  or 
sorcerers,  who  would  wash  and  lick  affected  parts  and  blow 
the  smoke  of  wild  tobacco  upon  them  through  hollow  reeds; 
all  of  which  practices  were  accompanied  with  violent  gestures 
and  grimaces;  and  finally  they  would  produce  a  concealed 
flint  stone  or  something  of  that  kind;  represent  it  as  the 
cause  of  the  disease,  and  declare  they  had  then  and  there 
extracted  it  from  the  suffering  body.  In  these  professors  of 
the  healing  art  the  simple-minded  natives  had  great  confi- 
dence; not  so  much  perhaps  on  account  of  any  cures  they 
effected  as  because  of  their  skill  in  making  their  pretentions 
believed.  Ordinarily  the  sick  had  little  chance  of  recovery. 
Baegert  supposes  that  many  were  buried  while  still  alive,  par- 
ticularly in  cases  of  very  old  people.  It  seemed  hard  for 
them  to  sit  long  in  attendance  upon  a  patient;  and  it  was 
usual  to  dig  a  grave  in  advance  of  death.  He  mentions  the 
case  of  a  girl,  wrapped  up  in  a  deer  skin  ready  for  burial,  who 
revived  with  a  drink  of  chocolate  and  lived  many  years  after- 
wards. On  another  occasion  a  sick  and  blind  old  woman  was 
being  carried  to  one  of  the  missions  for  treatment;  but  those 
who  bore  her,  growing  tired  of  their  burden,  relieved  them- 
selves by  breaking  her  neck.  Another  patient  was  suffocated 
by  having  a  blanket  thrown  over  his  head  with  the  object  of 
protecting  him  from  the  flies.  As  soon  as  death  took  place 
or  was  supposed  to  have  taken  place,  those  present  and 
especially  the  women  commenced  wailing  and  shrieking;  but 
their  eyes  remained  dry;  and  their  noises  were  rather  a  cere- 
mony than  the  expression  of  any  feeling.1  In  case  of  the 
death  of  a  near  relative  they  would  also  cut  their  faces  until 
the  blood  ran  down  over  their  breasts  and  shoulders;  and  this 

baegert,  P.  II,  §  7. 
18    Vol.  I. 


274  THE  JESUITS. 

was  supposed  to  indicate  their  most  poignant  grief.1  They 
did  not  appear  to  have  any  special  dread  of  death  and  before 
the  advent  of  the  missionaries  were  not  tortured  with  the  fear 
of  a  hell.  They  had  no  idea  of  a  future  life,  as  taught  by  the 
missionaries;  but  sometimes  in  burying  the  dead  they  would 
place  sandals  upon  their  feet  as  if  preparing  them  for  a  jour- 
ney.'2 Some  of  them  objected  to  catholic  burial  for  the  reason 
that  the  ringing  of  bells,  singing  of  hymns  and  other  church 
ceremonies  were  a  mockery.3 

They  had  nothing  that  could  be  called  a  government;  nor 
anything  that  could  be  called  a  religion.  They  would  some- 
times indeed  follow  a  leader;  but  only  so  long  as  it  suited  their 
fancy  or  interest.  They  had  no  police  regulations  and  no 
laws.  They  had  no  conception  of  a  god  or  gods;  they  had 
no  idols  or  temples  and  practiced  no  religious  ceremonies  of 
any  kind.  Baegert,  in  speaking  of  their  want  of  religion, 
compares  them  to  a  herd  of  swine,  which  runs  grunting  from 
place  to  place;  now  all  together  and  again  each  one  separately, 
absolutely  without  order  or  obedience.4  He  tried  hard  to  find 
amongst  them  some  knowledge  of  a  supreme  being,  but  was 
unable  with  all  his  searching  and  investigation  to  discover  a 
single  trace  of  such  knowledge  or  any  conception  of  the  soul 
or  of  a  future  state.  They  had  no  words  in  their  language  to 
express  such  ideas/1  When  asked  who  made  the  sun,  the 
moon,  the  stars,  they  would  answer  "aipekeriri,"  who  knows 
that?0  Venegas  gives  substantially  the  same  account  in 
reference  to  the  absence  of  idols,  temples,  religious  ceremonies 
or  worship  of  any  kind;7  but  at  the  same  time  he  relates  cer- 

1  Baegert,  I'.  II,  S  9,  p.  163. 

2  Baegert,  P.  II,  S  9,  pp.  162,  163. 

3  Baegert,  P.  IT,  S  7,  p.  144. 

*  Baegert,  P.  II,  §  9,  pp.  168,  169. 

5  "Ich  hab  mich  bey  denen,  unter  welchen  ich  wohnte,  fleiszig  erkundiget 
und  nachgeforschet,  um  zu  erfahren,  ob  sic  cine  ErkantnuszGottes,  eines  zukunfti- 
gen  Lebens  und  ihrcr  Seel  gehabt  haben,  hab  aber  auf  keine  Spur  solcher  Erkant- 
nusz  kommen  konnen.  So  haben  sie  auch  in  ihrer  Sprach  kein  Wort,  welches  eins 
oder  <las  andere  bedeute,  deren  Abgang  das  spanische  Dios  und  alma  im  Predigen 
und  Christenlehren  ersetzen  musz." — Baegert,  P.  II,  §9,  p.  170. 

«  Baegert,  P.  II,  §  9,  p.  171. 

7  "  Todas  las  relaciones  convienen  que  entre  los  Californios  no  se  ha  hallado 


INDIANS  OF  LOWER  CALIFORNIA.  275 

tain  reports  that  the  Pericues  had  a  confused  notion  of  the 
incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God  and  of  the  Trinity.  Accord- 
ing to  these  reports,  there  existed  in  heaven  a  god  named 
Niparaya,  who  made  all  things  and  possessed  infinite  power. 
Though  he  had  no  body  and  was  entirely  immaterial,  he  had 
a  wife  named  Anayicoyondi  and  three  sons.  One  of  these 
was  Quaayayp  or  man,  who  was  born  of  Anayicoyondi  in  the 
mountains  near  Cape  San  Lucas.  This  Quaayayp  had  ap- 
peared among  the  Indians  and  taught  them.  He  had  had 
great  authority  and  many  followers;  for  he  had  entered  into 
the  earth  and  drawn  people  out  of  it.  At  length  the  Indians, 
through  unexplained  hatred,  killed  him  and  put  a  crown  of 
thorns  upon  his  head;  but,  though  dead,  his  body  did  not  cor- 
rupt: on  the  contrary  it  remained  beautiful  and  blood  con- 
tinued to  flow  from  its  wounds.  Being  dead  he  could  no 
longer  speak,  but  an  owl  spoke  for  him  and  mediated  between 
him  and  mankind.  Venegas  also  mentions  reports  that  a 
great  battle  had  once  occurred  in  heaven  upon  the  occasion  of 
a  personage  called  Wac  or  Tuparon  with  numerous  adherents 
rebelling  against  Niparaya;  and  that  the  rebels  were  com- 
pletely routed,  expelled  the  celestial  pitahaya  fields  and  con- 
fined in  caves  under  the  earth,  where  the  whales  stand  guard 
to  prevent  their  escape.1  Such  are  examples  of  the  notions 
said  by  some  to  have  been  current;  but  it  is  plain  they  did 
not  originate  among  the  Indians.  Father  Baegert  very  prop- 
erly remarks  that  such  notions  could  not  have  reached  them 
except  through  missionaries;  and  he  adds  that  the  stories 
were  mere  fabrications  of  lying  converts,  who  endeavored  by 
relating  them  to  flatter  their  too  credulous  teachers.2 

hastaahora  idolatria;  porque  ni  acloraban  ;'i  criaturas  algunas,  ni  teniae  figuras, 
<»  klolos  de  falsas  deydades,  a  quienes  tributassen  algun  linage  de  culto.  Tampoco 
havia  entre  ellos  templos,  oratorios,  altares,  6  otro  lugar  alguno  deputado  para  los 
actos  de  religion:  pues  ni  aun  actus  de  religion  havia,  6  profesion  exterior  de  ella 
en  tiestas,  oraciones,  votos,  expiaciones,  6  algunas  otras  practicas  de  recono- 
cimiento  a.  Dios,  publicas,  6  privadas." — Venegas,  P.  I,  §  7,  p.  ioo. 

1  Venegas,  P.  I,  §  7. 

2  "  Ich  weisz  wohl,  dasz  jemand  geschrieben  hat,  dasz  in  Californien,  wenigs- 
tens  bey  einer  Nation,  sogar  einige  Erkanntnusz  von  der  Menschwerdung  des  Sohns 
Gottes  und  i.:r  allerheiligsten  Dreyfaltigkeit  sey  gefunden  worden;  allein,  nebst 
dem,  dasz  die  Erkanntnusz  dieser  Geheimnussen  ihnen  nicht  anderst  aU  durch  die 
Predig  des  Evangeliums  hatte  konnen  beygebracht  werden,  so  ist  kein  Zweifel, 


276  THE  JESUITS. 

Of  a  people  without  government,  religion  or  laws,  without 
honor  or  shame,  without  clothing  or  dwelling  houses,  who 
busied  themselves  about  nothing,  spoke  of  nothing,  thought 
of  nothing,  cared  for  nothing  but  to  fill  their  stomachs  and 
gratify  their  appetites,  little  in  the  way  of  language  could  be 
expected.  Baegert  mentions  the  case  of  an  old  man  with  a 
six  years  old  son,  who  ran  away  from  the  mission  of  San 
Aloysio  and,  after  wandering  for  five  years  in  the  wilderness, 
were  found  and  brought  back.  The  boy  was  then  nearly 
twelve;  but  so  little  had  he  learned  that  he  could  scarcely 
speak  three  words.  His  whole  vocabulary  consisted  of  words 
for  water,  wood,  fire,  snake  and  mouse.  But,  though  the 
other  Indians  called  him  Dumb  Pablo,  they  were  not  far  in 
advance  of  him.1  They  had  words  for  hardly  anything  that 
did  not  fall  within  the  domain  of  the  senses  or  that  could 
not  be  seen,  heard,  touched,  tasted  or  smelled.  Their  adjec- 
tives were  confined  almost  exclusively  to  those  which  repre- 
sented the  expression  of  the  countenance,  such  as  joyful,  sad, 
dull  and  angry.  They  had  no  such  words,  for  example, 
as  heat,  cold,  understanding,  will,  memory,  honor,  honesty, 
peace,  strife,  disposition,  friend,  truth,  shame,  love,  hope, 
patience,  envy,  diligence,  beauty,  danger,  doubt,  master,  serv- 
ant, virgin,  judgment,  happiness,  intelligent,  prudent,  moder- 
ate, obedient,  sick,  poor,  contented,  to  greet,  to  thank,  to 
punish,  to  complain,  to  buy,  to  flatter,  to  caress,  to  persecute, 
to  dwell,  to  imagine,  or  to  injure;  nor  in  fact  any  words  to 
express  abstract  ideas.  They  could  not  say  bad,  short,  dis- 
tant or  little;  but  not-good,  not-long,  not-far,  not-much- 
They  had  words  for  old  man,  old  woman,  young  boy  and 
young  girl;  but  no  adjectives  old  or  young.  They  could  not 
express  any  difference  between  the  colors  yellow  and  red, 
blue  and  green,  black  and  brown,  white  and  gray.  They  had 
the  adjective  living,  but  not  the  noun  life  or  the  verb  to  live. 
Baegert  well  explains  their  poverty  of  language  and  its  phi- 

dasz  dieses  ein  Aufschnitt  und  Ltige  sey,   deren   in  dem   Christenthum  zu  diesen 
letzten  Zeiten,  schon  unterwiesenen  und  getauften  Californier,   ihren   Miszionario 
zu  schmeichlen  in  welchen  Aufschneiden  und  Lugen   sie    Meister   und    gar  nicht 
scrupulos  seynd."  — Baegert.  P.  II,  §  9,  p.  173. 
1  Baegert,  P.  II,  §  10,  p.  176. 


INDIANS  OF  LOWER  CALIFORNIA.  211 

losophy  when  he  says  that  they  had  no  such  words,  because 
they  had  no  occasion  to  speak  of  such  things.1 

Their  language  was  also  almost  entirely  wanting  in  prep- 
ositions, conjunctions,  relatives  and  adverbs.  Instead  of  say- 
ing, Peter  is  larger  and  has  more  than  Paul,  they  would  say, 
Peter  is  large  and  has  much;  Paul  is  not  large  and  has  not 
much.  The  conjunction  "and,"  when  used,  was  always 
added  at  the  end  of  the  sentence  or  clause.  Their  verbs 
could  hardly  be  said  to  have  more  than  one  mood,  the  indic- 
ative, and  three  tenses,  present,  past  and  future.  They  knew 
nothing  of  metaphors,  but  were  obliged,  from  poverty  of 
language,  to  apply  old  names  to  new  things.  For  this  rea- 
son, they  called  a  door  a  mouth;  bread  they  called  light; 
iron,  heavy;  wine,  bad  water;  a  gun,  a  bow;  governor,  staff- 
bearer;  the  Spanish  captain,  wild  or  fierce;  oxen,  deer;  and 
the  missionary,  northman.  It  can  easily  be  conceived  from 
this  brief  account,  that  their  language  and  their  culture  went 
together;  and  that  the  usual  description  given  of  them,  as 
among  the  lowest  in  the  scale  of  human  beings,  was  well 
applied." 

In  summing  up  the  general  character  of  the  natives,  Ven- 
egas  says  they  were  stupid,  insensible,  unreasoning,  incon- 
stant and  utterly  unreliable;  that  their  appetites  were  illimit- 
able, indiscriminate  and  insatiable;  that  they  abhorred  all 
labor  and  fatigue,  and  were  given  to  all  kinds  of  pleasure  and 
amusement,  however  puerile  and  brutish;  that  they  were 
pusillanimous  and  feeble-minded;  and  that  in  fine  they  were 
wanting  in  everything  that  makes  men  worthy  the  name 
of  rational  and  reasonable  beings,  useful  to  themselves  or 
to   society.a      Baegert    calls    them    coarse,  awkward,    stupid, 


1  "Die  Ursach,  warum  die  Californier  alle  obgedachte  Wort,  und  so  viele 
andere  in  ihren  Worterbuch  nicht  haben,  ist  diese,  weil  sie  von  solchen  Uingen 
nimmer  unter  sich  redeten,  audi  ihre  Lebensart,  in  welcher  sie  mit  dem  Yiehe 
ganz  uberein  kamen,  nicht  mit  sich  brachte  von  solchen  Sachen  zu  reden. " — 
Baegert,  P.  II,  §  10,  pp.  130,  131. 

2  Baegert,  P.  II,  §  10. 

3  "  Hace,  pues,  el  fondo  del  caracter  de  los  Californios,  no  menos  que  el  de 
todos  los  demas  Indios,  la  estupidte,  6  insensibilidad;  la  falta  de  conocimiento,  y 
reflexion;  la  inconstancia,  y  volubilidad  de  una  voluntad  y  apetitOS  sin  freno,  sin 
luz,  y  aim  sin  objeto;   la  pereza,  y  horror  ;i  todo  trabajo,  y  fatiga;    la  adhesion 


278  THE  JESUITS. 

uncleanly,  shameless,  ungrateful  and  idle  babblers,  given  to 
lying  and  theft,  and  as  eareless,  inconsiderate  and  improvi- 
dent as  cattle.1 

Though  they  had  naturally  good  understandings  and  capa- 
bilities for  culture  and  might  with  proper  opportunities  have 
advanced  far;  and  though  some  showed  themselves  apt  schol- 
ars in  mechanical  arts;  they  could  not  count  beyond  six  and 
some  only  went  as  far  as  three,  so  that  to  express  a  larger 
number  they  were  obliged  to  use  an  indefinite  term,  equiva- 
lent to  much  or  many.  They  were  sly  and  cunning  in  the 
invention  of  lies  and  thefts;  but  did  not  have  sufficient  art  to 
conceal  them.2  As  the  missionaries  required  and  in  fact 
compelled  them  to  work,  it  was  usual  to  feign  sickness  during 
the  week;  but  they  were  so  invariably  well  on  Sunday  when 
no  work  was  to  be  done,  that  Baegert-facetiously  called  it  a 
day  of  miracles  amongst  them.3  He  tells  the  story  of  one, 
called  Clemente,  who,  in  order  to  shirk  his  task,  pretended  to 
be  dying;  but  as  he  had  never  witnessed  the  death  of  any 
large  creature  except  slaughtered  cattle,  his  only  mode  of 
exhibiting  the  extremity  of  his  case  was  by  running  out  his 
tongue  and  imitating  the  gasps  and  struggles  of  a  butchered 
ox.*  They  would  steal  anything  and  everything  that  was 
edible  and  often  articles  they  could  not  or  would  not  use, 
such  as  soap.  They  were  sometimes  covered  with  dirt 
enough,  as  Baegert  expresses  it,  to  manure  a  half  acre  of 
turnips.0     They  would  sometimes  even  wash  themselves  •    th 

perpetua  a  todo  linage  de  placer,  y  entretenimiento  pueril,  y  brutal;  la  pusilan- 
iinidad,  y  flaqueza  de  animo;  y  finalmente,  la  falta  miserable  de  todo  lo  que  forma 
a  los  hombres  hombres,  esto  es,  racionales,  politicos,  y  utiles  para  si,  y  para  la 
sociedad. " — Venegas,  P.  I,  §  6,  p.  74. 

1  "  Dasz  sie  dumm,  ungeschickt,  grob,  unsauberlich,  unverschiimt,  undankbar, 
verlogen,  verstohlen,  stink-faul,  grosze  Schwatzer  und  bis  ins  Grab,  was  den 
Verstand  und  ihre  Beschiifftigungen  angeht,  gleichsam  Kinder  seynd.  Dasz  sie 
Leute  ohne  Rath,  sorglos,  ohne  Nachdenkcn  und  ohne  Ueberlegung;  Leute,  die 
sich  selbst  in  nichts  Gewalt  anthun,  und  in  alien  ihren  natiirlichen  Trieb,  gleich 
dem  Viehe,  folgen." — Baegert,  P.  II,  §  8,  p.  145. 

2  Baegert,  P.  II,  §  8,  pp.  145-151. 

3  Baegert,  P.  II,  §  8,  p.  152. 

4  Baegert,  P.  II,  §  9,  pp.  166,  167. 

5  "  Ein  Schornsteinfeger  fande  oft  auf  ihrer  lirust,  Rticken,  Maud  und  Ange- 
sicht,  Mistgenug,  einen  halben  Rliben-Acker  zu  diingen." — Baegert,  1'.  II,  §8,  p. 
154- 


INDIANS  OF  LOWER  CALIFORNIA.  27'.' 

urine,  or  water  quite  as  offensive.1  But  notwithstanding  all 
this,  Baegert  pronounces  them  to  have  been,  in  their  native 
state,  a  happy  people.  They  slept  sounder  upon  the 
naked  ground  and  under  the  open  sky  than  Europeans 
upon  feather  beds  and  under  canopies.  Year  in  and  year  out 
they  had  nothing  to  trouble  or  harass  them,  to  make  life 
burdensome  or  death  welcome.  They  were  not  persecuted 
with  lawsuits;  there  was  no  hail  or  tempest  or  invading 
army  to  lay  waste  their  fields;  no  fire  to  burn  their  barns  or 
reduce  their  houses  to  ashes.  There  was  no  envy;  no  jeal- 
ousy; no  slander  or  defamation  of  character;  no  fear  of  losing 
what  they  possessed,  or  covetousness  to  procure  what  others 
had.  There  were  no  creditors  and  no  tax-collectors.  The 
women  did  not  hang  fortunes  upon  their  backs;  the  men  did 
not  spend  their  substance  in  wine  or  at  the  gaming  table. 
There  were  no  children  to  educate;  no  daughters  to  endow; 
no  prodigals  to  bring  ruin  and  disgrace  upon  families.  In  a 
word  there  was  no  property.2  If  it  be  the  chief  end  of  life 
merely  to  eat,  drink,  sleep  and  pass  a  painless  existence,  the 
Jesuit  father  was  right — they  were  happy. 

1  Baegert,  P.  II,  §  9,  pp.  159,  160. 
'l  Baegert,  P.  I,  §  9,  pp.  85-87. 


CHAPTER     XIV. 

LOWER    CALIFORNIA     IN    1 768. 

WHAT  did  the  missionaries  accomplish  as  the  result  of 
their  labors  i  There  will  be  occasion  to  discuss  this 
question  at  more  length  hereafter,  when  treating  of  the  mis- 
sions of  Alta  California;  but  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to 
take  a  rapid  general  view  of  what  the  Jesuits  had  accom- 
plished in  Lower  California  when  they  left  it.  There  were 
then,  as  has  been  already  stated,  fifteen  missions.  Some  were 
more,  others  less,  improved.  The  oldest  and  most  advanced 
of  all  was  that  of  Loreto,  which  was  always  recognized  as 
the  head-quarters  of  the  spiritual  conquest,  as  it  afterwards 
became,  and  for  a  long  time  remained,  the  capital  of  the 
province  and  residence  of  the  provincial  governors.  It  had  a 
larger  population  than  any  other  place;  and,  though  its  vicin- 
ity was  not  so  highly  cultivated  or  so  fruitful  as  some  others, 
it  was  by  far  the  most  pretentious  place  in  the  entire  penin- 
sula. It  may,  therefore,  serve  as  a  specimen  of  the  physical 
work  done  by  the  missionaries  in  the  country. 

Father  Baegert  gives  a  minute  description  of  the  place,  as 
he  left  it  in  1768.  It  lay  a  very  short  distance  from  the  gulf 
shore  in  the  midst  of  sand.  There  was  no  grass,  shrubbery 
or  shade  within  half  a  league.  The  mission  building  con- 
sisted of  a  low,  quadrangular  structure,  having  a  flat  roof. 
It  was  built  of  adobes  and  white-washed;  one  wing,  which 
was  partly  built  of  stone,  constituted  the  church;  the  re- 
mainder formed  six  small  apartments,  each  with  a  single 
opening.  One  of  these  was  the  sacristy  or  vestry-room;  an- 
other the  kitchen;  another  the  store-room  or  magazine;  and 
(280) 


LOWER  CALIFORNIA  IN  1768.  281 

the  others  seem  to  have  been  the  apartments  of  the  mission- 
ary and  his  assistants.  Near  the  quadrangle  was  another 
enclosure,  in  which  were  kept  dried  meats,  tallow,  grease,  soap, 
unrefined  sugar,  chocolate,  cloth,  leather,  wheat,  maize  and 
other  such  articles.  A  short  distance  removed  was  a  sort  of 
shed  where  the  soldiers  lived,  of  whom  there  were  sometimes 
six  or  eight  and  scarcely  ever  more  than  twelve  or  fourteen. 
Beyond  this  barrack,  if  it  may  so  be  called,  towards  the  west, 
there  were  two  rows  of  huts  made  of  mud,  in  which  lived  a 
few  colonists  and  about  a  hundred  and  twenty  Indians,  a 
dozen  or  more  of  whom  were  at  almost  any  time  to  be  seen 
lying  about  in  the  sand.  The  huts  resembled  cow-stalls  more 
than  houses.  Add  to  all  these  a  structure  made  of  poles  and 
covered  with  brush,  which  served  as  an  arsenal  and  workshop; 
and  one  has,  according  to  Baegert,  a  complete  description  of 
Loreto,  the  capital  of  Lower  California.  He  doubted  whether 
there  was  a  hamlet  in  Russia,  Poland  or  even  Lapland,  or  a 
milking  station  in  Switzerland,  that  could  have  presented  so 
mean  and  beggarly  an  appearance.  There  was  no  foliage  of 
any  kind  in  the  place;  no  shade  except  that  formed  by  the 
buildings;  no  running  water;  and  no  water  at  all  except  such 
as  was  furnished  by  holes  or  wells  dug  in  the  sand.1 

The  missions  as  a  general  rule  were  founded  in  spots,  which 
afforded  soil  and  water,  but,  as  such  spots  were  rare,  several 
of  them  had  no  water  except  from  wells,  as  at  Loreto,  and 
several  no  soil  that  could  be  put  to  practical  use.  In  nearly 
every  case,  in  which  there  was  cultivation,  there  was  a  neces- 
sity for  constant  irrigation.  The  irrigating  canals  were  some- 
times half  a  league  long;  and  sometimes  there  were  a 
number  of  them  bringing  the  scanty  supplies  from  a  dozen 
different  places  to  the  same  fields.  It  was  often  necessary  to 
fill  up  pools  with  stones  in  order  to  raise  a  sufficient  head  of 
water  to  fill  the  canals;  and  the  canals  had  to  be  built  in  some  . 
places  of  masonry  and  in  other  places  hewn  out  of  the  rock. 
Dams  and  walls  and  embankments  to  keep  the  soil  together, 
or  to  protect  it  against  the  devastations  of  occasional  rain- 

1  Baegert,  P.  Ill,  §  2,  pp.  216-219. 


282  THE  JESUITS. 

storms,  or  to  retain  the  moisture  in  extremely  dry  weather, 
were  common.  Almost  all  these  works  and  in  fact  almost  all 
the  agriculture  and  cultivation  in  the  country  were  owing, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  genius  and  patient  perse- 
verance of  Father  Juan  Ugarte.  But  that  great  man  had  left 
no  successor  to  further  and  carry  out  the  plans  he  had  ini- 
tiated. Though  he  had  pointed  out  the  way  and  shown  how 
much  a  single  unaided  spirit  'could  accomplish,  there  was  no 
one  to  follow  in  the  path;  no  one,  like  him,  to  grapple  with 
the  rough  forces  of  nature  and  compel  her  desert  places  to 
blossom  and  bear  fruit.  It  will,  therefore,  be  easily  under- 
stood that  as  the  fields  remained  very  much  the  same  as 
Ugarte  left  them,  they  were  not  extensive  and  that,  though 
the  harvests  were  frequent  and  plentiful,  the  products  could 
not  be  very  abundant.  Baegert  says  there  never  was  a  harvest 
sufficient  to  support  fifteen  hundred  adult  Californians  for  a 
twelvemonth,  and  that  there  consequently  never  was  a  time, 
during  his  stay  in  the  country,  that  imports  of  provisions  were 
not  necessary.1 

The  plow  consisted  of  a  single  piece  of  iron,  hollow  at  one 
end  and  sharpened  into  a  point  or  snout  at  the  other.  In  the 
hollow  end  was  inserted  a  wooden  stake  or  beam.  The 
oxen  seem  to  have  been  hitched  to  this  stake  just  above  the 
iron,  and  the  upper  end  "of  the  stake  was  held  by  the  hus- 
bandman, who  guided  the  implement  as  it  was  dragged  rather 
than  drawn,  through  the  soil.  When  the  ground  was  thus 
broken  and  upturned,  deep  furrows  were  made  with  a  hoe; 
and  the  wheat  was  then  carefully  planted  in  holes  made  with 
a  stick  on  the  sides  of  these  furrows  and  trodden  down  with 
the  feet.  The  labor  of  planting  was  slow  and  tedious  and 
required  many  hands.  As  soon  as  the  planting  was  done, 
the  next  thing  was  to  protect  the  newly  sown  seed  from  the 
•crows,  which  together  with  the  mice  often  did  so  much  dam- 
age, that  a  field  would  have  to  be  planted  over  again  and 
sometimes  thrice.  After  the  planting  was  completed,  the 
water  was  conducted  at  least   once  a  week  through  all  the 


1  Baegert,  P.  Ill,  §  5,  pp.  240,  241. 


LOWER  CALIFORNIA  IN  ij68.  283 

furrows;  and  this  continued  until  the  grain  began  to  ripen. 
A  crop  could  thus  be  raised  at  any  time  of  year;  but  the 
usual  sowing  time  was  in  November  and  the  harvest  in  the 
following  May.  In  the  same  manner  maize,  beans,  peas, 
squashes  and  melons  were  raised.  A  little  rice  was  also  cul- 
tivated at  several  of  the  missions.  Among  the  cultivated 
fruits  were  figs,  oranges,  citrons,  pomegranates,  plantains 
and  some  olives  and  dates.  There  were  no  North-European 
fruits,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  peaches,  which  however 
did  not  appear  to  thrive.  In  two  of  the  missions  there  were 
some  sugar  canes,  and  in  several  a  number  of  cotion  plants, 
cut  of  the  product  of  which  some  light  clothing  was  woven 
and  a  few  socks  and  caps  knitted.  Five  of  the  missions  had 
vineyards;  and  the  grapes  were  sweet  and  delicious.  For 
wine-making  the  berries  were  pressed  out  with  the  hands  and 
the  must  collected  in  large  stoneware  jars  brought  from  Ma- 
nila. The  wine  was  excellent.  There  was  no  want  of  cellars; 
but  the  difficulty  was  to  find  such  as  were  cool  enough;  and 
it  was  not  infrequent  to  have  the  wine  overheated  and  spoiled. 
As,  however,  very  little  was  used  except  for  church  purposes, 
there  was  enough  to  supply  all  the  missions  of  the  peninsula 
and  a  number  of  those  on  the  other  side  of  the  gulf.1 

The  domestic  animals  introduced  and  raised  by  the  mis- 
sionaries were  horses,  asses,  oxen,  cows,  goats,  sheep  and 
a  few  swine.  The  cattle,  goats  and  sheep,  as  soon  as  the 
herds  and  flocks  grew  large  enough  to  justify  it,  were  slaugh- 
tered; not  only  for  their  flesh  but  also  for  their  tallow,  fat  and 
marrow,  which  were  used  for  supplying  lamps,  calking  ships 
and  boats,  and  still  more  extensively  for  cooking  purposes 
and  to  eat  in  place  of  butter,  which  was  not  made.  All  the 
fatty  parts  of  a  slaughtered  animal  were  carefully  collected 
and  kept  in  rough  leathern  bags  or  bladders.  Some  of  the 
hides  and  skins  were  tanned  for  shoes,  saddles  and  sacks; 
others  were  given  to  the  Indians  untanned  for  sandals,  cords 
and  thongs.  The  horns  of  a  cow  served  the  natives  as  cups 
for  drinking  and  carrying  their  pozoli  or  boiled  maize.     The 

1  Baegert,  P.  Ill,  §  5,  pp.  241-245. 
\ 


284  THE  JESUITS. 

horses  were  used  for  traveling,  carrying  burdens  and  driving 
up  the  cattle.  Such  wool  as  was  not  lost  among  the  thorns 
was  spun  and  either  woven  or  knitted  into  coarse  cloths  and 
other  wearing  apparel.  There  were  scarcely  a  dozen  hogs  in 
the  whole  country  and  even  those  had  difficulty  in  finding 
places  to  root  and  wallow.1  The  cattle  ranged,  seeking  their 
scanty  food,  for  fifteen  leagues  and  more  in  every  direction 
around  the  missions,  and  some  of  them  were  therefore  not 
often  seen,  except  once  a  year  when  the  calves  were  collected 
for  the  purpose  of  marking  and  branding,  which  was  also 
practiced  upon  the  colts  and  young  asses.  The  goats  were 
milked,  but  they  seem  to  have  found  so  little  nourishment 
that  it  was  difficult,  according  to  Baegert,  to  get  a  pint  of 
milk  from  six  of  them.  On  account  of  the  wide  ranges  of  the 
herds  and  flocks,  it  was  usual  for  each  mission  to  have  sev- 
eral vaqueros.  These  were  usually  Spaniards  of  the  lowest 
class.  It  was  their  business  to  make  excursions  in  different 
directions  among  the  mountains  and  keep  the  cattle  from 
straying  too  far;  to  protect  them  from  the  Indians,  and  to 
drive  them  up  when  necessary.  They  would  commonly  start 
out  with  a  whole  troop  of  horses  and  asses  and  keep  up  a 
furious  galloping  gait  over  the  roughest  mountains  and 
through  bush  and  thorns;  sometimes  remaining  out  for  weeks 
and  frequently  changing  their  saddles  from  one  animal  to 
another.  The  cattle  were  small  and  generally  so  ill-condi- 
tioned that  all  their  milk  was  required  for  the  sustenance  of 
their  calves.  The  horses,  which  were  also  small  though 
tough  and  of  great  endurance,  did  not  increase  rapidly;  and 
frequent  new  importations  had  to  be  made.  But  the  asses, 
which  were  not  so  dainty  about  their  food  and  ate  thorns 
with  almost  as  much  relish  as  barley,  throve  well.i!  There 
were  also  a  few  fowls  raised,  but  hardly  enough  to  deserve 
special  notice.3 

1  Von  Schweinen  war  kaum  ein  Dutzet  im  ganzen  Land,  vielleicht  weil  sie  da- 
rinn  nicht  wilhlen  und  sich  in  Koth  nicht  viel  welzen  konnen,  also  wo  alles  hart 
oder  ganz  trocken  ist." — Baegert,  P.  Ill,  §  6,  p.  247. 

a  Baegert,  P.  Ill,  §  6,  pp.  245-250. 

8  Baegert,  P.  Ill,  §  6,  p.  253. 


LOWER  CALIFORNIA  IN  1768.  285 

The  Spanish  soldiers  in  the  peninsula  during  Baegert's  resi- 
dence numbered  sixty,  including  captain,  lieutenant,  sergeant 
and  ensign.  They  were  not  regular  troops,  but  generally  in- 
experienced and  improvident  men,  who  could  do  nothing 
better  than  enlist.  Their  arms  consisted  of  a  musket,  sword, 
shield  and  coat  of  mail,  made  of  four-fold  leather.  They 
were  required  to  keep  five  horses  or  mules  each,  with  which 
as  well  as  their  arms  they  had  to  provide  themselves  out  of 
their  salary.  Their  duties  were  to  act  as  body-guards  of  the 
missionaries;  to  stand  watch  at  night;  to  keep  an  eye  upon 
the  Indians  and  inflict  punishments;  to  look  after  their  own 
horses  or  mules  and  those  of  the  missionary,  and  generally  to 
carry  out  the  orders  of  the  church.  They  were  entirely  sub- 
ject to  the  control  and  direction  of  the  missionary;  but  many 
of  them  were  so  unreliable  that  disobedience  to  orders  was 
common  and  discharges  frequent.  There  were  also  about 
twenty  sailors,  likewise  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  mission- 
aries. It  was  their  duty  to  make  yearly  voyages  across  the 
gulf  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  over  Mexican  wares  of  dif- 
ferent kinds,  timber  and  provisions  and  sometimes  domestic 
animals.  They,  as  well  as  the  soldiers,  were  paid  out  of  the 
royal  treasury  at  Mexico;  but  no  money  was  sent  to  Califor- 
nia; nor  would  there  have  been  any  way  of  using  it  there,  if 
it  had  been  sent.  The  sums  due  were  paid  to  the  agent  of 
the  missions,  who  laid  them  out  in  Mexico  for  such  necessa- 
ries as  were  required  and  these  were  then  sent  with  the  goods 
of  the  missionaries  overland  to  Matanchel  and  thence  across 
the  gulf.  At  Loreto  there  was  an  agent  of  the  government, 
who  received  and  distributed  the  goods  of  the  soldiers  and 
sailors  and  who  was  required  to  make  sworn  returns  of  the 
disposition  of  the  articles  sent  him.  The  price  of  almost 
everything  was  fixed  and  so  graduated  as  to  make  goods 
delivered  at  Loreto  cost  about  twice  as  much  as  in  Mexico.1 

In  addition  to  the  missionaries,  soldiers  and  sailors,  there 
were  a  few  rough  carpenters,  joiners,  blacksmiths,  vaqueros 
and  vagrants.     Altogether  the  white  population  did  not  ex- 

1  Baegert,  P.  Ill,  §  7,  pp.  259-264. 


286  THE  JESUITS. 

ceed  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  all  told.  As  a  rule  every 
man  was  his  own  shoemaker,  tailor,  mason,  saddler,  miller, 
baker,  barber,  and,  except  where  the  priest  was  called  in,  his 
own  physician  and  apothecary.  There  were  no  hair-dressers 
or  fashion-mongers,  no  confectioners  or  French  cooks,  no 
dealers  in  lace  or  coffee-house  keepers,  no  rope  dancers  or 
circus  actors.  There  was  no  commerce  or  trade  except  the 
exportation  of  a  little  wine,  a  few  deer  skins  and  a  small 
quantity  of  coarse  cloth  and  the  importation  of  the  goods 
used  by  the  missionaries,  soldiers  and  sailors,- a  few  domestic 
cattle,  provisions  and  some  clothing.  Money  was  not  seen 
in  California  except  as  a  curiosity;  nor  any  silver  except  the 
ornaments  and  vessels  of  the  churches  and  a  few  ingots  ex- 
tracted from  the  mines.  There  could  not  be  said  to  be  any 
domestic  trade  of  any  kind.  The  agent  of  the  government 
at  Loreto  distributed  the  goods  received  by  him,  and  those 
intended  for  other  missions  had  to  be  carried  to  them;  but 
there  was  no  buying  and  selling  or  bartering.  The  missions, 
as  far  as  practicable,  raised  their  own  supplies  and  clothed 
their  own  catechumens;  if  they  were  not  able  to  do  so,  they 
were  helped  by  the  other  missons.  But  this  aid  was  charity 
and  not  traffic.1 

There  was  nothing  that  could  be  called  a  road  in  the  entire 
peninsula.  The  work  performed  by  the  missionaries  in  open- 
ing communication  from  mission  to  mission  was  only  to  make 
trails,  passable  for  riding-horses  and  beasts  of  burden.  Even 
these,  on  account  of  the  excessively  rough  and  rocky  char- 
acter of  the  mountains  and  the  thick  and  thorny  chaparral, 
required  much  labor.  The  most  important  and  difficult  of 
them,  as  indeed  the  most  important  and  valuable  of  every- 
thing that  was  done  in  the  country,  was  the  work  of  Father 
Ugarte.  There  were  no  wheeled  carriages  of  any  kind.  All 
the  manufactures  in  the  country  consisted  of  the  spinning  and 
weaving  of  a  little  wool  and  cotton  and  the  plaiting  of  a  few 
hats.2     Ugarte,  who  introduced  the  spinning-wheels  and  looms, 

1  Baegert,  P.  Ill,  §7,  pp.  265-267. 
-  Baegert,  P.  II,  §  3,  p.  103. 


LOWER  CALIFORNIA  IX  jj68.  287 

also  managed  to  produce  an  excellent  vessel ;  but  the  example 
he  thus  set  of  ship-building  was  not  followed;  and  all  that 
was  afterwards  done  in  this  line  was  to  repair  and  refit  vessels 
belonging  to  the  missions  and  to  make  a  few  small  boats. 
Thus  nearly  everything  that  was  used  by  the  missionaries 
had  to  be  brought  from  abroad;  and,  if  not  donated,  it  had 
to  be  paid  for  out  of  the  sums  coming  to  the  missionaries  or 
to  the  soldiers  and  sailors. 

The  income  of  the  missionaries,  as  has  heretofore  been 
stated,  amounted  to  about  five  hundred  dollars  annually  to 
each  one  and  consisted  of  the  rents  and  profits  of  certain 
Mexican  farms,  in  which  the  foundation  funds  had  been 
invested.  These  incomes  were  received  by  the  agent  at 
Mexico  in  the  same  manner  as  the  moneys  due  the  soldiers 
and  by  him  laid  out  in  such  articles  as  were  ordered  by  the 
missionaries.  These  were  usually  garments  and  other  arti- 
cles for  their  own  use  and  for  church  service  and  coarse 
cloths,  such  as  could  not  be  produced  in  California,  for  the 
use  of  the  Indians.  It  will  be  recollected  that  all  or  nearly 
all  the  missions  were  founded  by  private  persons  and  that  the 
endowments  consisted  of  donations  amounting  to  about  ten 
thousand  dollars  each.  The  first  two  of  these  endowments 
were  made  by  Juan  Cavallero  y  Ozio,  one  in  1698  and  the 
other  in  1699;  Nicolas  Arteaga  made  one  in  1700;  the  Mex- 
ican church  of  Nuestra  Seiiora  de  los  Dolores  one  in  1702; 
the  Marques  de  Villapuente  five  in  the  years  1704,  1709,  17 13, 
1 7 19  and  1746  respectively;  Juan  Ruiz  de  Velasco  one  in 
1718;  Juan  Maria  Luyando  one  in  1725;  Maria  Rosa  de  la 
Pena  one  in  1731;  and  in  1747  the  Duquesa  de  Gandia  left 
upwards  of  sixty  thousand  dollars  by  will  to  be  applied  in 
the  same  manner.  These  sums  amounted  altogether  to  about 
one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  dollars  and  constituted  the 
beginning  of  what  was  known  as  the  pious  fund  of  California 
or  the  pjous  fund  of  the  Californias,  as  it  was  afterwards  called. 
These  moneys  had  been  nearly  all  invested,  as  has  been 
stated,  in  farms,  situated  at  different  places  in  New  Spain  and 
administered  by  agents  for  the  benefit  of  the  missions.     But 


288  THE  JESUITS. 

at  the  time  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits,  there  were  also 
belonging  to  the  same  fund  various  other  sums  and  effects  on 
hand  and  moneys  loaned  out,  amounting  to  about  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars;  so  that  the  total  value 
of  the  pious  fund  at  that  time  was  half  a  million  and  upwards. 

The  missionaries  had  thus  founded  fifteen  scattered  estab- 
lishments in  the  peninsula;  built  that  many  churches  and  a 
few  other  structures;  initiated  some  masonry  and  brickmak- 
ing;  planted  and  cultivated  a  few  fields,  orchards,  vineyards 
and  gardens;  made  a  number  of  irrigating  canals;  introduced 
domestic  animals  and  started  the  breeding  of  them;  raised  a 
little  wine,  and  manufactured  a  kw  articles  of  wearing  apparel. 
They  succeeded  in  establishing  the  pious  fund  and  in  procur- 
ing the  presence  in  the  country,  as  a  part  of  their  establish- 
ment, of  some  sixty  soldiers  with  their  arms  and  accoutre- 
ments, a  few  vessels  and  about  twenty  sailors.  They  carried 
over  a  population  amounting  to  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
white  persons,  all  or  nearly  all  males;  but  these  in  general 
could  not  be  called  desirable  settlers;  and  it  may  be  said  of 
them  as  a  class  that,  instead  of  remaining  even  as  good  as 
when  they  came  over,  they  gradually  deteriorated  and  de- 
graded until  they  sunk  almost  to  the  level  of  the  Indians. 

As  to  the  Indians  themselves,  about  twelve  thousand,  which 
was  probably  one-half  of  the  native  population,  were  what 
was  called  converted  and  gathered  into  villages,  chiefly  around 
or  in  the  near  neighborhood  of  the  missions.  These  were 
taught  to  assist  in  the  ceremonies  of  the  church;  and  that 
was  about  all  the  instruction  they  received.  They  were  also 
compelled  to  labor  for  the  support  of  the  establishments.  It 
might  be  difficult,  as  has  been  stated,  to  say  what  cultivation 
and  improvement  they  were  capable  of;  but  it  seems  plain 
that,  so  far  as  their  good  was  actually  concerned,  the  coming 
of  the  missionaries  was  not  a  fortunate  event.  In  four  of  the 
missions  only  were  they  supported:  in  the  others  they  were 
divided  into  several  classes,  which  took  turns  of  receiving 
allowances;  and  much  the  greater  portion  of  the  time  they 
were  obliged  to  seek  their  food  as  best  they  could.1    When  at 

;  bacgert,  P.  Ill,  §  3,  p.  224. 


LOWER  CALIFORNIA  IN  1768.  289 

the  missions,  they  were  driven  about  like  cattle  and  whipped 
to  their  labors.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  they  used  the  word 
"  fierce  "  to  designate  the  Spanish  captain;  and  this  fact  shows 
that  he  was  an  object  of  dread  and  indicates  that  the  conduct 
of  the  military  towards  them  was  anything  but  kind.  Add 
to  this  that  the  military  were  under  the  direct  control  and 
direction  of  the  1  lissionaries;  and  it  may  be  inferred  that  the 
missionary  sway  was  not  as  mild  as  it  has  usually  been  sup- 
posed. As  among  themselves,  though  a  low,  idle  and  brutish 
people,  the  natives  were  not  vicious,  nor  cruel  nor  unruly. 
They  lived  peaceably  and  enjoyed  their  existence,  such  as 
it  was.  Before,  therefore,  it  can  with  justice  be  said  that 
their  condition  was  bettered,  it  must  be  believed  that  human 
beings  in  a  state  of  freedom  and  leading  what  Father  Baegert 
called  a  happy  life,  were  bettered  by  being  herded  up;  taught 
to  repeat  prayers  an-d  responses  which  they  could  not  under- 
stand and  much  less  appreciate,  and  compelled  to  their  un- 
willing tasks  with  the  lash.  It  cannot  justly  be  claimed 
that  an  occasional  dish  of  pozoli  and  reception  into  the 
bosom  of  the  church  were  a  fair  equivalent  for  the  loss  01 
being  masters  of  their  own  actions  and  the  pursuit  of  happi- 
ness in  their  own  way.  None  of  them,  so  far  as  can  be  found, 
were  ever  cultivated  into  better  men  or  better  women;  nor 
were  any  of  them  or  their  descendants  advanced  in  the  path 
of  genuine  civilization. 

It  is  true  that  the  Jesuit  fathers  and  especially  the  earlier 
ones  strove  manfully  to  convert  the  Indians  and  that  they 
/voluntarily  underwent  many  hardships)  in  accomplishing  what 
they  did.  But  it  docs  not  necessarily  follow  that  they  were 
therefore  the  disinterested  heroes  they  are  sometimes  repre- 
sented. There  are  many  men  who  find  more  pleasure  in 
exercising  authority  even  in  the  wilderness  and  among  sav- 
ages than  serving  in  subordinate  and  obscure  stations  among 
civilized  communities;  and,  if  they  choose  to  pursue  the  bent 
of  their  dispositions,  it  does  not  follow  that  they  do  so  out  of 
heroic  philanthropy.  When  missions  to  the  heathen  were  in 
vogue  there  was  never  any  lack  of  adventurers^  who  were  not 

19    Vol.  I. 


290  THE  JESUITS. 

only  willing  but  anxious  for  employment.  But  they  were  not 
for  that  reason  any  better  or  any  more  heroic  than  other  per- 
sons. Baegert,  though  he  speaks  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Jes- 
uits from  the  peninsula  as  a  release  from  a  miserable  country, 
yet  confesses  that  not  one  of  them  left  without  regret  and  not 
one  but  would  have  joyfully  gone  back.1  With  all  its  rocks 
and  heats,  its  wastes  and  thorns,  its  want  of  water  and  shade, 
its  scarcity  of  provisions  and  conveniences  of  all  kinds,  its 
brutish  natives,  its  filth  and  vermin,  it  was  a  pleasant  land  to 
live  in.  There,  also,  the  eyes  of  the  world  were  upon  the  mis- 
sionaries; there  too  they  were  building  up  the  dominion  of 
their  order;  there  too  they  could  effectually  strive  for  the 
glory  of  the  church; — and  the  glory  of  the  church  was  their 
own  glory. 

1  "  Mit  Angen  des  Fleisches  allein  die  Sach  anzusehen,  hatle  so  wohl  diesen  als 
vielen  anderen  Miszionarien  kein  groszeres  Gefallen  geschehen  konnen,  als  aus 
solchem  Elend  nach  Europa  ihrem  Vatterland  sie  berufen.  Ich  versichere  aber, 
dasz  keiner  unter  ihnen  gewesen,  dem  es  nicbt  in  der  Seel  wehe  that  Californien 
zu  verlassen  (wann  gleich  keine  Veranderung  mil  ihren  Mitbrudern  in  der  Span- 
ischen  Monarchic  war  vorgegangen)  und  der  nicht  mitten  auf  der  Reisz  nach 
seinem  Heimath,  oder  gar  aus  diesem,  mit  Freuden  nach  Californien  zuruchge- 
kehrt  ware." — Baegert,   P.  Ill,  §  io,  pp.  298,  299. 


BOOK  111. 

THE     FRANCISCANS 


CHAPTER     I. 

ST.    FRANCIS   AND    HIS   ORDER. 

WITH  the  advent  of  the  Franciscans  commenced  a  new 
era  in  tn"e  history  of  California.  Before.- that  "time 
every  advance  towards  tfrp  ^rmgnpci-  r>f  fh^  THinfry  had  heen 
made  by  slow  and  painful  degrees  and  in  the  face  of  obstacles 
and  "opposition.  The  government,  it  is  true,  had  recognized 
the  importance  of  the  occupation  of  the  northwest  coast; 
and  it  is  also  true  that  order  after  order  and  mandate 
after  mandate,  with  this  general  object  in  view,  had  been 
issued  from  Madrid;  nevertheless  as  a  matter  of  fact,  no  aid 
or  assistance  worthy  the  name  had  ever  been  furnished. 
What  the  Jesuits  had  accomplished,  they  had  accomplished 
by  themselves  and  in  spite  of  embarrassments  and  hindrances, 
which,  if  not  created,  were  at  least  allowed,  by  the  govern- 
ment. But  when  the  Franciscans  took  hold,  affairs  wore  a 
very  different  aspect.  First  and  most  notably,  the  character 
of  the  government  had  changed,  its  councils  being  now 
guided  by  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  vigorous  princes  that 
ever  sat  upon  the  Spanish  throne.  Secondly,  the  Franciscans 
were. in  full  accord  with  the  government;  so  that  their  move- 
ments, instead  of  being  hampered,  were  in  every  way  encour- 
aged and  furthered  by  it.  Thirdly,  the^scene  of  most  active 
labar_was  shifted  from  the  peninsula  to  what  is  now  the  State; 

(291) 


292  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

from  Baja  or  Lower  to  Alta  or  Upper  California;  from  an 
arid  and  sterile  country  to  a  comparatively  well-watered  and 
exceedingly  fertile  one;  from  a  wilderness  of  rocks  and  thorn- 
bushes  to  a  land  flowing,  so  to  speak,  with  milk  and  honey. 
And  as  the  result  of  all  these  combined  circumstances, 
whereas  it  took  the  Jesuits  seventy  years  to  occupy  and 
reduce  an  extent  of  five  hundred  miles  in  Lower  California, 
the  Franciscans  occupied  and  reduced  a  larger  and  more 
populous  portion  of  Alta  California,  extending  from  San 
Diego  in  the  south  to  San  Francisco  in  the  north,  in  less 
than  ten  years. 

The  Franciscans  were  well  calculated  by  the  principles 
and  practices  of  their  order  to  carry  on,  in  subordination  to 
the  recognized  superior  authority  of  the  government,  the 
work  of  extending  the  missions  and  enlarging  the  settlements 
of  California.  They  had  been  originally  organized,  like  the 
Jesuits,  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  the  church  and  supply- 
ing aid  to  it  wherever  such  aid  should  most  be  needed  or 
could  best  be  used.  But  they  did  not,  like  the  Jesuits,  so 
openly  and  entirely  subordinate  the  interests  of  their  country 
to  those  of  their  order.  Their  founder,  who  to  a  great  extent 
impressed  the  peculiarities  of  his  own  nature  upon  the  order, 
was  a  man  of  extraordinary  character.  He  was  born  at  the 
town  of  Assisi  in  Italy  in  1182.  On  account  of  the  fact  that 
his  father  had  traded  and  made  a  fortune  in  France  or  more 
probably  perhaps  on  account  of  the  fact  that  the  child  could 
readily  speak  the  language  of  that  country,  he  was  called 
Francesco  or  Francis.  As  he  grew  up  towards  manhood,  he 
is  said  to  have  led  a  gay  and  prodigal  life,  such  as  might  have 
been  expected  in  those  days  of  a  youth  of  spirit  and  fortune; 
until  it  happened,  in  a  civil  conflict  which  had  broken  out 
between  his  native  town  and  the  neighboring  city  of  Perugia, 
that  he  was  captured  by  the  Perugians  and  kept  a  prisoner 
in  close  confinement  for  a  year.  During  this  incarceration, 
being  left  to  brood  by  himself  and  in 'silence  over  his  condi- 
tion, he  became  impressed  with  the  magnitude  of  his  sins  and 
the  great  difference  between  the  life   he  led   and  the   life  he 


ST.  FRANCIS  AND  HIS  ORDER.  203 

ought  to  lead.  Shocked  by  the  comparison  and  penetrated 
with  remorse  but  at  the  same  time  having"  a  strong  and  res- 
olute mind,  capable  of  great  undertakings,  he  formed  the 
design  of  renouncing  the  world  and  living  only  the  life  of 
mortification  then  generally  supposed  to  be  most  for  the 
service  of  God.  Unable  to  do  things  by  halves,  he  soon 
became  terribly  in  earnest  in  his  religious  enthusiasm,  and, 
as  was  natural  for  one  in  his  condition,  it  was  not  long  before 
he  persuaded  himself  that  he  heard  voices  and  saw  sights. 
One  day  in  particular,  while  praying  in  an  old  and  dilapidated 
church,  he  imagined  he  heard  a  voice  from  the  crucifix  calling 
upon  him  to  repair  the  falling  walls  of  Christ's  house;  and, 
having  already  taken  the  turn  and  devoted  himself  to  piety, 
he  could  not  for  a  moment  think  of  disregarding  an  injunc- 
tion coming  from  a  source  so  authoritative.  He  at  once  sold 
everything  he  possessed;  turned  over  the  proceeds  to  the 
priest;  offered  himself  as  a  common  laborer,  and  assisted 
gratuitously  in  the  work  until  the  necessary  repairs  were 
completed  and  the  edifice  restored  to  a  condition  equal  to  its 
original  splendor.  . 

This  freak,  as  it  was  generally  regarded  by  worldly-minded 
people,  was  so  displeasing  to  his  family  that  his  father  threat- 
ened, if  he  persisted,  to  disinherit  him.  But  neither  his 
father's  threats,  the  gibes  of  his  former  friends  and  compan- 
ions, nor  the  popular  ridicule,  which  attributed  his  eccentric- 
ities to  a  species  of  lunacy,  could  turn  him  from  his  purpose. 
The  more  he  was  opposed,  the  more  #rm  he  became  in  his 
determination  to  cast  everything  aside  and  follow  Christ. 
Though  a  youth  of  but  twenty-four  years,  he  formally 
renounced  his  right  of  inheritance;  divested  himself  of  every 
particle  of  property;  even  stripped  himself  of  his  ordinary 
clothing,  and  assumed  as  his  garment  a  cloak  of  the  simplest 
and  coarsest  material  he  could  find.  He  not  only  reduced 
himself  to  the  condition,  and  clothed  himself  in  the  garb,  but 
he  followed  the  life,  of  a  beggar  as  the  only  one  in  which  to 
practice  piety  and  fulfill  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  com- 
mands of  his  Divine  Master.      He  sewed  his  garment  with 


294  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

packthread,  to  make  it  still  coarser  than  it  was.  He  ate  his 
scanty  food  with  ashes  strewn  upon  it.  He  slept  upon  the 
ground  with  a  block  of  wood  or  stone  for  a  pillow.  He 
scourged  himself  cruelly,  and  in  the  most  rigorous  seasons 
rolled  himself  in  snow  and  ice  to  extinguish  the  fires  of  sen- 
sual lusts.  He  went  about  seeking  opportunities  to  perform 
acts  of  humility.  He  frequented  the  hospitals  and  kissed  the 
feet  and  washed  the  sores  of  the  sick  and  especially  of  those 
who,  like  many  of  the  objects  of  Christ's  ministrations,  were 
leprous.  He  fasted  and  fasting  prayed  and  preached;  he 
shed  tears  so  copiously  as  to  become  almost  blind;  and, 
in  nearly  every  conceivable  way,  he  cultivated  what  to  others 
must  have  appeared  the  most  abject  misery. 

Among  his  many  religious  enterprises  the  one,  which  he 
deemed  most  necessary  and  from  which  he  hoped  to  obtain 
the  best  results,  was  to  visit  the  Holy  Land.  To  accomplish 
this  purpose  he  joined  the  crusaders  and  in  12 19  reached 
their  camp  at  Damietta  in  Egypt.  With  them  he  remained 
until  the  failure  of  their  arms;  and  during  his  stay  he  found 
many  opportunities  of  testifying  his  earnestness  and  devotion 
prominently  before  the  Christian  world.  Upon  his  return  to 
Italy,  his  enthusiasm  increased  rather  than  diminished.  He 
gave  himself  up  more  ardently  than  ever  to  prayer  and 
religious  exercises.  His  ardor  became  rapture;  his  rapture, 
ecstasy.  He  imagined  that  he  received  visits  and  communi- 
cations from  Christ  and  the  saints;  and  so  earnest  and 
constant  was  his  devotion  that,  according  to  the  legend,  he 
was  rewarded  with  the  impression  of  the  stigmata — in  other 
words,  he  was  supposed  to  be  so  entirely  given  up  to  piety 
and  godliness  and  to  be  so  perfect  in  the  imitation  of  Christ 
as  even  to  bear,  like  him,  the  marks  of  crucifix  and  passion. 

A  persistent  life  of  this  kind,  in  whatever  light  it  might  be 
looked  upon  in  these  days,  could  not  fail  in  those  to  attract 
attention  and  challenge  admiration.  Was  it  not  truly  the  life 
of  one  who  was  laying  up  treasure  in  heaven  and  doing  all  that 
was  required  by  the  scriptures  to  inherit  eternal  life?  Had  he 
not  sold  all  that  he  possessed,  given  to  the  poor,  taken  up  his 


ST.  FRANCIS  AND  HIS  ORDER.  295 

cross  and  followed  Christ?1  Was  there  not  every  reason  to 
believe  him  sincere;  and,  if  sincere,  was  it  possible  for  any  one 
to  pursue  more  strictly,  either  according  to  the  spirit  or  the 
letter,  the  directions  of  holy  writ?  Believed  to  be  sincere  and 
living  in  an  age  of  faith,  he  could  not  fail  to  have  follow- 
ers as  well  as  admirers.  Prominent  men,  partaking  of  his 
spirit,  desired  U  imitate  him  and  become  his  companions. 
A  rich  merchant,  in  whose  house  he  had  once  been  a  guest, 
first  led  the  way  by  selling  all  his  estate,  distributing  it  among 
the  poor  and  associating  himself  in  the  devotions  and  labors 
of  his  friend.  A  canon  of  the  cathedral  church  followed  the 
example  thus  set,  and  by  degrees  the  company  increased  into 
the  commencement  of  a  great  order.  The  new  members,  as 
they  came  in,  adopted  the  same  dress  that  Francis  wore,  a 
robe  of  coarse  gray  serge  tied  about  the  waist  with  a  hempen 
rope;  and  with  the  dress  they  also  adopted,  for  the  conduct 
of  their  lives,  the  main  principles  upon  which  their  founder 
regulated  his  own.  These,  in  addition  to  celibacy  and  repres- 
sion of  the  fleshly  lusts,  were  humility,  voluntary  mendicancy, 
abhorrence  of  controversy,  a  disposition  in  all  possible  cases 
to  reconcile  disputes  and  act  as  peace-makers  and,  above  all 
and  including  all,  devotion  to  the  church  and  propagation  of 
the  Catholic  faith.  The  beginning  of  the  order  under  these 
circumstances  dates  from  August  16,  1209;  and  its  progress 
was  so  rapid  that  in  12 19  it  numbered  over  five  thousand 
members.  In  1223  it  was  confirmed  by  a  papal  bull.  It 
was  first  among  the  mendicant  orders.  In  1226  the  death  of 
Francis  and  in  1228  his  canonization  served  to  swell  its  num- 
bers. As  it  became  better  known,  and  especially  on  account 
of  the  strict  vows  of  poverty  which  its  members  were  required 
to  take,  it  became  a  great  favorite  with  the  people  and  con- 
tinued to  grow  larger  and  larger.  In  less  than  fifty  years 
after  the  death  of  the  founder,  it  counted  over  two  hundred 
thousand  members  with  eight  thousand  colleges  and  con- 
vents. In  the  course  of  the  next  five  centuries,  while  the 
number  of  its  members  remained  about  the  same,  its  colleges 

1  See  Matthew,  XIX,  16;  Mark,  X,  17;  Luke,  XVIII,    iS. 


296  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

and  convents  increased  more  than  three  fold  and  spread  into 
every  quarter  of  the  globe. 

In  the  New  World  the  Franciscans  had  the  first  missiona- 
ries and  commenced  the  first  permanent  missionary  establish- 
ments. Several  of  their  priests  had  accompanied  Columbus 
on  his"  second  voyage.  As  early  as  1502  they  founded  a  col- 
lege in  San  Domingo.  They  took  part,  generally  speaking,  in 
every  expedition  and  kept  equal  pace  with  every  conquest. 
As  the  Spanish  boundaries  advanced  there  were,  therefore, 
newer  and  newer  Franciscan  establishments  erected;  and, 
when  it  is  considered  that  such  men  as  Cardinal  Ximenez, 
Bishop  Las  Casas  and  many  others  who  wielded  great  polit- 
ical as  well  as  ecclesiastical  powers  were  members  of  the 
order  and  took  an  interest  in  its  missions,  it  may  easily  be 
understood  how  important  a  part  these  establishments  played 
in  the  settlement  and  government  of  the  country.  But  of  all 
these  foundations  the  largest  and  most  important  in  Amer- 
ica wras  the  college  of  San  Fernando  in  Mexico.  This 
institution  had  been  founded  so  early  and  carried  on  with 
such  vigor  and  success  that,  at  the  time  of  the  expulsion  of 
the  Jesuits,  it  was  in  the  full  strength  of  its  maturity  and  in 
excellent  condition,  in  respect  to  resources,  to  take  charge  of 
new  enterprises.  It  had  just  succeeded  in  establishing  a 
number  of  missions  in  the  Sierra  Gorda  of  Mexico  and  under 
circumstances  of  so  much  difficulty  as  to  merit  and  obtain 
great  credit;  and,  these  establishments  being  now  in  success- 
ful operation,  it  had  missionaries  of  ability  and  experience  at 
its  service  for  new  undertakings.  When,  therefore,  the  expul- 
sion of  the  Jesuits  was  resolved  upon  and  the  care  and  exten- 
sion of  the  Californian  missions  recommended  to  the  college 
of  San  Fernando,  it  unhesitatingly  accepted  the  trust  and  at 
once  prepared  to  execute  it. 

Between  the  Franciscans  and  the  Jesuits  there  was  no  very 
cordial  feeling.  The  Franciscans  may  not  have  intrigued  for, 
may  not  even  have  specially  desired  the  downfall  of  the  Jes- 
uits; but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  willingly  entered 
into    the    general    plans    which    involved    their    destruction. 


ST.  FRANCIS  AND  HIS  ORDER.  297 

Long  before  any  public  intimation  had  been  given,  and  be- 
fore the  Jesuits  themselves  had  any  idea  of  the  impending 
expulsion,  the  Franciscans  had  taken  measures  to  fill  their 
places  and  administer  their  estates.  Before  Caspar  de  Por- 
tola  and  his  soldiers  had  gone  off  for  the  purpose  of  tearing 
the  old  priests  of  the  peninsula  from  the  arms  of  their  wailing 
converts,  the  college  of  San  Fernando  had  been  informed  of 
what  was  to  take  place  and  invited  to  prepare  its  members 
for  the  new  enterprise.  And  there  was  no  backwardness  on  its 
part  in  taking  advantage  of  the  invitation  thus  tendered.  On 
the  contrary,  it  immediately  accepted  the  services  of  a  chosen 
number  among  the  candidates,  who  had  offered  themselves 
as  missionaries  to  replace  the  Jesuits;  placed  those  so  ac- 
cepted under  the  presidency  of  one  of  the  ablest,  most  active, 
most  devoted  missionaries  that  ever  lived  or  labored;  and  at 
once  sent  them  off  to  take  possession  of  the  new  field  about 
to  be  opened  and  ordered  them  without  delay  to  enter  upon 
and  prosecute  their  labors. 

The-extt^aoFd+iiary  man,  thus  named  as  president  of  the 
new  establishments  and_who  afterwards  became  the  founder 
of  Afta'  California,  was  Father  Junipero  Serra.  He  had  al- 
ready become  prominent  on  account  of  services  performed 
in  the  Sierra  Gorda  and  seemed  to  fit  into  the  new  station,  to 
which  he  was  thus  called,  as  if  he  had  been  made  for  it.  No 
sooner  was  he  called  than  he  assumed  the  office;  and  no 
sooner  had  he  assumed  the  office  than  he  commenced  work 
in  earnest.  He  collected  together  his  little  band  of  priests 
and  at  once  proceeded  to  Tepic  on  the  way  to  San  Bias, 
from  which  point  he  intended  to  sail  over  to  Loreto.  But 
upon  arriving  with  his  party  at  Tepic  in  the  latter  end  of 
August,  1767,  he  found  that  the  ship  bringing  the  exiled  Jes- 
uits from  California  had  not  yet  arrived  and  that  there  would 
necessarily  be  a  considerable  detention  before  he  and  his 
fellows  could  reach  their  destination.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, being  unwilling  to  remain  idle  and  seeing  an  oppor- 
tunity of  preparing  his  companions  for  their  future  work  and 
•  of  giving  them  some  practice    in    their  vocation,  he    estab- 


298  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

lished  temporary  missions  in  the  neighborhood  and  kept 
busily  employed  until  the  arrival  at  San  Bias,  about  the  mid- 
dle of  February,  1768,  of  _  the  expected  ship  and  its  melan- 
choly freight  of  exiles.  But  no  sooner  had  the  vessel  dis- 
charged one  set  of  passengers  than  it  prepared  to  take  on  board 
the  new  company.  Itwas  on  March  12,  1768,  that  the  Francis- 
cans embarked;  and,  after  a  favorable  voyage,  they  arrived  in 
the  harbor  of  Loretor-6tt  the  flight  of  Good  Friday,  April  1, 
1  /6S.1  The  next  morning  they  landed.  Proceeding  at  once  to 
thenTission  church  they  began  to  celebrate  their  advent  in  the 
country  with  masses  and  thanksgivings  to  Our  Lady  of  Lo- 
reto,  who  remained  for  them,  as  she  had  been  for  the  Jesuits, 
the  patroness  of  the  spiritual  conquest.  These  ceremonies 
lasted  several  days,  at  the  expiration  of  which  the  fathers  set 
out,  each  for  the  separate  mission  to  which  he  had  been 
assigned.  There  were  sixteen  of  them  in  all,  being  the  same 
in  number  as  the  Jesuits,  who  had  been  expelled  and  whose 

places  they  were  to  supply.  ' ^ 

The  tr^nsf_r__of  the^Tw?riTTns7Th us  accomplished,  was  by 
no  means  the  whole  of  the  plan  which  had  been  adopted  by 
Charles  III.  and  his  councilors  in  reference  to  California.  If 
it  had  been,  there  would  probably  have  been  little  or  nothing 
in  the  time  and  occasion  worthy  the  name  of  a  new  era.  in 
the  affairs  of  the  country.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  this 
transfer  was  only  preliminary  to  a  far  more  important  and 
difficult  part  of  the  same  general  plan,  which  was  no  less  than 
the  immediate  occupation  and  settlement  of  all  those  extensive 
regions,  north  of  the  peninsula,  that  had  at  any  time,  been 
visited  by  Spanish  navigators.  The  intention  was,  as  soon 
as  the  necessary  forces  and  supplies  could  be  collected,  to 
hasten  several  expeditions,  consisting  of  Franciscan  priests 
and  royal  soldiers  acting  in  harmonious  conjunction  into 
those  distant  regions,  commencing  with  San  Diego  and  Mon- 
terey as  initial  points,  and  to  leave  nothing  undone  until  the 
entire  northwest  coast  should  be  unquestionably  subjected 
to  the  Spanish  jurisdiction.     Such  was  an  integral  portion  of 

1  Palou,  Vidadel  V.  P.  F.  Junipero  Serra,  Mexico,  1787,  56 


ST.  FRANCIS  AND  HIS  ORDER.  299 

the  instructions  transmitted  from  Madrid  to  the  Marques  de 
Croix,  then  viceroy  of  Mexico,  and  brought  over  by  Jose  de 
Galvez,  who  had  been  named  visitador-general  or  inspector 
and  charged  with  the  superintendence  of  their  execution. 
When,  therefore,  the  Franciscans  sailed  to  the  peninsula  and 
assumed  charge  of  the  Jesuit  missions,  it  was  only  the  initia- 
tive of  the  extensive  plan  referred  to.  The  remaining  portion 
of  the  plan,  so  far  as  the  Franciscans  were  concerned,  was  to 
await  the  arrival  of  Galvez,  who  was  to  follow  with  the  mili- 
tary and  other  forces,  and  then,  joining  all  the  forces  together, 
to  advance  the  Spanish  standard  northwestward  as  contem- 
plated. 


CHAPTER    II. 

JUNIPERO   SERRA. 

JUNIPERO  SERRA,  the  president  and  leader  of  the 
Franciscans  in  California  was  very  much  such  a  man  as 
St.  Francis  might  have  been  if  he  had  lived  in  the  eight- 
eenth century.  There  was  the  same  earnestness,  the  same 
persistency,  the  same  devotion.  Juni'pero  may  not  have  heard 
as  many  voices  or  seen  as  many  visions;  he  may  not  have 
been  as  original  as  Francis;  but  he  was  in  every  respect  as 
pure  in  his  motives,  as  strong  in  his  character  and  as  great  in 
his  actions.  Had  he  lived  in  the  days  of  Francis  he  would 
doubtless  have  thought  and  acted  much  as  Francis  did;  per- 
haps similar  eccentricities  would  have  been  recorded  of,  and 
similar  extravagances  attributed  to,  him;  but  he  would  also 
probably  have  been  the  founder  of  one  among  the  first  of 
orders  and  recognized  as  one  among  the  first  of  saints. 

He  was  born  at  the  village  of  Petra  in  the  island  of  Majorca 
on  November  24,  17 13.  His  parents  were  laboring  people 
but  so  well  thought  of  by  the  clergy  that  the  boy  was  received 
at  the  church  of  the  place,  gratuitously  instructed  in  Latin 
and  taught  to  sing.  Theilce,  when  he  grew  older,  he  was 
removed  to  the  city  of  Palma,  the  capital  of  the  island,  where 
he  continued  his  studies  and  advanced  rapidly.  From  a  very 
early  age  he  seems  to  have  chosen  the  vocation  of  a  priest. 
At  seventeen  he  assumed  the  habit  and  at  eighteen  became 
a  monk  professed,  taking  the  name  of  Juni'pero,  instead  of 
that  of  Miguel  Jose,  by  which  he  had  been  baptized.^  In  his 
studies  the  books  he  most  affected  were  the  livesof  saints  and 
chronicles  of  apostolic  labors,  which  produced  such  an  impres- 
(300) 


JUNIPERO  SERRA.  301 

sion  upon  his  mind  that  he  resolved  to  become  a  missionary 
and  felt  willing,  if  necessary,  to  shed  his  blood  for  the  salva- 
tion of  savage  souls.1  This  desire,  however,  was  not  for  some 
time  to  be  gratified:  on  the  contrary  he  tui'ned  his  first  atten- 
tion, in  obedience  to  orders  received  from  his  superiors,  to 
the  teaching  of  theology.  He  became  a  professor,  taught 
for  three  years  with  great  applause,  had  many  students,  and 
earned  and  obtained  the  degree  of  doctor.  At  the  same  time 
he  practiced  himself  in  literary  exercises  and  preached  ser- 
mons, some  of  which  were  said  by  his  admirers  to  be  worthy 
of  being  printed  in  letters  of  gold.  (He  was  exceedingly 
devout;  his  zeal  fervid;  his  imagination  active;  his  command 
of  language  great;  his  voice  sonorous:  in  fine  all  the  circum- 
stances were  such  that  he  could  not  fail  to  produce  a  great 
effect.  But  such  an  effect  was  not  what  he  specially  desired. 
His  early  idea  of  becoming  a  missionary  still  possessed  him 
and  still  predominated;  and,  as  soon  as  an  opportunity  pre- 
sented itself  of  entering  the  missionary  field, "he  was  quick  to 
seize  it. Win  his  earlier  youth  he  had  been  small  of  stature  and 
feeble  of  constitution;  but  as  he  advanced  in  life  his  health 
improved;  he  grew  physically  tall  and  strong;  and,  when  he 
finally  became  a  missionary  in  fact,  he  found  himself  capable 
of  bearing-  almost  any  amount  of  hardship  and  fatigue  and 
in  every  respect  admirably  qualified  for  the  sphere  he  had 
chosen."] 

Among  his  friends  and  admirers,  in  the  island  of  Majorca 
was  a  brother  priest,  named  Francis  Palou,  who  became  the 
companion  of  all  his  subsequent  travels  and  struggles  and 
afterwards  his  biographer.  At  first  Junipero  had  kept  his 
project  of  becoming  a  missionary  a  profound  secret  even 
from  his  friend;  but,  as  soon  as  Palou  obtained  an  inkling 
of  it,  he  also  resolved  to  become  a  missionary;  and  from  that 
time  the  two  took  their  measures  in  conjunction.  They 
together  tendered  their  services  for  any  missionary  enterprise 
that  might  offer  itself;  but  it  was  a  time  when  missionaries 
were  not  wanted;  and  it  seemed  doubtful  whether  they  would 

1  "  Asi  Jo  of  de  boca  de  dicho  mi  venerado  padre  "  says  Palou,  Vkla,  3. 


302  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

receive  a  call.  It  happened,  however, (shortly  afterwards  that 
the  college  of  San  Fernando  in  Mexico  required  recruits  and 
enlisted  thirty-three  Spanish  priests  for  labor  in  America.  Of 
these,  when  the  time  for  embarcation  approached,  five  became 
frightened  at  the  prospect  of  crossing  a  stormy  ocean  they 
had  never  seen;  and,  upon  their  declining  to  proceed,  the 
places  of  two  of  them  were  offered  to,  and  joyfully  accepted 
by,  Junipero  and  Palou.  They  at  once,  after  an  affecting 
leaye-taking  from  their  companions,  set  sail  from  Majorca  for 
Malaga,  and  thence  proceeded  to  Cadiz,  from  which  place 
they  set  sail  for  America  on  August  28,  1749,  and  arrived  at 
Vera  Cruz  after  a  tedious  voyage  of  ninety-nine  days,  includ- 
ing a  stoppage  of  fifteen  at  Porto  RicoJ^puring  the  passage 
three  strong  points  of  Junipero's  character  exhibited  them- 
selves and  attracted  the  attention  and  admiration  of  his  fellow 
passengers.  The  first  was  the  uncomplaining  patience  with 
which  for  two  weeks  before  reaching  land  he  suffered  the 
tortures  of  thirst;  the  second  was  the  zeal  with  which,  during 
his  stay  at  Porto  Rico,  he  established  a  mission  and  devoted 
himself  without  rest  to  his  self-impdsed  duties;  and  the  third 
was  the  intrepidity  he  displayed  in  the  midst  of  storm  and 
imminent  danger  of  shipwreck.""} 

/From  Vera  Cruz  to  Mexico  the  distance  is  one  hundred 
Spanish  leagues.  For  this  road  it  had  been  provided  that 
convenient  transportation  should  be  furnished;  but  upon  the 
arrival  of  the  ship  at  Vera  Cruz,  neither  carriages  nor  animals 
were  on  hand;  and  it  was  uncertain  how  long  it  would  take 
until  they  would  be.  There  was  nothing  to  do,  for  those  who 
could  not  get  on  otherwise,  except  to  wait.  But  Junipero's 
zeal  admitting  of  no  delay,  he  requested  and  obtained  per- 
mission to  make  the  journey  on  foot;  and,  finding  a  strong 
and  reliable  fellow  pedestrian,  the  two  immediately  set  out 
together.  Being,  however,  as  might  be  supposed,  but  badly 
provided  for  such  a  journey,  it  was  only  by  the  help  of 
entirely  unexpected  succor,  furnished  by  benevolent  persons 
along  the  road,  that  they  managed  to  get  through;  and  Juni- 

1  Palou,  Vida,  14-16. 


-^ 


JUNIPERO  SERRA.  303 

pero  overexerted  himself  to  such  a  degree  as  to  cause  an 
ulcer  in  one  of  his  legs,  which  troubled  him  for  the  remainder 
of  his  lifejj  Notwithstanding  this  injury,  which  might  have 
taught  him  that  he  was  not  exempted  from  the  ordinary 
laws  of  nature,  he  was  still  disposed  to  regard  himself  as 
the  object  of  miraculous  interposition,1  and  even  went  so 
far  as  to  believe  that  on  two  occasions  he  had  been  relieved 
by  no  less  a  person  than  Saint  Joseph,  or  some  devout  man 
whom  Saint  Joseph  had  especially  sent  for  that  particular 
.purpose." 

iJt  was  on  January  I,  1750,  that  Junipero  first  set  his  foot 
in  the  college  of  San  Fernando.  He  remained  there  five 
months  and  then  proceeded  to  a  remote  spot  among  the 
crags  of  the  Sierra  Gorda  to  the  northward  of  Mexico,  where 
a  mission  had  been  founded  six  years  previously.  It  hap- ' 
pening  at  the  time  that  there  was  no  missionary  at  that  place, 
he  had  offered  his  services  and  joyfully  accepted  the  appoint- 
ment that  followed.  Palou  accompanied  him  as  assistant; 
and  the  two  lived  and  taught  there  for  the  next  nine  years. 
They  were  obliged,  of  course,  to  learn  the  language  of  the 
Indians;  but,  in  doing  so,  they  also  taught  them  Spanish. 
More  than  this  and  much  more  important  than  this,  they 
taught  them  to  cultivate  the  ground,  raise  cattle,  sell  the 
surplus  yield  and  clothe  themselves.  With  this  sort  of  guid- 
ance the  mission  soon  became  a  model  for  all  the  country 
round  about;  and  particularly  so  after  Junipero  had  managed, 
with  the  help  of  his  willing  converts,  to  build  a  new  church 
unprecedently  large  and  magnificent  for  those  remote  regions,  1 
From  the  Sierra  Gorda  Junipero  returned  to  the  city  of 
Mexico,  having  in  the  meanwhile  consented  to  take  the  place 
of  a  missionary  on  the  extreme  northern  frontier,  who  had 
been  killed  by  the  Apaches.  But  while  he  was  making- 
arrangements   to    proceed    to    the    country   of  those    blood- 

1  "Todo  esto  pudo  ser  casualidad;  pero  no  lo  atribuyeron  nuestros  peregrinos 
sino  &  singular  beneficio  de  Maria  Santisima,  ;i  quien  en  reconocimiento  dieron 
las  debidas  gracias. " — Palou,  Vida,  18,  19. 

2  "  Decia  que  aquel  bienhechor  6  fue  el  patriarca  Sefior  San  Jose,  6  algun 
devoto  hombre,  a  quien  este  Santo  toco  el  corazon  para  que  les  hiciera  estas  obras 
decaridad." — Palou,  Vida,  19. 


304  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

thirsty  savages,  his  plans  were  disturbed  by  the  determina- 
tion of  the  government  to  send  a  military  expedition  and 
chastise  them  before  anything  else  should  be  attempted. 
Under  these  circumstances,  Jum'pero  remained  at  the  capital 
and  other  places  populated  by  Spaniards  and  spent  the  next 
seven  years  of  his  life  in  endeavoring  to  convert  the  sinners 
he  found  there,  instead  of  seeking  savage  souls  in  the  wilder- 
ness. He  preached  often  and  fervently  during  these  years; 
and  many  stories  are  told  of  the  wonderful  effects  he  pro- 
duced. On  one  occasion,  as  Palou  relates,  while  exhorting  his 
hearers  to  repentance,  he  drew  forth  a  chain  and,  uncovering 
his  shoulders,  began  to  scourge  them  so  unmercifully  that  all 
the  audience  shuddered  and  wept.  Suddenly  a  man  among 
those  who  heard  and  saw  him,  being  entirely  overcome  by  his 
feelings,  jumped  up  and  cried  out,  "  It  is  I,  miserable  sinner, 
and  not  the  father  that  should  do  penance  for  my  many  sins." 
At  the  same  time,  rushing  to  the  pulpit,  he  seized  the  chain 
and,  disrobing,  smote  himself  with  such  force  that  in  the 
presence  of  the  congregation  he  fell  to  the  floor  and  soon 
afterwards  expired.1  On  another  occasion,  a  woman  among 
his  hearers,  who  lived  a  scandalous  life,  was  made  to  feel  her 
offenses  so  poignantly  that  she  forthwith  abandoned  the 
partner  of  her  guilt.  This  partner,  unfortunately,  was  a  man 
either  of  too  violent  an  affection  or  too  wreak  a  brain;  for, 
instead  of  accepting  the  situation  or  struggling  against  it,  he 
gave  way  to  despair  and  put  an  end  by  suicide  to  his  existence. 
Upon  hearing  what  he  had  thus  done  the  poor  woman  could 
not  contain  her  grief.  She  tore  her  hair  and,  putting  on  the 
coarsest  apparel,  made  a  public  pilgrimage  through  the  streets, 
crying  out  in  her  great  sorrow  for  the  forgiveness  of  her  sins — 
thus  presenting  a  spectacle,  says  Palou,  which  edified  all  who 
witnessed  it  and  caused  the  gain  of  innumerable  conversions 
to  the  church.2 

While  Jum'pero  thus  produced   a  great  effect  upon  others, 
his  zeal  and  devotion  produced  an  equally  great  effect  upon 

1  Palou,  Vida,  44. 

2  1'alou,  Vida,  52,  53. 


JUNIPERO  SERRA.  305 

his  own  character.  He  came  to  regard  himself  as  under  the 
especial  protection  of  heaven.  When  on  his  way  from  Vera 
Cruz  to  Mexico,  as  has  been  already  seen,  he  believed  that 
Saint  Joseph  reappeared  and  ministered  to  his  wants.  But 
in  these  latter  years,  Saint  Joseph  alone  was  not  enough;  and  . 
he  convinced  himself  that  not  only  Saint  Joseph  but  the  I 
Saviour  also  and  the  Virgin  Mary  reappeared;  and  for  no 
more  important  an  object  than  to  give  him  a  single  night's 
entertainment.  The  occasion  was  a  certain  evening  on  a 
journey  in  the  province  of  Huasteca.  The  road  was  desolate; 
the  sun  had  gone  down;  and  it  seemed  as  if  Jum'pero 
and  his  companions  would  be  compelled  to  pass  the  night 
under  the  open  sky,  when  they  unexpectedly  beheld  a  house 
near  the  road  side.  At  the  door  stood  a  venerable  man,  with 
his  spouse  and  a  boy  child.  They  received  the  travelers  with 
great  hospitality;  spread  before  them  a  meal  prepared  with 
remarkable  cleanliness,  and  kindly  kept  them  over  night.  In 
the  morning,  after  tendering  their  thanks,  the  missionaries  pur- 
sued their  journey.  But  they  had  not  gone  far,  when,  being 
met  by  a  troop  of  muleteers  and  asked  where  they  had  passed 
the  night,  they  answered,  "At  the  house  by  the  wayside," 
pointing  towards  the  place.  The  muleteers  in  the  greatest 
astonishment  replied  that  there  was  neither  house  nor  inhabi- 
tants at  any  place  along  the  road;  whereupon  Juni'pero  and 
his  companions,  without  calling  in  question  the  assertions  of 
the  muleteers,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  their  entertainers 
could  have  been  no  others  than  the  holy  family.1 

A  still  more  remarkable  exhibition  of  his  faith  occurred  at 
one  of  the  religious  services  he  performed  during  this  part  of 
his  life.  It  appears  that  in  some  manner  or  other  the  wine, 
I  in  taking  the  sacrament,  had  become  poisoned;  and 
Juni'pero,  soon  after  drinking  it,  was  seriously  affectod.  He 
would  have  fallen  to  the  floor  if  not  caught  by  an  attendant. 
Being  at  once  removed  to  the  sacristy,  one  of  his  friends  came 
with  an  antidote.  But  Juni'pero  refused  to  touch  it.  And  for 
this  refusal  the  only  reason  he  had  to  give,  was  that  as  the 

1  Palou,  Vida,  49. 
20    Vol.  I. 


306  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

bread  and  wine  he  had  taken  had,  as  taught  by  the  church, 
been  converted  into  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  how,  after 
such  divine  food,  could  he  be  expected  to  swallow  a  draft  so 
nauseating  as  an  antidote?  *  In  other  words,  he  was  so  com- 
pletely and  entirely  credulous  and  believed  so  implicitly  in 
everything  that  could  be  considered  a  part  of  his  religion 
that,  in  comparison  therewith,  he  had  no  thought  or  consid- 
eration for  his  comfort  or  even  for  his  life. 

A  man  such  as  has  been  thus  described,  devout,  zealous, 
indefatigable,  believing  himself  an  instrument  chosen  by  God 
and  under  the  especial  protection  of  heaven,  one  who  entered 
with  every  faculty  he  possessed  into  his  work  and  felt  with 
his  whole  soul  that  therein  lay  his  happiness  and  salvation, 
could  not  fail  to  make  a  great  missionary.  These  his  charac- 
teristics and  this  his  fitness  were  so  well  known  that,  when 
the  proposition  to  take  charge  of  the  missions  and  prosecute 
the  further  spiritual  conquest  of  California  was  made  to  the 
college  of  San  Fernando,  its  ready  acceptance  was  in  great 
part  due  to  the  fact  that  it  possessed  a  man  so  eminently  well 
qualified  to  superintend  and  manage  the  business.  Its 
acceptance  was  based  upon  the  faith  that  Juni'pero  would 
assume  such  superintendence  and  management;  and  it  was 
not  mistaken  in  the  man.  Though  he  was  at  the  time  thirty 
leagues  distant  from  the  city  of  Mexico  and  ignorant  of  what 
was  going  forward,  he  was  at  once  named  president  of  the 
Californian  missions;  and  no  sooner  did  he  hear  of  his  appoint- 
ment than  he  joyfully  accepted  it.  He  now  felt  that  he  had 
a  grand  opportunity  for  extensive  and  wide-spread  usefulness 
in  his  chosen  vocation;  and  he  congratulated  himself  upon 
the  fact  that  it  was  offered  him,  as  it  were  by  Providence, 
without  solicitation  or  indication  of  wish  on  his  part.  And 
he  was  so  zealous  and  impatient  to  get  to  work  that  he  could 
hardly  wait  for  the  completion  of  proper  arrangements  before 
he  set  out  with  his  subordinate  and  assistant  missionaries  for 
Loreto.  He  arrived  there,  as  has  been  seen,  and  received  the 
delivery  of  the  Jesuit  missions,  in  the  beginning  of  April, 
1768. 

1  J'alou,  Vida,  50,  51. 


JUNIPERO  SERRA.  307 

A  month  or  two  subsequently,  Jose  de  Galvez,  the  visitador- 
general,  in  accordance  with  the  plans  previously  agreed  upon, 
embarked  at  San  Bias  with  a  large  force  intended  for  the 
proposed  settlement  of  Alta  California.  On  July  6  he 
pitched  his  camp  at  a  place  called  Santa  Ana  near  La  Paz. 
From  that  place  he  wrote  to  Juni'pero  at  Loreto,  who  immedi- 
ately answered;  and  Galvez  rejoined,  inviting  Junipero  to  his 
camp.  Though  a  hundred  leagues  distant,  Juni'pero  forth- 
with made  the  journey.  The  two  then  and  there  discussed 
the  plans  of  the  king  and  the  means  at  their  disposal  for  car- 
rying them  out.  The  result  of  their  conference  was  an  agree- 
ment that  two  different  expeditions  should  be  dispatched  for 
San  Diego,  which  was  to  be  the  initial  point  of  the  proposed 
new  settlements.  One  of  these  expeditions  was  to  proceed 
by  sea  and  the  other  by  land;  and  whichever  first  arrived  at 
San  Diego  was  to  wait  there  twenty  days  for  the  other  and, 
in  the  event  it  did  not  arrive  within  that  time,  to  proceed 
to  Monterey.  The  expedition  by  sea  was  to  employ  three 
ships,  two  of  which  were  to  sail  at  one  time  and  the  third  at 
a  subsequent  time.  The  land  expedition  was  likewise  to  be 
divided  into  two  parts;  one  to  march  at  one  time  and  the 
other  at  another.  The  ships  were  to  carry  a  portion  of  the 
troops,  the  camp  equipage,  church  ornaments,  agricultural 
implements,  provisions  and  in  fact  everything  that  could  con- 
veniently be  conveyed  in  that  way.  The  land  parties  were  to 
be  made  up  of  the  remainder  of  the  troops  and  people;  and 
they  were  to  take  with  them  from  Loreto  the  herds  and 
flocks  from  which  the  new  country  was  to  be  stocked.  It 
was  also  arranged  that  four  missionaries  were  to  accompany 
the  vessels;  a  fifth  was  to  march  with  the  first  land  party; 
and  with  the  second  land  party  Father  Junipero  himself  was 
to  follow  and  also  Gaspar  de  Portola,  the  governor. 

These  preliminaries  being  settled  and  one  of  the  ships 
intended  for  the  expedition  being  then  at  La  Paz,  Galvez 
ordered  it  to  be  immediately  careened,  overhauled  and 
repaired.  Upon  examination  it  was  found  that  a  coating  of 
pitch  would  be  necessary  to  put  the  bottom  in  good  condi- 


308  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

tion.  But  there  was  no  pitch  on  hand  and  none  to  be  pro- 
cured. Under  the  circumstances  Galvez  conceived  the  idea 
of  extracting  a  substitute  for  it  from  certain  plants  that  were 
found  in  the  neighborhood;  and  to  the  astonishment  of  every- 
body he  succeeded  in  doing  so.1  Nor  did  he  disdain  to  labor 
with  his  own  hands  at  the  work.  When  this  was  done  and 
the  repairs  finished,  he  directed  the  packing  of  the  stores; 
and,  as  he  had  taken  part  in  the  repairs,  so  he  also  took  part 
in  the  lading.  Among  other  things  he  packed  the  sacred 
vessels  and  ornaments  intended  for  the  contemplated  mission 
of  San  Buenaventura,  which,  on  account  of  the  special  interest 
he  felt  in  it,  he  was  accustomed  to  call  his  own;  and,  as  he 
did  his  packing  with  more  speed  than  Junfpero  exhibited  in 
packing  the  vessels  and  ornaments  intended  for  Monterey, 
Galvez  facetiously  boasted  that  he  was  a  better  sacristan  than 
Tunipero  himself.  At  length j  on  January  g,  i^zdo^all  the 
paciarig_and_lading  being  completed,  the  vessel  was  ready  for 
sea.  Galvez  called  the  adventurers  together  and  made  them 
_^_  /  a  stirring  oration.  Junfpero  then  came  forward,  administered 
the  sacrament;  blessed  the  ship  and  the  banners  it  carried, 
and  recommended  all  to  the  guidance  and  protection  of  St. 
Joseph  who  had  been  named  patron  of  the  expedition.  The 
adventurers  therefore  settled  themselves  for  their. voyage  and 
set  sail  for  San  Diego, 

1  "  Mando  descargar  la  capitana,  y  viendole  la  quilla,  determino  darle  una 
reconida  y  nueva  carena;  pero  faltando  la  brea  para  hacerlo,  no  se  dedign6  la 
Christiana  piedad  del  expresado  Senor  no  solo  idear  de  que  sacarla  sino  que  por 
sus  mismas  manos  trabajo  para  consequirla,  como  lo  logro  de  los  pitayos,  quando 
dtodos  parecia  imposible." — Palou,  Vida,  59. 


1 


CH  APTE  R     III. 

THE   PIONEERS   OF    1 769. 

THE  name  of  the  ship,  thus  dispatched  by  Galvez  for  Alta 
California,  and  the  first  that  spread  its  canvas  in  the 
conveyance  of  permanent  settlers,  was  the  San  Carlos.  It 
was  a  small  vessel,  called  in  Spanish  a  paquebot  or  barco,  of 
not  more  than  two  hundred  tons  burden.  Its  commander 
was  Vicente  Vila.  Besides  him  and  its  crew,  it  carried 
Fernando  Parron,  a  Franciscan  father,  as  missionary;  Pedro 
Fages,  a  lieutenant  of  the  army,  and  a  company  of  five  and 
twenty  Catalonian  soldiers;  also  Miguel  Costanso,  an  engi- 
neer; Pedro  Prat,  a  surgeon  of  the  royal  navy,  and  a  number 
of  others,  including  two  blacksmiths,  a  baker,  a  cook  and  two 
tortilla  makers.  There  were  sixty-two  persons  in  all.  Its 
cargo,  in  addition  to  camp  equipage,  church  ornaments,  agri- 
cultural implements  and  tools,  consisted  of  a  full  supply  of 
provisions  and,  last  not  least,  of  many  kinds  of  seeds  of  the 
New  as  well  as  of  the  Old  World,  not  forgetting  flax,  garden 
vegetables  and  flowers.1 

As  the  San  Carlos  sailed  out  of  the  harbor  of  La  Paz, 
Galvez  embarked  in  another  small  vessel,  which  he.  had  at 
hand,  and  bore  it  company  to  Cape  San  Lucas.  There  on 
January  11,  1769,  after  having  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the 
San  Carlos  double  the  Cape  and  head  for  the  northwest  with 
a  fair  wind  astern,  he  disembarked  and  forthwith  set  to  work 
preparing  his  second  vessel  intended   for  San   Diego.     This 

1  "  Siembra  de  toda  especie  de  semillas,  asi  de  la  Antigua,  como  de  la  Nueva 
Espafia,  sin  olvidarse  por  estas  atenciones  de  las  mas  minimas,  como  hortaliza, 
floresylino. " — Falou,  Vida,  59. 

See  further,  in  reference  to  the  passengers  and  cargo  of  the  San  Carlos,  Cali- 
fornia Archives,  P.  S.  P.  I,  15-25. 

(309) 


310  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

second  vessel  was  the  San  Antonio,  otherwise  known  as  El 
Principe.  In  the  passage  from  San  Bias  it  had  been  pre- 
vented by  contrary  winds  from  reaching  La  Paz,  and  had  run 
into  Cape  San  Lucas,  where  Galvez  directed  it  to  remain  until 
he  could  arrive  and  give  the  further  proper  orders.  He  now 
made  a  thorough  examination  and  repair  of  the  vessel,  as 
he  had  done  at  La  Paz  with  the  San  Carlos;  and  then,  after 
substantially  the  same  ceremonies,  dispatched  it  on  the  same 
way.  It  sailed  from  the  Cape  on  February  15,  1769,  under 
the  command  of  Juan  Perez,  a  Majorcan,  well  known  as  an 
expert  pilot  in  the  Philippine  trade.  It  carried,  besides  offi- 
cers, crew  and  cargo,  all  the  remainder  of  the  people  then  with 
Galvez  intended  for  Alta  California;  and  among  others  two 
Franciscan  fathers,  Juan  Viscaino  and  Francisco  Gomez. 

Two  of  the  ships  having  thus  been  dispatched,  Galvez  next 
turned  his  attention  to  the  third,  the  San  Jose,  which  had  also 
arrived  from  San  Bias  and  was  lying  at  Cape  San  Lucas. 
As  soon  as  it  was  overhauled  and  repaired,  as  the  others  had 
been,  it  was  ordered  to  proceed  to  La  Paz  and  thence  to  Loreto, 
where  it  was  to  load  for  San  Diego.  Galvez  followed  to  the 
same  places  and  superintended  the  shipment  of  the  cargo  and 
other  preparations  for  sea.  He  had  intended  that  a  mission- 
ary should  accompany  this  vessel  also;  but  Jose  Murguia,  the 
father  assigned,  being  ill  at  the  time  of  its  departure,  none 
at  all  went.  It  sailed  from  Loreto  on  June  16,  1769,  and, 
according  to  one  account,  was  never  afterwards  heard  of.1 
According  to  another  account,  it  returned  in  several  months 
badly  crippled;  was  sent  for  repairs  to  San  Bias,  from  which 
place  it  sailed  to  Cape  San  Lucas  and  left  there  for  San  Diego 
in  May,  1770;  and  from  that  time  was  never  afterwards  heard 
of.2  Whichever  account  be  correct,  it  is  certain  that  it  never 
reached  its  destination.  It  was  lost;  but  when,  in  what  man- 
ner or  in  what  seas,  no  one  can  tell. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  first  land  expedition  for  San  Diego 
had  also  started  and  ,vas  on  its  way.     It  was  under  the  com- 

1  Palou,  Vida,  62,  63. 

2  Palou,  Noticias  de  la  Nueva  California,  San  Francisco,  1S74,  II,  31-34. 


THE  PIONEERS  OF  1769.  311 

mand  of  Fernando  Rivera  y  Moncada,  who  had  been  captain 
of  the  presidio  at  Loreto.  He  had  been  directed  by  Galvez, 
in  the.  autumn  of  1768,  to  select  such  soldiers  and  muleteers 
as  he  might  deem  necessary  and,  taking  along  his  baggage 
and  camp  equipage,  proceed  to  the  northwestern  frontier. 
On  his  way,  he  was  to  call  at  the  various  missions  and  collect 
all  the  horses  and  mules  they  could  spare,  also  two  hundred 
head  of  cattle  and  all  the  dried  meat,  grain,  flour,  maize  and 
biscuit  he  could  carry  with  him.  In  pursuance  of  these  in- 
structions, he  had  chosen  twenty-five  soldiers,  three  muleteers, 
a  gang  of  Indian  neophytes  for  pioneers  and  a  number  of 
servants;  and,  after  gathering  up  all  the  domestic  animals  and 
provisions  as  directed,  he  marched  to  the  frontier  northwest- 
ward of  the  mission  of  San  Francisco  Borja  and  pitched  his 
camp  there  at  a  place  called  Vellicata.  From  this  place  he 
reported  to  Galvez,  who  was  then  at  La  Paz,  and  asked 
further  instructions.  Galvez,  instead  of  answering  directly, 
referred  the  matter  to  Father  Juni'pero,  who  having  just  pro- 
nounced his  blessing  upon  the  San  Carlos,  as  has  been  seen, 
was  about  setting  out  on  his  return  overland  to  Loreto.  Juni'- 
pero made  the  journey  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  upon  his 
arrival  at  Loreto  sent  off  word  to  Father  Juan  Crespi,  then  at 
Purisima  Concepcion,  to  join  Rivera  y  Moncada  and  proceed 
as  soon  as  practicable  to  San  Diego.  Crespi,  upon  receiving 
the  summons,  left  his  mission  and  on  March  22,  1769,  joined 
the  camp  at  Vellicata;  and  the  second  day  afterwards,  Rivera 
y  Moncada,  leaving  a  portion  of  his  soldiers,  muleteers,  do- 
mestic animals  and  baggage  to  be  brought  on  subsequently, 
gathered  up  the  remainder  and  resumed  his  march. 

The  second  land  expedition,  which  was  under  the  com- 
mand of  Governor  Gaspar  de  Portola,  marched  from  Loreto 
on  March  9,  1769.  It  had  been  intended  that  Juni'pero 
should  accompany  it;  but,  on  account  of  the  soreness  of  his 
leg,  which  had  become  very  greatly  aggravated  by  his  recent 
journey  to  La  Paz  and  back,  he  delayed  starting  for  several 
weeks.  It  was  not  until  March  28,  after  due  devotions  and 
affecting  leave-takings,  that  he  finally  mounted  his  mule  and, 


312  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

in  company  with  two  soldiers  and  a  servant,  set  out  upon  the 
march.  His  way  led  him  first  over  the  rugged  trail  from 
Loreto  to  San  Xavier,  where  his  old  friend  Francisco  Palou, 
into  whose  hands  he  was  to  turn  over  the  presidency  of 
the  Lower  California  missions,  was  stationed.  Upon  his 
arrival  there  the  swelling  of  his  leg  was  found  to  have  become 
so  severe  that  it  was  doubtful  whether  he  could  go  on. 
Palou,  seeing  his  condition,  proposed  that  for  the  time  being, 
they  should  exchange  places,  that  is  to  say:  that  Jum'pero 
should  remain  at  ease  in  Lower  California,  while  he,  Palou, 
should  accompany  the  soldiers  and  settlers  into  the  north- 
western wilderness.  But  Jum'pero  could  not  for  a  moment 
think  of  remaining  back  from  the  grand  conquest  he  contem- 
plated. "  Let  us  speak  no  more  upon  the  subject,"  he  said, 
"  I  have  placed  my  faith  in  God  and  trust  in  his  goodness  to 
plant  the  standard  of  the  holy  cross  not  only  at  San  Diego 
but  even  as  far  as  Monterey."  l  Upon  this  Palou  desisted; 
but  he  confesses  that  he  still  feared  that  Junfpero's  ability  to 
make  the  journey  was  not  as  strong  as  his  faith.  Three  days 
afterwards,  all  the  business  between  the  two  having  in  the 
meanwhile  been  arranged,  Jum'pero,  though  in  great  pain  yet 
with  the  help  of  his  soldiers  and  servant,  remounted  his  mule 
and,  wishing  Palou  farewell  until  they  should  meet  to  labor 
together  again  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  proceeded  on  his 
journey.  Passing  from  mission  to  mission  on  his  way  north- 
westward and  resting  a  short  while  at  each,  he  finally  reached 
the  frontier.  There  he  joined  Governor  Portola,  who  with 
his  troops  and  Father  Miguel  de  la  Campa  Coz  who  had 
joined  the  expedition  at  the  mission  of  San  Ignacio  was 
waiting  his  arrival;  and  the  entire  party  then  proceeded  to 
the  camp  left  by  Rivera  y  Moncada  at  Vellicata,  which  they 
reached  on  May  13. 

This  place,  Vellicata,  was  distant  about  sixty  leagues  north- 
west  of  San  Francisco  Borja,  hitherto   the   most  northerly 

1  "  No  hablemos  de  eso:  yo  tengo  puesta  toda  mi  confianza  en  Dios,  de  cuya 
bondad  espero  me  conceda  llegar,  no  solo  ;i  San  Diego,  para  fixar  y  clavar  en 
aquel  puerto  el  estandarte  de  la  Santa  Cruz;  sino  tambica  al  de  Monterey." — ' 
Palou,  Vida,  67. 


THE  PIONEERS  OF  i/6p.  313 

establishment  in  the  peninsula;  and,  as  it  promised  well  for 
an  intermediate  stopping  place  between  that  point  and  San 
Diego,  it  was  determined  before  proceeding  further  to  found 
-  a  mission  there.  A  proper  spot  for  a  church  having  accord- 
ingly been  selected  and  cleared  by  the  soldiers,  bells  were 
hung  and  a  great  cross  put  together  The  next  morning, 
May  14,  Juni'pero,  having  clothed  himself  m  his  sacerdotal 
robes,  consecrated  water  and  with  it  blessed  the  site  and  its 
surroundings.  The  cross  was  then  reared  and,  having  been 
adored  by  all,  was  permanently  fixed  San  Fernando,  the 
[sainted  king  of  Castile  and  Leon,  was  named  the  patron  of 
the  new  mission,  which  was  thenceforth  known  as  San  Fer- 
nando de  Vellicata;  and  Father  Miguel  de  la  Campa  Coz 
was  appointed  missionary.  In  the  celebration  of  the  mass  I 
and  the  rendition  of  the  "  Veni  Creator  Spiritus,"  which 
closed  the  ceremonies,  there  being  no  wax  on  hand  «for 
tapers,  candle  ends  were  used;  a  continual  fusillade  by  the 
soldiers  supplied  the  place  of  organ  tones,  and  the  smoke  of 
gunpowder  that  of  incense.  The  next  day,  one-fifth  of  the 
(cattle  were  segregated,  marked  and  turned  over;  a  due  pro- 
portion of  the  provisions  also  set  apart;  and  a  company  of 
(soldiers,  under  command  of  a  corporal,  assigned  to  the  new  j 
^rtission.  |~ All  this  having  been  accomplished,  on  the  evening 
of  the  same  day,  Governor  Portola,  Juni'pero  and  all  the  sol- 
diers not  assigned  to  San  Fernando,  taking  with  them  the 
muleteers,  servants  and  remaining  supplies,  resumed  their 
journey  and  marched  three  leagues. 

During  the  three  days  he  remained  at  Vellicata,  Juni'pero 
did  not  think  about  his  ulcerated  leg.  His  mind  was  too 
much  absorbed  with  his  religious  occupation  to  feel  it.  But, 
when  he  came  to  resume  his  journey,  he  found  it  worse 
than  ever.  It  had  become  dreadfully  inflamed  and  the  pain 
increased  to  such  a  degree  that  he  could  neither  stand,  nor 
sit,  nor  sleep.  Governor  Portola  under  the  circumstances 
proposed  that  he  should  return  to  San  Fernando  and  remain 
there  at  case  until  restored  to  health.  But  Juni'pero  replied, 
in  much  the  same  terms  he  had  before  used  to  Palou,  that 


314  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

he  had  put  his  faith  in  God,  who  had  enabled  him  to  come 
thus  far  and  would  enable  him,  he  trusted,  to  reach  San 
Diego;  and  that  at  any  rate  he  would  go  on  and,  if  it  was 
the  will  of  God  that  he  should  succumb  and  leave  his  bones 
among  the  gentiles,  he  was  content.  Portola,  seeing  his 
fixed  resolution  and  also  considering  that  he  could  neither 
walk  nor  any  longer  sit  upon  his  mule,  ordered  the  construc- 
tion of  a  litter  upon  which  he  might  be  carried,  in  a  lying 
posture,  by  the  Indians  who  accompanied  the  expedition. 
But  Junipero,  upon  hearing  of  this  order,  being  unwilling  to 
become  such  a  burden  to  the  poor  wretches  who  already  had 
quite  enough  to  bear,  was  greatly  grieved  and  prayed  to  God 
that  he  might  be  spared  causing  them  any  further  hardships. 
Then  calling  one  of  the  muleteers,  he  asked  him  if  he  knew 
no  remedy  for  his  ulcerated  leg.  The  muleteer  answered, 
"  Father,  what  remedy  should  I  know  ?  I  am  no  surgeon.  I 
am  only  a  muleteer  and  can  only  cure  the  sores  on  the  backs  of 
beasts."  "  Well,  son,"  replied  Junipero,  "consider  this  ulcer, 
which  has  caused  all  this  pain  and  deprived  me  of  sleep,  as 
such  a  sore  and  treat  me  the  same  as  one  of  your  beasts." 
The  muleteer  smiled  at  such  a  request,  as  did  likewise  all  the 
bystanders.  But  he  answered,  "  Father,  to  please  you,  I  will 
do  so;"  and  taking  a  little  tallow,  mashing  it  between  stones, 
mixing  with  it  certain  herbs  which  he  found  near  by  and 
heating  the  whole  together,  he  applied  the  compound  to  the 
ulcerated  leg  and  bound  it  on.  Its  soothing  effect  was  such 
that  Junipero  slept  soundly  through  the  ensuing  night  and 
the  next  morning  rose  and  went  about  his  affairs,  as  if  he  had 
never  been  affected.  The  relief  was  almost  immediate;  and 
everybody  looked  upon  the  cure  with  wonder  and  astonish- 
ment.1 

Junipero  being  thus  unexpectedly  enabled  to  pursue  his 
journey,  the  expedition  without  much  loss  of  time  got  under 
way  again.  It  followed  the  track  of  Rivera  y  Moncada. 
This  was  for  a  short  distance  a  trail  that  had  in  1766  been 
traveled  by  Wenceslao  Line,  one  of  the  Jesuit  fathers,  on  an 
exploring  trip  to  the  Colorado  river;  and  it  then  struck  off 

1  I'alou,  Vida,  73,  74. 


THE  PIONEERS  OF  1769.  315 

more  to  the  northwestward,  keeping  to  the  west  of  the  main 
chain  of  the  Sierra.  The  journey  was  slow;  there  was  con- 
siderable suffering;  a  few  of  the  Indians  died;  some  had  to 
be  carried  on  litters;  others  deserted.  But  still  the  expedi- 
tion kept  on.1  At  length,  on  July  1,  1769,  forty-six  days 
after  leaving  San  Fernando  de  Vellicata,  the  wayfarers  came 
in  sight  of  San  Diego.  As  they  looked  down  upon  the  bay 
they  saw  the  San  Carlos  and  San  Antonio  riding  at  their 
anchors  and  on  the  shore  the  tents  and  camp  of  Rivera  y 
Moncada.  The  sight  filled  their  hearts  with  joy;  and  their 
breasts  swelled  with  enthusiasm,  which  could  not  be  repressed. 
As  they  hastened  onward  they  fired  volley  after  volley;  the 
salvos  were  caught  up  and  returned  by  the  troops  of  Rivera 
y  Moncada;  and  then  the  ships  at  their  anchors,  as  if  sud- 
denly awakened  into  life,  joined  in  the  glad  acclaim.  The 
unaccustomed  echoes  thus  set  flying  had  scarcely  died  away, 
when  the  new-comers  rushed  into  the  arms  of  those  who  had 
arrived  before  them;  and  all  congratulated  themselves  that 
the  expeditions  were  thus  happily  joined  and  at  their  wished- 
for  destination. 

It  appeared,  upon  comparing  notes,  that  the  San  Antonio, 
though  it  had  sailed  a  month  and  a  half  after  the  San  Carlos, 
was  the  first  to  reach  San  Diego  and  had  arrived  there  on 
April  1 1.  It  had  then  waited  for  the  San  Carlos  twenty  days 
and  was  preparing,  in  accordance  with  the  instructions  of 
Galvez,  to  sail  for  Monterey,  when  the  San  Carlos  came  into 
port.  The  latter  vessel  had  arrived  in  a  very  short-handed 
condition  On  account  of  leakage  of  its  casks,  it  had  been 
compelled  to  stop  at  Cerros  Island  to  replenish  and  had 
filled  with  water  of  such  bad  quality  as  to  cause  severe  sick- 
ness. This,  combining  with  scurvy,  had  produced  a  malig- 
nant disorder,  which  became  contagious  and  in  many  cases 
fatal.  All  the  crew,  with  the  exception  of  one  sailor  and  a 
cook,  had  died;  and  many  of  the  soldiers  were  very  low. 
The  disease,  as  well  as  the  stoppage,  had  occasioned  delay; 
and  the  voyage  had  been  still  further  prolonged  by  sailing  a 
degree  and  a  half  of  latitude  too  far  north,  which  had  to  be 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  II,  41-95. 


316  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

retraced.  The  two  vessels,  thus  come  together,  had  then 
waited  two  weeks,  that  is  until  May  14,  when  the  land  expe- 
dition led  by  Rivera  y  Moncada  arrived.  So  that  when  Gov- 
ernor Portola  came  up,  none  remained  behind.  All  being 
now  united,  a  council  of  commanders  was  called  to  determine 
what  was  next  to  be  done;  and  the  first  thing  settled  upon 
was  to  forthwith  send  the  San  Antonio  back  to  San  Bias 
for  supplies  and  sailors  to  take  the  places  of  those  who  had 
died.  This  vessel  accordingly  on  July  9,  as  soon  as  every- 
thing could  be  prepared,  again  put  to  sea;  and  twenty  days 
afterwards  it  reached  San  Bias.  Unfortunately  it  carried 
the  seeds  of  contagion  with  it;  and  very  few  of  its  people 
remained  alive,  nine  having  died  on  the  passage. 

In  the  meanwhile,  on  the  third  day  after  his  arrival,  Juni- 
pero  sat  down  and  wrote  to  his  friend  Palou  in  Lower  Cali- 
fornia. He  dated  his  letter  from  what  he  called  "  the  truly 
magnificent  and  with-reason-famous  port  of  San  Diego."1 
After  giving  an  account  of  the  coming  together  of  the  vari- 
ous expeditions  and  what  they  had  done,  he  spoke  of  the 
Indians  he  had  seen  on  the  way;  their  great  numbers;  how 
they  generally  lived  upon  seeds;  how  those  along  the  coast 
fished  upon  rafts  of  rushes  or  tules  made  in  the  form  of 
canoes,  with  which  they  ventured  far  out  to  sea;  how  all  were 
pleasant  and  courteous;  how,  while  the  men  and  boys  were 
naked,  the  women  and  girls  were  decently  covered;  and  how, 
in  their  traffic  with  the  Spaniards,  what  they  most  desired 
and  most  willingly  bartered  for  was  not  food  to  eat  but  cloth- 
ing to  wear.  He  also  spoke  of  the  landscape  about  San 
Diego,  its  valleys  studded  with  trees,  its  wild  vines  covered 
with  grapes,  and  its  native  roses  as  sweet  and  fair  as  those  of 
Castile.  The  entire  new  country  he  pronounced  different  in 
every  respect  from  that  of  the  peninsula  and  very  beautiful.2 

1  "  Este  puerto  de  San  Diego,  verdaderamente  bello  y  con  razon  famoso." — 
Palou,  Vida,  76. 

'l  "  Empiezan  A  estar  todos  los  arroyos  y  valles  hecbos  unas  alamedas.  Parras 
las  hay  buenas  y  gordas,  y  en  algunas  partes  cargadisimas  de  ubas.  En  varios 
arroyos  del  camino,  y  en  el  parage  en  que  nos  hallamos,  ;i  mas  de  las  parras,  hay 
varias  rotas  de  Castilla.  En  fin  es  buena,  y  nmy  distinta  tierra  de  la  de  esa  antigua 
California." — Palou,  Vida,  78. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

SETTLEMENT   OF   SAN    DIEGO. 

THE  first  day  of  July,  1769,  the  day  on  which  the  original 
pioneers  by  land  and  sea  came  together  at  San  Diego 
and  the  day  which  they  themselves  celebrated  with  salvos 
and  salutes,  is,  as  appropriately  perhaps  as  any  other,  to  be 
considered  the  natal  day  of  Alta  California.  It  is  true  the 
first  settlers  arrived  on  April  11,  and  those  who  first  sailed 
on  May  1 ;  but  the  expedition,  taken  as  a  whole,  can  hardly 
be  said  to  have  arrived  until  July  1;  nor  was  it  till  then  that 
Portola,  the  governor  and  general-in-chief,  and  Juni'pero 
Serra,  the  master-spirit  of  the  conquest,  came  up.  There 
were  then  present  at  San  Diego  in  all  about  one  hundred  and 
thirty  of  the  adventurers,  though  a  number  of  them  were  lying 
under  the  hands  of  Pedro  Prat,  the  surgeon,  grievously  ill. 
Of  those  remaining  in  health  some  fifteen  or  twenty  sailed 
in  the  San  Antonio;  a  guard  of  five  or  six  was  detailed  to 
watch  the  San  Carlos;  another  to  take  care  of  the  sick;  and 
upon  the  others  devolved  the  duty  of  commencing  the 
missions  and  making  a  beginning  of  the  settlements  of  San 
Diego  and  Monterey  in  accordance  with  the  mandates  of 
King  Charles  III.  and  the  instructions  of  Jose  de  Galvez,  the 
visitador-general. 

It  had  been  intended  that  those  of  the  adventurers,  who 
were  to  proceed  to  Monterey,  should  do  so  by  sea;  but  as  the 
San  Carlos  was  laid  up  for  want  of  sailors  and  there  was 
no  other  ship  at  hand,  nothing  remained  for  them,  if  the 
project  were  not  to  be  abandoned,  but  to  wait  or  to  march 
overland.     The    latter    being    determined    on,    arrangements 

(317) 


318  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

were  immediately  made  for  setting  out;  and  on  July  14,  the 
expedition,  consisting  of  Governor  Portola,  Fathers  Crespi 
and  Gomez,  Captain  Rivera  y  Moncada,  Lieutenant  Pages, 
Engineer  Costanso,  Sergeant  Jose  Francisco  de  Ortega  and 
a  number  of  soldiers,  muleteers  and  Indian  servants,  in  all 
sixty-four  persons,  v/ith  their  transport  animals,  baggage  and 
provisions,  got  ::nder  way  and  marching  northwestward  along 
the  ocean  was  soon  out  of  sight.  No  sooner  was  it  gone  than 
Junipero  turned  his  attention  to  the  principal  object  of  his 
presence  at  San  Diego,  which  was  the  foundation  of  a  mis- 
sion; and  he  chose  the  second  day  thereafter,  July  16,  as  the 
day  on  which  the  ceremonies  should  take  place.  It  was  the 
day  of  the  triumph  of  the  holy  cross  as  celebrated  by  the 
Spanish  church,  being  the  anniversary  of  a  great  victory  won 
in  1212  by  the  Christians  over  the  Moors;  and  for  this  reason 
it  was  supposed  to  be  peculiarly  appropriate  for  the  occasion 
of  planting  the  standard  of  the  faith  among  a  barbarous  and 
infidel  people. 

On  the  day  thus  chosen  Father  Junipero,  assisted  by 
Fathers  Viscaino  and  Parron,  fixed  upon  the  spot,  which  he 
deemed  most  suitable  not  only  for  the  mission  but  also  for 
the  town  which  it  was  supposed  would  in  time  surround  the 
mission.1  The  place  thus  selected  was  on  the  north  side  of 
the  bay,  in  front  of  what  appeared  the  best  anchorage.  There, 
after  blessing  the  site  and  erecting  a  great  cross,  the  mass 
was  celebrated  and  the  <;  Veni  Creator  Spiritus  "  chanted  with 
an  accompaniment  of  fire-arms,  much  in  the  same  manner  as 
at  Vellicata.  The  fathers  then,  with  the  aid  of  such  sol- 
diers and  others  as  were  present  and  could  be  spared  from 
other  duties,  proceeded  to  erect  a  few  huts;  and,  having  ded- 
icated one  of  them  as  a  chapel,  they  next  attempted  to  attract 
the  attention  and  gain  the  good  will  of  the  natives,  who  had 
stood  around  and  looked  upon  everything  they  saw  with  won- 
der. These,  though  they  seemed  willing  to  receive  almost 
any  gifts  that  were  offered,  were  yet  apparently  very  suspi- 

1  "  Levantd  el  V.  P.  Junipero  el  estandarte  de  la  Santa  Cruz,  fixdndola  en  el 
sitio  que  le  parecio  mas  proprio  para  la  (onnacion  del  pueblo  y  A  la  vista  de  aquel 
puerto." — Palovj,  Vida,  83. 


SETTLEMENT  OE  SAN  DIEGO.  319 

cious  of  the  Spaniards  and  would  on  no  account  eat  or  taste 
anything.  Even  the  children,  if  sugar  were  placed  in  their 
mouths,  would  spit  it  out.  They  seem  to  have  believed  that 
the  sickness  in  camp  was  caused  by  what  the  Spaniards  ate, 
and  on  this  account  nothing  could  induce  them  to  partake  of 
any  food  that  was  offered  them.  And  this  in  the  end  proved 
very  fortunate  for  the  adventurers,  as  their  provisions  were 
limited  and  before  long  began  to  run  low. 

But  there  was  one  thing  that  the  Indians  coveted  with  all 
the  strength  of  their  savage  natures.  This  was  cloth  or 
in  fact  any  kind  of  manufactured  fabric.  When  they  had 
obtained  all  of  it  that  the  Spaniards  felt  like  sparing,  they 
began  to  steal  whenever  they  could  find  an  opportunity 
On  one  occasion  they  went  out  at  night  in  their  tule-canoes 
to  the  San  Carlos  and  cut  a  piece  out  of  one  of  its  sails,  and 
on  another  occasion  stole  one  of  its  cables.  On  account  of 
these  depredations,  several  of  the  soldiers  were  withdrawn 
from  the  camp,  or  what  was  then  the  mission,  for  the  purpose 
of  strengthening  the  guard  on  the  vessel.  The  effect  of  this 
was  to  reduce  the  soldiers,  who  were  able  to  do  duty  at  the 
camp,  to  six;  and  the  Indians,  observing  the  change,  began  to 
become  very  troublesome.  They  made  several  open  attempts 
to  rob  and  plunder;  and,  being  each  time  driven  off,  they  at 
last  conceived  the  idea  of  making  a  general  attack  and,  if 
necessary  for  their  purposes,  of  killing  off  all  the  Spaniards. 
Accordingly  on  August  15,  taking  advantage  of  the  absence 
of  Father  Parron  and  two  of  the  soldiers  who  had  gone  off 
to  the  ship  in  the  harbor,  they  broke  into  the  mission  in  great 
numbers,  being  armed  with  bows,  arrows,  wooden  scimitars  and 
war  clubs,  and  commenced  plundering  on  all  sides  and  even 
robbing  the  bedclothes  from  the  couches  of  the  sick.  The 
corporal  of  the  guard  immediately  called  to  arms.  As  the 
soldiers  hastily  put  on  their  defensive  armor  and  seized  their 
fire-arms,  the  Indians  separated  and  commenced  shooting 
their  arrows.  On  the  side  of  the  assailants  the  numbers  were 
great;  on  that  of  the  assailed  there  were  present  and  available 
to  make  defense  only  four  soldiers,  a  carpenter  and  a  black  - 


320  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

smith.  They  were,  however,  all  men  of  vigor  and  courage 
and  the  blacksmith  especially  so.  Palou  attributes  the  unex- 
pected valor  which  he  displayed  to  the  fact  that  he  had  but 
a  short  time  previously  received  the  sacrament,  as  if  that  ex- 
traordinary aliment  had  inspired  him  with  fighting  qualities. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  the  blacksmith,  though  he  wore  no  leather 
jacket  or  other  defensive  armor  as  the  soldiers  did,  seized  a 
musket;  ran  out  boldly  into  the  open  space  between  the  huts, 
and  kept  up  a  vigorous  firing,  at  the  same  time  crying  out 
with  a  loud  voice,  "  Long  live  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ;  and 
death  to  the  dogs,  its  enemies  !  " 

While  the  battle  thus  raged  on  the  outside,  Fathers  Junipero 
and  Viscaino  remained  inside  the  hut,  which  served  the  pur- 
pose of  their  temporary  chapel.  Being,  unlike  some  of  their 
clerical  brethren,  non-combatants,  all  they  could  do  was  to 
recommend  themselves  to  God  and  pray  that  no  blood  might 
be  spilled.  At  length,  however,  a  considerable  time  having 
thus  been  spent  and  the  fate  of  the  day  being  still  uncertain, 
Viscaino  had  the  curiosity  to  raise  the  mat  which  formed  the 
door  of  the  structure  and  look  out.  As  he  did  so,  an  arrow 
struck  him  upon  the  hand,  whereupon  he  quickly  dropped 
the  mat  and  betook  himself  again  to  prayers.  But,  alas,  this 
little  spice  of  the  comic  was  destined  to  be  soon  followed  by 
an  affecting  tragic  incident.  Scarcely  had  Viscaino  dropped 
the  mat,  when  it  was  raised  from  the  outside  and  in  rushed 
Jose  Maria,  the  body  servant  who  waited  on  the  fathers.  He 
was  bleeding  from  a  ghastly  wound  in  the  neck.  Throwing 
himself  at  the  feet  of  Junipero  he  cried,  "Absolve  me,  father; 
for  the  Indians  have  killed  me."  Junipero  hurriedly  per- 
formed the  required  ceremony;  and  the  poor  man  immedi- 
ately afterwards  expired.  Had  his  death  been  known  to  the 
Indians  they  would  probably  have  felt  encouraged  in  their 
undertaking;  but  the  fathers  were  careful  to  conceal  it;  and 
in  a  short  time  the  assailants,  finding  or  imagining  their 
attempts  vain,  picked  up  their  comrades  that  had  fallen  and 
withdrew.  Of  the  Christians,  one  only  was  killed;  but  Vis- 
caino, a  soldier,  an   Indian  neophyte  and  the  valorous  black- 


SETTLEMENT  OE  SAN  DIEGO.  321 

smith  were  each  slightly  wounded.  Of  the  Indians  it  is  not 
known  how  many  perished.  A  number  of  the  wounded  ones 
presented  themselves  several  days  afterwards  and  were  re- 
ceived and  kindly  cared  for  by  Pedro  Prat  the  surgeon;  and 
from  that  time  forward  the  Spaniards  were  treated  with  more 
consideration  and  much  greater  respect. 

Peace  being  thus  restored,  Juni'pero  again  turned  his  at- 
tention to  the  work  of  conversion.  Among  the  Indians  that 
now  frequented  the  mission  was  one  of  fifteen  years  of  age, 
who  had  gradually  picked  up  a  smattering  of  the  Spanish  lan- 
guage. Through  him,  Juni'pero  proposed  to  the  natives  that, 
if  they  would  send  him  one  of  their  children,  the  little  fellow 
should  not  only  be  made  a  Christian  and  a  son  of  the  church, 
but  regarded  as  related  to  the  soldiers  and  like  them  be  dressed 
in  fine  clothes.  The  offer  being  accepted,  in  a  few  days  after- 
wards one  of  the  Indians,  accompanied  by  a  crowd  of  others, 
made  his  appearance  with  an  infant  boy  in  his  arms  and  by 
signs  indicated  that  he  desired  him  baptized.  Juni'pero  was 
overjoyed;  and,  to  testify  his  pleasure  and  gratitude,  he  imme- 
diately produced  a  large  piece  of  beautiful  cloth  and  threw 
it  over  the  child.  He  then  invited  the  corporal  of  the  guard 
to  stand  god-father  and  the  soldiers  to  become  witnesses  of 
the  first  baptism.  But  as  he  was  about  to  proceed  with  the 
ceremonies  and  apply  the  water,  the  Indians  suddenly  snatched 
the  child  away  and  ran  off  with  it,  leaving  Juni'pero  standing 
with  the  shell  containing  the  holy  water  in  his  hands.  At 
such  impiety  on  the  part  of  the  savages,  the  soldiers  were 
furious  and  would  have  punished  the  insult  on  the  spot;  but 
Juni'pero  called  to  his  aid  all  his  prudence  and  restrained 
them  For  a  long  time,  however,  he  felt  keenly  the  disap- 
pointment and  with  tears  in  his  eyes  attributed  it  all  to  his 
own  many  sins. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  rainy  season  came  on;  and  in  the 
midst  of  it  the  expedition,  which  had  gone  in  search  of 
Monterey,  returned.  It  had  failed  to  recognize  the  port, 
which  it  had  gone  to  find,  and  was  very  much  disheartened; 
though  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  had  discovered  the  bay  of  San 

21     Vol.  I. 


322  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

Francisco  and  thereby  accomplished  a  result  of  much  more 
importance  than  the  re-discovery  of  Monterey.  It  had  suf- 
fered a  great  deal  from  wet  weather,  roughness  of  the  way  and 
want  of  provisions.  And  upon  its  return  to  San  Diego,  there 
was  little  of  encouragement  at  that  place  to  revive  its  droop- 
ing spirits.  Jum'pero,  Parron  and  Viscaino  it  is  true,  not- 
withstanding the  bad  commencement  of  their  labors  of  con- 
version, had  persisted  in  their  work  and  were  gathering  in  a 
large  harvest  of  souls.  But  there  was  little  to  eat  and  not 
much  prospect  of  relief;  and,  as  there  was  now  a  large  acces- 
sion of  mouths  to  feed,  what  provisions  still  remained  were 
disappearing  with  great  rapidity.  Under  these  circumstances 
Governor  Portola,  fearful  of  being  left  destitute,  announced 
his  intention  of  abandoning  the  country,  unless  the  San  An- 
tonio should  speedily  return  or  relief  come  from  some  other 
quarter.  He  fixed  upon  March  20  as  the  last  day  that  he  was 
willing  to  wait,  and  began  making  preparations  for  his  depart- 
ure. It  was  arranged,  among  other  things,  that  a  sufficient 
number  of  persons  should  be  placed  upon  the  San  Carlos  to 
navigate  it  back  to  Lower  California  and  that  the  remainder 
of  the  adventurers  should  retrace  their  journey  overland. 
Such  being  the  orders,  nearly  every  one  became  very  busy; 
and  nothing  else  was  talked  about  except  the  return,  and 
particularly  as  the  appointed  time  approached.  But  Juni'pero 
had  not  for  a  moment  acquiesced,  and  was  not  likely  to 
acquiesce,  in  the  thought  of  abandoning  his  great  enterprise. 
On  the  contrary  he  struggled  by  every  means  in  his  power  to 
save  it.  He  was  satisfied  that,  if  now  abandoned,  the  con- 
quest of  Alta  California  under  the  auspices  of  Spain  and  the 
Spanish  church  would  be  retarded  for  many  years  and  might 
perhaps  never  take  place.  Being  unable,  however,  to  change 
the  resolution  of  the  governor,  he  prayed  the  interposition  of 
Heaven;  and,  as  the  result  of  much  wrestling  of  the  spirit, 
he  worked  himself  up  to  the  determination  that,  as  for  him- 
self, come  what  might,  he  would  under  any  and  all  circum- 
stances stand  by  his  mission. 

Having  thus  made  up  his  mind,  Juni'pero  looked  around 


SETTLEMENT  OE  SAN  DIEGO.  323 

him  for  sympathy  and  co-operation  He  first  applied  to  the 
other  missionaries;  but  only  one  of  them  had  the  courage  to 
come  to  his  assistance.  This  was  Father  Crespi,  who  at  once 
and  without  hesitation  resolved  to  stand  by  his  chief. 
Strengthened  with  this  great  support,  Jum'pero  next  caused 
himself  to  be  rowed  out  into  the  harbor  to  the  San  Carlos 
for  the  purpose  of  discussing  the  situation  with  Vicente  Vila, 
its  commander.  He  laid  before  that  functionary  the  proposed 
abandonment  and  the  causes  which,  according  to  his  informa- 
tion, induced  the  governor  to  contemplate  such  action.  One 
of  these  was  a  common  opinion,  prevalent  among  those  who 
had  taken  part  in  the  late  expedition,  that  the  port  of  Mon- 
terey had  been  filled  up  with  sand  and  therefore  could  not  be 
found.  But  Jum'pero  was  clearly  of  the  opinion,  which  he 
frankly  expressed,  that  the  port  still  existed,  and  in  exactly 
the  same  state  as  it  had  been  seen  by  Cabrillo  and  Viscaino, 
and  that  the  recent  expedition  had  merely  passed  without 
recognizing  it.  To  this  Vila  on  his  part  answered  that,  from 
his  own  examination  of  the  maps  and  from  all  he  had 
heard  upon  the  subject,  he  was  not  only  of  the  same  opinion 
as  Junipero  that  the  port  still  existed,  but  he  believed  it 
existed  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  sands  which 
had  been  supposed  to  fill  it  up.  The  manner  and  tone  in 
which  he  gave  this  answer  convinced  Junipero  that  Vila  was 
not  satisfied  with  the  search  that  had  been  made  for  Monterey; 
and,  thereupon,  announcing  the  fact  that  Crespi  and  himself 
were  determined  to  remain  in  the  country  notwithstanding 
the  departure  of  the  others,  he  proposed  that  Vila,  instead  of 
immediately  sailing  for  home,  should  take  Crespi  and  himself 
on  board  his  vessel;  run  up  the  coast,  and  ascertain  the  truth 
as  to  the  reported  filling  up  of  the  lost  port.  Vila,  interested 
as  a  navigator  in  the  geographical  question  thus  artfully  pro- 
pounded, agreed  to  the  proposition;  and  Junipero  returned  to 
shore.  ^ 

But  Junipero's  resolution  thus  to  remain  was  not  to  be  put 
to  the  test.  On  March  19,  the  day  before  that  fixed  upon  by 
Governor  Portola  for  his  departure,  the  event,  which  was  to 


324 


THE  FRANCISCANS. 


n 


put  a  new  aspect  on  the  face  of  affairs,  occurred.  This  was  the 
appearance  of  a  sail,  which,  though  at  a  great  distance,  was 
clearly  and  distinctly  seen.  It  was  a  somewhat  remarkable 
coincidence  that  this  sail  should  appear  on  the  last  day  of  the 
period  fixed  by  Portola  and  that  such  day  should  happen  to 
be  the  festival  of  St.  Joseph,  the  patron  of  the  expedition. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  was  nothing  at  all  supernatural  in 
the  circumstance.  But  Juni'pero  had  such  thorough  faith  in 
miracles  that  he  firmly  believed  the  appearance  of  the  sail 
at  that  particular  juncture  a  special  providence  and  attributed 
it  to  the  interposition  of  the  saint.  In  other  words,  one  more 
was  added  to  the  already  somewhat  prolific  list  of  miracles, 
which  he  had  experienced. 

The  sail,  as  has  been  stated,  appeared  on  March  19.     It  was 
far  out  at  sea;  but,  instead  of  making  for  land  as  might  have 
been  expected,  it   headed  northwestward   and  finally  disap- 
peared beyond  the  watery  horizon.     Nor  was  anything  further 
seen  or  heard  of  it  until  four  days  afterwards,  when  the  San 
Antonio  sailed  into  port.     Then  all  was  explained./  The  ves 
sel,  which  had  left  San  Diego  in  the  previous  July,  had  arrived 
at  San  Bias  in  twenty  days.      It   had  then  forwarded  its  dis 
patches  to  the  visitador-general;  but,  on  account  of  his  absence 
in  the  interior  of  Mexico,  it  had  taken  some  time  for  them  to 
reach  him  and  also  some  time  for  his  replies  to  get  back  to  San 
Bias.     But  no  sooner  were  these  received  than,  in  accordance 
with  the  directions  they  contained,  the  requisite  number  of 
sailors  and  a  full  cargo  of  provisions  were  supplied  and  the; 
vessel  ordered  back  immediately.     It  was,  however,  specially') 
instructed  not  to  stop  at  San  Diego  on  its  way  back  but  to 
proceed    at    once    to  Monterey,  where  it  was    supposed  the? 
larger  part  of  the  people  would  be  found,  as  the  recent  dis-j 
patches  had  given  notice  of  their  intended    march   for  that; 
place.     It  was  in  pursuance  of  these   instructions    that    the 
vessel  had  passed  San  Diego  on  March  19  without  stopping; 
and  there  is  no  doubt  it  would,  in   pursuance  of  the  same, 
have  passed  on  to  Monterey.     But  when  it  reached  the  Santa 
Barbara  Channel  its  water  supply  gave  out  and  it  was  com- 


SETTLEMENT  OE  SAN  DIEGO.  325 

pelled  to  run  in  near  Point  Concepcion  to  replenish.     There, 
the  Indians  reported  the  return  of  the  Monterey  expedition 
to  San  Diego;  and,  besides  this,  the  San  Antonio  while  in  that', 
neighborhood  accidentally  lost  its  anchor;  on  account  of  bothj 
which  reasons  it  was  deemed  proper  to  turn  round  and  first | 
make   San    Diego;    and  this  was  accordingly  done.     It  was 
thus   that   the   sail   appeared  at  the  time  it  did,  then  disap- 
peared, and    again  appeared    four  days  afterwards.     It  was 
thus  also  that  the  supposed  miracle  was  a  mere  coincidence, 
and  that  the  Joseph,  who  wrought  it,  was  Joseph  the  visita 
lor-general  and  not  Joseph  the  saint. 


CHAPTER    V . 

FOUNDATION   OF    MONTEREY. 

THE  arrival  of  the  San  Antonio  with  sailors  and  provis- 
ions and  the  evidence  thereby  afforded  of  the  care  and 
promptitude  of  the  visitador-general  completely  changed  the 
plans  of  Governor  Portola.  He  now  plainly  saw  that  the 
government  was  thoroughly  in  earnest  in  its  intention  of 
colonizing  the  country  and  ready  to  furnish  all  the  support 
necessary  for  carrying  its  purpose  into  effect.  He  also  saw  that 
the  eyes  of  his  superiors  were  upon  him  and  that  any  neglect 
of  duty  or  remissness  in  what  might  reasonably  be  expected 
of  him  would  be  dangerous.  He  therefore  at  once  deter- 
mined to  retrace  his  steps  northwestward  and  immediately 
renew  his  search  for  Monterey. 

On  his  first  expedition  in  search  of  that  port,  as  will  be 
recollected,  he  had  set  out  from  San  Diego  on  July  14,  1769, 
with  a  company  of  sixty-four  persons,  including  Fathers 
Crespi  and  Gomez.  He  had  taken  a  northwesterly  course, 
following  the  coast  and  much  of  the  way  within  sight  of  the 
ocean.  He  thus  passed  the  present  sites  of  San  Luis  Rey, 
San  Juan  Capistrano,  Los  Angeles,  San  Fernando,  San  Buen- 
aventura, Santa  Barbara,  Point  Concepcion,  San  Luis  Obispo 
and  to  about  the  latitude  of  San  Antonio,  where,  finding  the 
coast  too  precipitous  to  admit  of  advancing  further  in  that 
direction,  he  crossed  over  the  Santa  Lucia  mountains  to  the 
Salinas  river  and  followed  that  river  down  to  its  mouth. 
Upon  reaching  that  point  he  supposed,  as  was  in  fact  the 
case,  that  Monterey  was  close  at  hand  and  that  the  wooded 
projection  on  his  south  was  the  famous  Point  of  Pines,  men- 
tioned by  Cabrillo,  Viscaino  and  others.  But  when  the  next 
(32G) 


FO  UNDA  TJON  OF  MONTERE  Y.  32'7 

day,  with  Costanso,  Crespi  and  five  soldiers,  he  mounted  a 
hill  near  the  beach  and  looked  over  the  expanse  of  water 
embraced  between  the  Point  of  Pines  on  the  south  and  Point 
Ano  Nuevo  on  the  north,  they  could  see  no  indications  of  a 
port  such  as  had  been  described.  The  day  afterwards  he 
sent  Captain  Rivera  y  Moncada  with  eight  soldiers  to  exam- 
ine the  Point  of  Pines;  but  they  also,  after  an  absence  of  two 
days  and  a  very  careful  survey,  as  well  on  the  south  as  on  the 
north  of  it,  reported  that  there  was  no  port  to  be  found. 

It  was  then  thought,  notwithstanding  the  many  respects  in 
which  the  neighborhood  agreed  with  the  descriptions  given 
of  Monterey  by.  old  navigators,  that  there  had  been  some 
error  in  reference  to  its  latitude  and  that  it  lay  further  north. 
Upon  this  supposition,  Portola  resumed  his  march  and  pro- 
ceeded up  the  coast  as  far  as  San  Francisco.  There  he 
satisfied  himself  that  he  had  passed  Monterey;  and,  after 
spending  about  two  weeks  in  that  locality,  he  turned  around, 
retraced  his  steps  to  the  Point  of  Pines  and,  on  November 
27,  recommenced  his  examination  of  it.  But  in  vain.  Though 
he  camped  on  the  very  spot  where  Monterey  was  afterwards 
founded,  he  could  not  recognize  in  the  waters  before  him  the 
port  of  which  he  was  in  search.  He  then  crossed  over  into 
the  Carmel  valley  But  as  he  could  not  find  the  port  where 
it  was,  it  was  of  course  vain  to  look  for  it  where  it  was  not; 
and  he  soon  gave  up  all  hope  of  finding  it  or  of  obtaining 
supplies,  which  he  had  expected  to  be  there  awaiting  him. 
Under  the  circumstances,  what  to  do  next  became  a  question; 
and  he  called  a  council  to  resolve  it.  Though  the  provisions 
were  nearly  exhausted  and  there  was  already  much  suffering 
from  scurvy  and  other  results  of  insufficient  or  improper  food, 
some  were  in  favor  of  remaining  and  in  the  last  resort  relying 
upon  their  mules  for  meat.  Others  were  for  dividing  the. 
company  and  one-half  remaining,  while  the  other  half  should 
proceed  to  San  Diego.  But  to  both  these  propositions  there 
were  serious  objections;  and  Portola,  taking  all  things  into 
consideration,  decided  that  all  should  return  to  San  Diego 
and  as  speedily  as  possible. 


328  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

Before  getting  under  way  again,  however,  he  set  up  two 
great  crosses,  one  on  the  beach  where  Monterey  now  stands 
and  one  on  a  hill  in  full  view  of  the  ocean  in  Carmel  valley. 
On  the  former  was  inscribed  a  notice  that  the  expedition  had 
returned  to  San  Diego;  on  the  latter  the  words  "  Escarba  al 
pie  y  hallaras  un  escrito — Dig  at  the  foot  and  you  will  find  a 
writing."  At  its  foot  he  buried  a  glass  bottle  containing  the 
document  referred  to,  which  was  a  brief  account  of  the  expe- 
dition— how  it  had  left  San  Diego  on  July  14,  reached  the 
Santa  "Barbara  Channel  on  August  9,  passed  Point  Concep- 
cion  on  August  27,  crossed  the  Santa  Lucia  mountains  be- 
tween September  13  and  17,  and  first  seen  the  Point  of  Pines 
on  October  1.  It  then  went  on  to  describe  the  search  that 
had  been  made  for  Monterey  and  the  failure  to  find  it;  how 
the  expedition  had  then  marched  north  in  further  search  and 
come  in  sight  of  Point  Reyes  and  the  rocky  islands  known 
as  the  Farallones;  how  it  had  been  unable  to  reach  Point 
Reyes  on  account  of  several  immense  arms  of  the  sea,  which 
ran  into  the  land  in  a  most  extraordinary  manner  and  would 
have  required  a  long  journey  to  pass  around  them;  how  it 
had  still  been  believed  that  the  port  of  Monterey  might  yet 
be  found;  how  the  expedition  had  returned  from  San  Fran- 
cisco and  again  reached  the  Point  of  Pines,  and  how,  at  length, 
after  giving  up  all  hope  of  finding  what  it  had  thus  sought 
with  so  much  labor  and  suffering,  and  its  provisions  being  re- 
duced to  fourteen  small  sacks  of  flour,  it  had  that  day,  Decem- 
ber 9,  1769,  left  for  San  Diego.  And  it  closed  with  a  prayer 
to  God,  the  All  Powerful,  to  guide  the  expedition  on  its  way 
and  to  conduct  the  navigator,  whoever  he  might  be  that 
should  find  the  paper,  to  the  port  of  salvation.  At  the  bot- 
tom was  a  note,  giving  the  latitudes  of  the  principal  points 
between  San  Diego  and  San  Francisco  as  observed  by  Cos- 
tanso  and  a  request  to  the  commander  of  the  paquebot  San 
Jose  or  San  Antonio,  if  either  should  arrive  within  a  few  days, 
to  immediately  sail  down  the  coast  and  if  possible  communi- 
cate with  and  relieve  the  expedition. 

The  next  day  the  entire  company  started  on  its  return  to 


FOl  ON  OF  MONTEREY.  329 

San  Diego,  following  very  nearly  the  same  route  it  had  come. 
Fortunately  the  Indians  throughout  the  entire  journey  were 
friendly  and  in  many  instances  very  hospitable;  and  it  was 
mainly  upon  the  supplies,  which  they  furnished,  that  the  trav- 
elers existed  on  their  way  back.  In  some  places  wild  geese 
were  plentiful  and  a  number  were  killed,  and  several  bears 
and  an  occasional  antelope  added  to  the  stores;  but  it  was 
chiefly  upon  the  food,  prepared  by  the  natives,  of  acorns,  nuts 
and  seeds  and  upon  the  fish  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel 
that  the  wayfarers  had  to  rely,  In  some  places  they  were 
obliged  to  lie  over  on  account  of  rain;  but  in  general  they 
made  longer  marches  and  more  rapid  progress  than  on  the 
way  up.  Upon  approaching  San  Diego,  much  anxiety  was 
felt  as  to  how  they  would  find  the  companions,  whom  they 
had  left  there  six  months  before.  Would  they  be  alive,  or 
would  they  be  dead  ?  Would  the  settlement  remain,  or  would 
it  be  a  heap  of  ruins?  At  length  on  January  24,  1770,  the 
humble  palisade,  which  had  been  constructed  around  the  mis- 
sion and  camp,  appeared  in  view.  At  the  sight  of  it  the  sol- 
diers discharged  their  fire-arms.  At  the  sound  of  the  fire- 
arms, the  San  Diego  people  issued  from  their  inclosure;  and 
the  two  parties  rushed  into  each  others'  embraces.1 

The  second  expedition  in  search  of  Monterey  was  organized 
almost  immediately  upon  the  arrival  of  the  San  Antonio  and 
consisted  of  two  divisions,  one  of  which  was  to  proceed  by 
sea  and  the  other  by  land.  The  first  embarked  on  the  San 
Antonio  and  got  off  on  April  16.  It  was  composed  princi- 
pally of  Father  Jum'pero,  Engineer  Costanso,  Surgeon  Prat 
and  Captain  Juan  Perez.  The  second  or  land  party  con- 
sisted of  Governor  Portola,  Father  Crespi,  Lieutenant  Pedro 
Fages,  nineteen  soldiers,  five  Lower  California  Indians  and 
two  muleteers,  and  got  off  on  April  17,  the  day  after  the  sail- 
ing of  the  San  Antonio.  There  were  left  at  San  Diego 
Fathers  Parron  and  Gomez,  Sergeant  Jose  Francisco  de 
Ortega,  eight  soldiers  and  twelve  neophyte  Indians  in  charge 
of  the  mission,  and  Commander  Vicente  Vila,  his  pilot  and 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  II,  100-244. 


330  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

five  sailors  in  charge  of  the  ship  San  winch  still  lay 

in  the  harbor.  The  remainder  of  tin  s  irviving  people,  con- 
sisting of  Captain  Rivera  y  Moncada,  Fath  r  Viscaino,  twenty 
soldiers  and  a  muleteer  were  absent  on  an  expedition  to 
Vellicata,  whither  they  had  gone  for  the  -purpose  of  bringing 
up  the  herds  and  flocks  that  had  been  left  there  the  previous 
year. 

Both  the  Monterey  parties  startec  I;    fo.i   their  com- 

mon point  of  destination.  But  the  San  Antonio  soon  after 
leaving  port  met  with  strong  northwes  lies  which  drove 

it  several  degrees  to  the  southward  and  pr<  /<  u.ed  its  reach- 
ing Monterey  for  a  month  and  a  half.  In  the  meanwhile  the 
land  party  followed  the  trail  along  the  -  I  on  May  24 

reached  the  cross  that  had  been  erected  on  the  beach  near 
Point  Pinos,  as  before  stated.  Upon  approaching,  they  found 
it  surrounded  with  arrows  and  plumes  of  feathers  stuck  in  the 
earth;  on  one  side,  suspended  from  a  rod,  was  a  string  of  sar- 
dines tolerably  fresh,  and  at  its  foot  a  piece  of  flesh  and  a  pile 
of  mussels.  These  articles,  it  was  very  plain,  had  been  placed 
there  by  the  natives  and  probably  on  account  of  some  super- 
stitious fancy;  but  the  explanation  of  what  they  thereby 
meant  was  reserved  for  a  later  time,  when  the  priests  came  to 
understand  the  language  of  the  Indians  and  the  Indians  came 
to  understand  the  credulity  of  the  priests.  The  Indians  then 
affirmed  that  the  first  time  they  had  seen  the  Spaniards  they 
noticed  that  each  carried  in  his  bosom  a  resplendent  cross; 
that  when  they  beheld  the  same  sacred  symbol  erected  upon 
the  beach  it  shone  with  almost  insufferable  splendor,  and  that 
at  night  it  seemed  to  loom  up  into  gigantic  proportions,  fill- 
ing the  whole  heavens.  They  added  that  they  were  at  first 
afraid  to  approach  it,  but  finally  drew  near  and,  with  the 
object  of  ingratiating  themselves,  offered  the  flesh,  fkh  and 
mussels;  and  that  afterwards,  seeing  these  were  not  eaten, 
they  had  placed  the  arrows  and  feathers  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  they  desired  peace  with  the  holy  cross  and  those  who 
had  planted  it  there.1 

1  Palou,  Vida,  106. 


FO  UNDA  TION  OF  MONTER  LY.  331 

Portola  and  his  companions  found  the  same  difficulty  in  rec- 
ognizing Monterey  as  before;  but  the  latitude  and  landmarks 
indicated  that  this  must  be  the  place.  Upon  further  exami- 
nation it  was  observed  that  between  Point  Pinos  on  the  south 
and  a  distant  headland  on  the  north  there  was  an  immense 
circuit  of  smooth  water  full  of  sea-lions  and  deep  enough  for 
whales;  and  it.  was  then  pronounced  the  port  of  which  they 
were  in  search;  and  of  this  they  were  still  further  convinced 
by  the  arrival  of  the  San  Antonio,  which  anchored  there  on 
the  evening  of  May  31,  seven  days  afterwards.  Father  Juni- 
pero,  when  he  disembarked  and  looked  around  him,  called  it 
a  "  beautiful  port; " l  and  was  clear  that  it  was  the  same,  and 
substantially  unchanged,  as  it  had  been  left  by  Sebastian  Vis- 
caino  in  1603.  There,  plain  to  be  seen,  were  the  springs  of 
fresh  water  and  next  them  the  very  oak  with  boughs  spread- 
ing over  the  beach,  beneath  which  the  mass  had  been  cele- 
brated in  1602.2  Under  these  circumstances,  as  there  could 
no  longer  be  any  doubt  upon  the  subject  and  the  two  parties 
were  happily  joined,  there  was  great  rejoicing;  and  arrange- 
ments were  immediately  made  to  take  formal  possession  of 
the  place  and  establish  a  presidio  and  mission  in  accordance 
with  the  royal  instructions. 

It  was  on  June  3,  1770,  that  the  ceremonies  were  per- 
formed. In  the  morning  of  that  day  all  the  people  including 
the  crew  of  the  San  Antonio,  the  governor  and  soldiers  in 
their  uniforms  and  the  fathers  in  their  robes,  met  together  on 
the  beach  near  Viscaino's  oak.  After  throwing  up  a  hastily- 
constructed  booth  of  branches,  raising  an  altar  and  hanging 
their  bells,  they  commenced  the  celebration  with  loud  and  vig- 
orous chimes.  Jum'pero  in  alba  and  stole  then  advanced  and 
invoked  the  blessing  of  Heaven  upon  the  kneeling  congrega- 
tion and  the  work  upon  which  they  were  entering.  The 
hymn  "  Veni  Creator  Spiritus"  was  next  chanted;  the  place 
with  its  surroundings  was  consecrated;  and  a  great  cross, 
which    had    been   prepared,  was    elevated  and  adored.     The 

1  "  Este  hermoso  puerto  de  Monterey." — Palou,  Vida,  ioi. 

2  Palou,  Noticias,  II,  267. 


332  THE  FRANCISCANS 

fields  and  beach  were  also  liberally  sprinkled  with  holy  water 
for  the  purpose  of  putting  to  flight  all  infernal  enemies. 
Next  commenced  the  celebration  of  the  mass  at  an  altar, 
upon  which  had  been  placed  an  image  of  the  virgin,  the  gift 
through  the  visitador-general  of  Francisco  Lorenzana,  then 
archbishop  of  Mexico,  and  specially  intended  for  the  Mon- 
terey expedition.  The  mass,  in  the  absence  of  the  usual 
instrumental  music,  was  accompanied  by  repeated  salvos  of 
artillery  and  musketry  from  ship  and  shore,  junipero  also 
preached  the  gospel.  Prayers  were  then  raised  to  the  virgin 
and  the  religious  observances  were  concluded  with  singing  the 
"  Te  Deum  Laudamus."  l  The  civil  and  military  ceremonies 
of  advancing  and  planting  the  royal  standard  and  taking 
formal  possession  of  the  country  for  and  in  the  name  of 
Charles  III.,  king  of  Spain,  were  next  gone  through  with. 
The  ceremonies  included,  as  was  customary  with  the  Span- 
iards on  such  occasions,  the  uprooting  of  plants  and  casting 
of  stones,  as  a  sort  of  symbolical  seizin  of  the  territory,  and 
the  entry  of  everything,  that  had  taken  place,  in  a  record.2 
All  then  joined  together  in  a  repast  upon  the  beach;  and  the 
day  ended  with  feasting  and  rejoicing.  Thus  at  one  and  the 
same  time  were  founded  the  royal  presidio  and  the  mission 
of  San  Carlos  de  Monterey;  and  the  settlement  thus  com- 
menced immediately  became  and  for  many  years  thereafter 
continued  to  be  the  capital  of  Alta  California. 

As  soon  as  the  ceremonies  of  foundation  were  completed, 
Governor  Portola  prepared  his  dispatch  for  the  viceroy  and 
visitador-general,  giving  them  an  account  of  all  that  had  been 
done.  He  then  looked  around  for  a  messenger  by  whom  he 
misrht  be  able  to  forward  it  to  Mexico.  It  was  inconvenient 
to  spare  any  of  his  soldiers  on  account  of  their  limited  num- 
ber; but  he  finally  fixed  upon  one  of  them  and  a  sailor  boy 
belonging  to  the  San  Antonio,  both  of  whom  volunteered  for 
the  service;  and  on  June  14  he  sent  them  on  their  way.  They 
proceeded  along  the  coast  to  a  point  about  a  day's  journey 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  II,  268,   269 

8  "  Afiadiendo  las  acostumbradas  ceremonias  de  avrancar  yerbas,  tirar  piedras 
y  formar  acto  de  todo." — Palou,  Noticias,  II,  209. 


FOUND  A  TlOX  OF  MO  A  TERR  ]  \  333 

south  of  San  Diego,  where  they  met  Captain  Rivera  y  Mon- 
cada,  who  with  his  twenty  soldiers  was  bringing  up  a  number 
of  cattle  and  sheep  which  may  be  called  the  original  of  all 
the  herds  and  flocks  of  Alta  California.  Rivera  y  Moncada, 
being  now  near  San  Diego,  detached  five  of  his  soldiers  to 
accompany  the  messengers;  and,  then,  while  he  and  his  inter- 
esting train  moved  slowly  northward,  the  messengers  and 
their  new  escort  hurried  on  southward.  They  took  the  most 
direct  road  down  through  the  center  of  the  peninsula  and  on 
August  2  reached  the  mission  of  Todos  Santos  near  Cape 
San  Lucas,  where  they  were  received  by  Matias  de  Armona, 
the  new  governor  of  Lower  California,  who  immediately  pre- 
pared a  vessel  and  sent  them  on  their  way  to  San  Bias.  In 
the  meanwhile  Governor  Portola  himself,  having  seen  to  the 
building  of  some  humble  structures  for  the  presidio  and  mis- 
sion by  the  side  of  an  estero  or  creek  and  about  a  musket- 
shot  from  the  beach  and  inclosed  them  with  a  stockade, 
delivered  over  the  military  command  to  Lieutenant  Pedro 
Fages,  and,  embarking  on  the  San  Antonio  on  July  9,  sailed 
for  San  Bias,  where  he  arrived  on  August  1,  the  day  before 
his  messengers  left  Todos  Santos.  At  San  Bias,  finding  that 
he  had  outstripped  his  messengers,  he  prepared  other  dis- 
patches, which  he  immediately  sent  forward;  and  in  due 
time  they  reached  the  city  of  Mexico. 

The  good  news  was  particularly  gratifying  to  the  Marques  de 
Croix,  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain,  and  especially  so  to  Jose  de 
Galvez,  the  visitador-general,  who  was  also  then  at  the  capital. 
Both  had  taken  a  very  great  interest  in  the  northwest  coast; 
and  the  latter,  as  will  be  recollected,  had  not  disdained  to 
bend  his  own  back  in  careening  and  packing  up  the  cargoes  of 
the  pioneer  ships.  It  cannot  by  any  means  be  supposed  that 
they  knew  what  a  country  had  been  saved,  by  their  efforts,  to 
the  Spanish  crown.  It  cannot  be  supposed  that  they  appre- 
ciated what  was  never  appreciated  by  any  Spanish-speaking 
people,  nor  until  within  a  very  few  years  by  any  people  what- 
soever. But  the  fact  that  their  efforts  had  been  crowned 
with  success;  that  the  famous  port  of  Monterey  was  at  last 


334  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

taken  possession  of  and  that  the  royal  standard  of  Spain 
floated  in  that  remote  region  and  in  the  face  of  those  immense 
tracts  of  the  untraversed  and  the  unknown,  was  a  pleasure 
that  caused  them  and  their  friends  and  the  whole  country 
the  most  lively  satisfaction.  No  sooner  had  the  news  come\ 
to  hand  than  the  bells  of  the  great  cathedral  were  set  to 
ringing;  and  they  were  answered  by  the  bells  of  all  the  other 
jbhurchcs  of  the  city.  The  inhabitants  were  roused  by  the 
general  clamor;  and,  upon  inquiry  and  finding  out  what  was 

eant,  they  crowded  to  the  thanksgiving  mass  in  the  cathe- 
ral  and  afterwards  to  the  palace,  where  they  presented  to  the 
iceroy  and  the  visitador-general  their  most  hearty  congratu- 
ations.  A  few  days  afterwards  a  bulletin  was  printed  and 
circulated  not  only  throughout  New  Spain  but  throughout 
jOld  Spain  as  well,  giving  a  detailed  statement  of  the  recent 
•expeditions  to  Alta  California;  how  they  had  marched  and 
sailed;  how  they  had  finally  come  together;  how  San  Diego 
had  been  settled  and  Monterey  founded;  and  in  fine  how  a 
vast  dominion  had  been  added  to  the  Spanish  crown  and  an 
immense  territory  gained  from  the  common  enemy  for  the' 
faith  of  Jesus  Christ.1 

While  the  ceremonies  of  foundation  were  thus  being  cele- 
brated in  Mexico,  Jum'pero  was  laboring  for  the  conversion  of 
the  natives  at  Monterey.  At  first  they  had  been  frightened 
off  by  the  continual  noise  of  fire-arms  and  for  a  long  time  did 
not  show  themselves.  The  rough  booth  of  branches  that  had 
been  erected  under  Viscaino's  oak  had  been  improved  into  a 
sort  of  church,  and  on  June  16  had  been  solemnly  consecrated 
as  such;  but  still,  with  the  exception  of  the  Spaniards  them- 
selves, there  was  no  congregation.  By  degrees,  however,  the 
natives  began  to  come  about,  allured  partly  by  presents  and 
partly  by  curiosity;  and  on  December  26  the  first  baptism, 
that  of  a  native  boy  five  years  of  age,  who  received  the  name 
of  Bernardino  de  Jesus,  took  place.  During  all  this  time  the 
site  of  the  mission  had  remained  on  the  beach,  in  front  of  the 
anchorage,  where  it  had  been  originally  fixed;  but,  as  there 

1  Palou,  Vida,  107-112. 


FO UNDA TION  OF  MONTERE  J '.  335 

was  no  soil  suitable  for  tillage  at  that  place,  Juni'pero  con- 
ceived the  project  of  moving  the  location  to  a  spot  on  the 
bank  of  the  Carmel  river  a  league  or  two  distant  southward, 
where  the  cultivable  grounds  were  rich,  extensive,  pleasantly 
situated  and  well-watered.  With  this  object  in  view  he,  in 
the  summer  of  1771,  caused  timber  to  be  felled  and  sev- 
eral structures  to  be  erected  at  the  Carmel,  including  chapel, 
dwellings,  barracks,  corrals  and  stockade;  and  towards  the 
end  of  the  year  he  moved  the  mission  into  them,  leaving  the 
presidio  as  before  on  the  beach  guarding  the  harbor.  It  is 
on  account  of  this  change  of  situation  that  the  mission  is 
sometimes  known  as  Mission  de  San  Carlos  del  Rio  Carmelo 
and  sometimes  simply  as  Carmel  Mission,  though  more  gen- 
erally as  the  Mission  of  Monterey.  The  scenery  of  the  new 
site  and  its  neighborhood  were  altogether  attractive.  The 
buildings  were  situated  upon  rising  ground,  surrounded  by 
a  comparatively  extensive  plain  of  rich  land,  through  which 
ran  the  never-failing  waters  of  the  little  stream.  On  every 
side  there  were  groves  of  trees,  vines  in  abundance,  and  a 
seeming  infinity  of  those  delicate  and  beautiful  wild  roses, 
which  resembled  and  were  popularly  known  as  roses  of  Cas- 
tile. At  the  foot  of  the  rising  ground  was  a  delightful  lakelet 
.of  fresh  water,  which  discharged  its  surplus  waters  into  the 
neighboring  ocean  bight  just  south  of  Point  Pinos.  This 
bight  with  its  shores  and  the  plain  with  its  groves  and  mean- 
dering river  were  all  spread  out  like  a  panorama  to  one  look- 
ing from  the  mission;  and  the  landscape  was  framed,  so  to 
speak,  by  the  hills  on  either  hand,  here  sloping  into  pastures 
and  there  crowned  with  forests  of  pines  and  cypress. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  sending  of  new  missionaries  and  the 
founding  of  new  missions  were  under  contemplation.  When 
juni'pero  first  wrote  to  the  viceroy  and  vistador-general  of  the 
proposed  removal  of  his  mission,  he  also  wrote  to  the  guar- 
dian of  the  college  of  San  Fernando,  giving  an  account  of 
the  new  country,  its  multitudes  of  unregenerated  inhabitants 
and  the  sad  want  of  spiritual  teachers.  He  deplored  that  so 
many  souls  must  utterly  perish  for  lack  of  light  and  expressed 


336  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

his  assurance  that,  if  a  hundred  missionaries  were  sent  as 
workmen  into  that  extensive  harvest-field,  each  would  find 
more  than  enough  to  do.  This  information  having  been  com- 
municated to  the  viceroy  and  visitador-general,  and  their  zeal 
being  little  if  anything  less  than  that  of  Juni'pero  himself, 
arrangements  were  almost  immediately  made  for  five  new 
missions  in  Alta  California,  in  addition  to  the  three  originally 
provided  for,  and  five  new  ones  in  Lower  California.  Of  the 
former  five,  one  was  to  be  located  between  San  Diego  and 
San  Buenaventura,  two  between  San  Buenaventura  and  Mon- 
terey and  two  north  of  Monterey;  of  the  latter  all  were  to  be 
between  Vellicata  and  San  Diego. 

Not  only  did  the  viceroy  and  visitador-general  thus  provide 
for  new  missions,  they  also  made  a  requisition  upon  the  col- 
lege of  San  Fernando  for  thirty  additional  missionaries,  two 
for  each  of  the  new  missions  and  the  remainder  for  supplying 
vacant  places  in  the  old  ones.  They  likewise  provided  the 
necessary  vessels,  vestments,  ornaments  and  bells  and  also  a 
fund  of  a  thousand  dollars  each  for  the  immediate  uses  of  the 
new  missions  and  four  hundred  dollars  as  traveling  expenses 
for  each  of  the  new  missionaries.  The  college  of  San  Fer- 
nando, in  accordance  with  the  requisition  and  to  carry  out  the 
arrangements  thus  made,  promptly  named  thirty  additional 
missionaries,  all  of  whom  offered  themselves  voluntarily;  and 
as  soon  as  named  they  were  ordered  to  report  at  San  Bias  for 
transportation  to  California.  All  this  took  place  in  the  sum- 
mer and  fall  of  1770;  but  it  was  not  until  the  next  year  that 
the  new  missionaries  got  under  sail. 

At  the  beginning  of  1771  there  were  lying  in  the  port  of 
San  Bias  not  only  the  ship  San  Antonio,  which  had  already 
done  so  much  service;  but  also  the  old  San  Carlos  that  had 
lain  so  long  inactive  in  the  harbor  of  San  Diego.  Vicente 
Vila,  the  commander  of  the  latter,  after  waiting  at  that  place 
what  he  seems  to  have  considered  an  unreasonable  space  of 
time  without  being  furnished  a  new  crew,  at  length  got  to- 
gether a  soldier  or  two  and  a  few  vaqueros,  who  had  some 
smattering  of  seamanship;  and,  adding  them  to  the  pilot  and 


FOUNDATION  OF  MONTEREY.  337 

five  sailors  already  on  his  vessel,  he  determined  with  them  to 
brave  the  passage  to  Mexico.  He  accordingly  hoisted  his 
sails  in  August  and,  experiencing  nothing  but  good  weather, 
in  due  time  arrived  at  San  Bias.  Shortly  after  his  arrival 
there  he  died;  but  the  San  Carlos,  owing  to  the  care  he  had 
taken  of  it,  was  in  excellent  condition  and,  upon  being  re- 
manned,  was  immediately  ready  again  for  sea.  It  was  in 
these  two  vessels,  the  same  that  had  carried  the  first  pioneers, 
that  it  was  arranged  the  new  missionaries  should  embark;  the 
ten  intended  for  Alta  California  in  the  San  Antonio  and  the 
twenty  intended  for  Lower  California  in  the  San  Carlos.  The 
former  got  off  on  January  2£>,  1 77 1 ,  and  reached  San  Diegc 
on  March  12,  where  after  discharging  a  portion  of  its  cargo 
designed  for  that  place,  it  again  put  to  sea  and  on  May  21 
reached  Monterey.  The  latter  sailed  about  ten  days  after  the 
San  Antonio,  but  meeting  with  contrary  winds  was  driven  as 
far  south  as  Acapulco  before  it  could  make  headway  against 
them.  Upon  getting  to  the  north  again,  it  was  obliged  to  run 
into  the  port  of  Manzanillo  for  the  purpose  of  refilling  its 
water  casks;  but,  being  apparently  under  bad  management', 
it  went  ashore  there  and  ran  in  very  great  danger  of  going  to 
pieces;  and  it  was  not  until  towards  the  end  of  August  that, 
having  at  length  gotten  off,  it  finally  reached  Loreto.  Most 
of  its  clerical  passengers  had  left  the  vessel  at  Manzanillo  and 
thence  made  their  way  by  slow  and  painful  stages  overland  to 
a  point  opposite  Loreto,  whence  they  shipped  over  to  that 
place.  They  did  not  reach  their  destination,  however,  until 
about  the  end  of  November,  some  three  months  after  the  San 
Carlos  would  have  landed  them  there. 

As  to  the  ten  missionaries  intended  for  the  projected  new 
missions  of  Alta  California  and  who  arrived  at  Monterey  on 
May  21,  1 77 1,  as  above  stated,  they  were  received  by  Father 
Junipero  with  the  greatest  joy.  He  now  saw  himself  sur- 
rounded with  a  corps  of  active  ^workers  and  looked  forward 
in  imagination  to  a  not  far  distant  future  when  all  would  be 
busily  engaged  in  the  plentiful  harvest  field,  which  lay  ex- 
tended on  every  side  about  them.     On   May  30,  nine  days 

22     Vol.  I. 


338  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

after  their  arrival  and  before  assigning  them  to  the  posts  they 
were  respectively  to  occupy,  he  called  them  together  and  cel- 
ebrated the  feast  of  Corpus  Christi.  And  as  he  looked 
around  upon  the  goodly  throng  and  anticipated  the  golden 
sheaves  of  converted  souls  they  were  to  gather  in,  his  bosom 
swelled  with  rapture  and  his  heart  overflowed  with  thanks- 
givings to  God  and  gratitude  to  the  viceroy  and  the  visitador- 
general. 


CH  APTE  R     VI. 

SAN    ANTONIO,   SAN    GABRIEL   AND    SAN    LUIS   OBISPO. 

TWENTY-FIVE  leagues  southeastward  of  Monterey  and 
forming  one  of  the  valleys  in  the  middle  of  the  Santa 
Lucia  mountains  was  an  extensive  body  of  rich  land  covered 
with  oak  and  nut-bearing  pine  trees.  It  was  a  place  of  pecul- 
iar beauty  and  salubrity  and  thickly  populated  with  Indians, 
who  lived  for  a  large  part  of  the  year  upon  the  acorns,  nuts, 
seeds  and  grasses  which  were  produced  in  great  abundance 
all  around  them.  A  little  stream  that  took  its  rise  in  the 
mountains  and  flowed  southeastward  to  the  Salinas  river  ran 
through  the  midst  of  the  valley  and  at  such  a  level  in  the 
upper  part  of  its  course  that  its  waters  might  with  compara- 
tively little  labor  be  diverted  and  carried  in  irrigating  rivulets 
over  the  entire  cultivable  land.  It  was  here  in  this  delightful 
but  wild  and  remote  spot,  inclosed  among  rugged  mountains 
and  at  a  distance  of  some  fifteen  miles  from  the  ocean,  that 
the  next  mission  of  Alta  California  was  to  be  founded.  This 
establishment  was  one  of  those  contemplated  and  provided  for 
by  the  viceroy  and  visitador-general  in  their  recent  instruc- 
tions and  was  to  be  known  as  the  mission  of  San  Antonio 
de  Padua. 

The  place  had  first  been  seen  by  Governor  Portola  and 
Father  Crespi  and  their  exploring  party,  on  their  way  from 
San  Diego  in  search  of  Monterey,  in  1769.  When,  after  leav- 
ing the  neighborhood  of  what  subsequently  became  known  as 
San  Luis  Obispo  and  proceeding  northwestward  along  the 
coast,  they  found  their  progress  barred  by  its  rough  and  pre- 
cipitous character,  they  turned  northeastward  for  the  purpose 

(339) 


340  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

of  crossing  the  mountains.  After  climbing  the  first  ridge, 
they  descended  into  a  little  valley,  which  as  a  depression 
in  the  very  midst  of  the  mountains  the  soldiers  called  "  La 
Hoya  de  la  Sierra  de  Santa  Lucia."  Crespi  on  the  other 
hand,  on  account  of  the  day  on  which  they  reached  it  being 
that  of  the  impression  of  the  wounds  of  St.  Francis,  named  it 
Las  Llagas  and  invoked  the  intercession  of  the  seraphic  saint 
for  the  conversion  of  the  natives.  Of  these  there  were  several 
rancherias  scattered  about,  who  were  engaged  in  gathering 
pine  nuts.  It  was  so  pleasant  a  place  that  the  travelers  tar- 
ried several  days,  resting  and  recuperating;  and  the  more 
they  saw  of  it  the  more  they  were  pleased  with  it.  When 
they  resumed  their  march,  instead  of  following  the  stream 
and  valley,  which  ran  southeasterly,  they  ascended  the  heights 
on  the  northeast  and  thus  encountered  more  mountain  travel- 
ing. In  fact,  upon  reaching  the  summit,  after  another  hard 
climb,  casting  their  eyes  northeastward,  in  the  direction  they 
desired  to  proceed,  they  saw  mountain  chains  stretching  out 
before  them  in  apparently  endless  succession — "  a  sad  spec- 
tacle," said  Crespi,  "  for  poor  travelers  wearied  and  worn 
out  with  the  fatigues  of  so  long  a  journey,  with  leveling 
rough  places  and  opening  roads  over  hills,  through  thickets, 
among  shifting  sands  and  across  marshes."  Besides  the  dis- 
couraging prospect,  the  cold  on  the  summit  was  severe  and 
some  of  the  soldiers  began  to  suffer  from  scurvy,  thus  increas- 
ing the  labors  of  the  others.  "  All  these  considerations,"  con- 
tinued Crespi,  "oppressed  our  hearts;  but  considering  the 
object  for  which  we  had  undertaken  these  labors,  which  was 
the  greater  glory  of  God  in  the  conversion  of  souls  and  the 
service  of  the  king  whose  dominions  were  to  be  thereby 
extended,  all  were  animated  with  a  gladdening  desire  to  press 
forward,  blessing  our  Lord  and  God,  supplicating  him  for 
health,  and  success,  and  calling  for  intercession  upon  the  most 
holy  patriarch,  St.  Joseph,  our  patron."  1 

It  was  thus  partly  on  account  of  its  own  beauty,  and  partly 
on  account  of  its  contrast  with  the  rough  road  by  which  it 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  II,  160-168. 


SAN  ANTONIO.  341 

had  been  approached  and  the  still  rougher  road  by  which  it 
had  been  left,  that  the  little  valley  in  the  mountains  became 
a  favorite  locality  with  the  original  pioneers.  They  talked 
about  it  as  travelers  speak  of  an  oasis  in  the  desert.  Attention 
having  thus  been  attracted  to  it,  and  the  number  and  general 
good  character  of  the  Indians  in  its  neighborhood  being  favor- 
able, it  was  chosen  as  the  site  of  the  first  of  the  two  missions  that 
had  been  ordered  to  be  founded  between  Monterey  and  San 
Buenaventura.  And  but  little  time  was  lost,  after  the  choice 
was  made,  in  getting  ready.  Very  soon  after  the  arrival  of 
the  ten  new  missionaries  at  Monterey  and  as  soon  as  his  other 
manifold  duties  permitted,  Juni'pero  set  out  for  the  spot  so 
chosen  for  the  new  mission  and  fully  prepared  to  establish  it. 
He  took  with  him  Fathers  Miguel  Pieras  and  Buenaventura 
Sitjar,  two  of  the  new  arrivals,  whom  he  had  designated  as 
missionaries  of  the  place;  also  an  escort  of  seven  soldiers, 
three  sailors  and  several  Indian  neophytes  of  Lower  Califor- 
nia, and  carried  likewise  the  necessary  church  furniture,  orna- 
ments and  bells  as  well  as  tools  and  provisions.  Arrived  at 
the  chosen  valley,  whether  it  was  the  beautiful  prospect  which 
he  beheld  that  excited  him  or  the  delicious  air  which  he 
breathed  or  his  own  magnanimous  spirit  in  contemplating  so 
many  souls  ripe  for  salvation,  or  whatever  was  the  reason, 
Juni'pero  could  scarcely  contain  himself.  No  sooner  were  the 
mules  unloaded  than  he  caused  the  bells  to  be  hung  upon  the 
branches  of  the  nearest  tree  and,  himself  immediately  strik- 
ing them  with  great  vigor,  he  cried  out  in  a  loud  voice: 
"Come,  oh  ye  gentiles;  come  to  the  Holy  Church;  come  to 
the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ."  Father.  Pieras,  who  stood  by 
and  was  astonished  at  what  he  saw  and  heard,  asked,  "Why 
all  this  ado  ?  Is  this  the  place  where  the  church  is  to  be 
built?  There  are  no  gentiles  within  hearing.  It  is  useless  to 
ring  the  bells."  But  Junlpero  replied,  "Let  me  alone;  let  me 
unburden  my  heart;  and  as  for  the  bells,  oh  that  they  might  be 
heard  throughout  the  entire  world,  or  at  least  by  all  the  gentiles 
that  live  in  these  mountains  !  "  And  so  he  kept  on  ringing 
with  all  his  might,  calling  the  dwellers  in  the  wilderness  to 


342  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

the  new  life  promised  in  the  scriptures.  When  he  had  wea- 
ried his  muscles  and  somewhat  cooled  his  enthusiasm,  he 
turned  to  the  foundation  of  the  mission.  By  his  directions  a 
great  cross  was  constructed,  blessed,  adored,  elevated  and 
fixed  in  the  earth;  a  booth  put  up;  an  altar  arranged;  and 
on  the  same  day,  July  14,  1771,  Jum'pero  celebrated  the 
first  mass;  and  a  commencement  was  thus  given  to  what 
became  in  time  a  very  populous  establishment.  As  soon  as 
the  proper  buildings  were  erected  and  the  missionaries  well 
started  in  their  labors,  Jum'pero  returned  to  San  Carlos  de 
Monterey. 

The  next  mission  founded,  after  that  of  San  Antonio  de 
Padua,  was  that  of  San  Gabriel  Arcangel  in  the  middle  of 
the  plain  east  of  what  is  now  the  city  of  Los  Angeles.  The 
missionaries,  deputed  by  Jum'pero  to  found  this  establish- 
ment, were  Fathers  Pedro  Benito  Cambon  and  Angel  SomeVa.- 
They  were  among  the  ten  who  had  arrived  at  Monterey  in 
the  San  Antonio  on  May  21.  In  accordance  with  the  instruc- 
tions which  they  there  received,  they  on  July  7  re-embarked 
on  the  San  Antonio  and  proceeded  to  San  Diego,  in  company 
with  Pedro  Fages  who  since  the  withdrawal  of  Governor 
Portola  had  been  recognized  as  comandante  of  Alta  Califor- 
nia. From  San  Diego,  having  managed  after  much  trouble 
to  procure  ten  soldiers  as  an  escort  and  the  necessary  train, 
they  on  August  6  set  out  upon  their  march  northwestward, 
taking  the  same  course  which  had  been  traveled  by  the  expe- 
ditions of  1769  and  1770.  At  a  distance  of  forty  leagues  from 
San  Diego  they  came  to  the  place  which  had  been  fixed  upon 
as  the  site  of  the  new  mission.  It  was  on  the  bank  of  a  river, 
which  flowed  through  the  midst  of  an  extensive  plain  and 
was  known  as  Jesus  de  los  Temblores,  having  been  so  named 
by  the  first  expedition  on  account  of  four  severe  earthquake 
shocks  experienced  there  on  July  28,  1769.  Such  was  its 
name  as  given  by  Father  Crespi,  but  the  soldiers  called  it 
the  Santa  Ana;  and  by  this  latter  name  it  is  now  known. 
On  its  northerly  bank  there  was  at  that  time  a  large  rancheria 
of  Indians,  who  received  the  expedition  with  great  affability 


SAN  GABRIEL.  343 

and  provided  it  liberally  with  antelope  meat  and  wild  seeds. 

They  were  so  exceedingly  hospitable  that,  according  to  Crespi, 

they  begged  the  travelers  to  remain  and  even  offered,  if  they 

would   do  so,  to   share  their   lands  with    them.1     But  when 

Cambon  and  Somera  came  to  examine  the  place,  they  found 

it    unsuitable  for  a   mission;    and    they  therefore    proceeded 

some  six  leagues  further  northwestward  to  the  valley  of  the 

river  now~imown  as  the  San  Gabriel.     This  valley,  called  that 

of  the  San  Miguel  by  the  first  expedition  which  had   camped 

there  on  July  30,  1769,  and  again  on  January  17,  1770,  was 

delightful,  comparatively  well-watered  and  had  many  trees, 

brambles,  vines  and  wild  Castilian  roses.'    \Towards  the  north-'* 

ward,  at  a  distance  of  some  seven    leagues,  rose   the    lofty, 

arecipitous  line    of  the  Sierra.     Towards    the  eastward    the 

mountains  were  more  remote  and  apparently  less  rugged,  but 

/with  one  pre-eminent    peak    overtopping  all  the  others  and 

i  afterwards  known  as  San  Bernardino.     Towards  the  south- 

!  ward  and  sweeping  around  towards  the  westward,  where  it 

rose  into  a  table  land,  stretched  an  undulating  country,  rich, 

1  luxurious  and  unbroken  in  its  gentle  swells  as  far  as  the  eye 

\could  reach.  J~~ 

The  accounts  preserved  of  the  foundation  of  these  old  mis- 
sions all  come  from  the  missionaries  themselves;  and  it  seems 
as  if  there  had  been  an  effort  on  their  part  in  every  case  to 
connect  something  extraordinary,  wonderful  or  miraculous 
with  the  story.  The  marvelous  cross  of  Monterey  had  its 
counterpart  here  at  San  Gabriel  in  a  wonder-working  picture 
of  the  Virgin  Mary.  It  appears,  according  to  the  account 
thus  received,  that  while  the  party  lay  encamped  on  the  bank 
of  the  river  and  was  engaged  in  making  its  survey  of  the 
ground,  a  great  multitude  of  armed  Indians,  led  by  two  sep- 
arate chiefs,  approached  in  warlike  attitude  and  made  hostile 
demonstrations.  At  this,  one  of  the  fathers  drew  forth  a 
piece  of  canvas,  containing  a  picture  of  the  virgin;  and  no 
sooner  had  the  Indians  beheld  it  than,  as  is  averred,  they  all 


1  Palou,  Noticias,  II,  119,  120. 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  II,  121,  241,  296. 


344  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

threw  down  their  weapons  and  the  chiefs,  running  forward, 
cast  their  necklaces  at  its  feet  in  token  of  absolute  submission. 
Not  only  this,  but  they  invited  all  their  neighbors  to  join  with 
them;  and  all,  children  as  well  as  men  and  women,  and  each 
bearing  gifts,  crowded  around  the  holy  image,  i  Under  the 
changed  circumstances,  the  survey  proceeded  and- the  mission 
was  established  on  a  beautiful  rise  about  half  a  league  from 
the  river  and  with  about  the  same  ceremonies  as  the  others. 
The  date  of  this  foundation  was  September  8,  1771.1 

The  peace  and  good  feeling  thus  established  at  San  Gabriel 
might  have  lasted  for  a  long  time,  but  for  an  outrage  com- 
mitted by  a  soldier  upon  the  wife  of  one  of  the  Indian  chiefs. 
The  latter,  desiring  to  avenge  himself,  gathered  together  all 
the  natives  capable  of  bearing  arms  and  made  an  attack  upon 
the  soldier,  who  in  company  with  another  was  guarding  the 
horses  and  cattle  at  a  distance  from  the  mission.  The  sol- 
diers, seeing  the  Indians  approach,  seized  their  shields  and 
fire-arms.  With  the  shields  they  turned  aside  the  arrows 
that  were  aimed  at  them  and  with  the  muskets  fired  and 
killed  the  injured  chief.  The  remainder  of  the  Indians, 
frightened  at  the  discharge  of  the  fire-arms  and  discouraged  at 
finding  their  weapons  ineffective  and  their  leader  slain,  imme- 
diately gave  way  and  fled  in  disorder;  and,  fortunately  for 
the  Spaniards,  they  did  not  again  rally.  But,  as  it  was  plain 
that  they  felt  deeply  aggrieved  and  with  reason,  and  that  they 
might  therefore  possibly  make  a  new  assault,  it  was  deemed 
prudent,  instead  of  next  proceeding  to  the  foundation  of  the 
mission  of  San  Buenaventura  as  had  been  intended,  to  delay 
it  for  the  time  being  and  with  the  missionaries  and  soldiers 
designated  for  it  augment  the  number  of  those  at  San  Ga- 
briel. This  being  determined  upon  and  the  proper  arrange- 
ments made,  Comandante  Pedro  Pages,  taking  along  the  cul- 
prit soldier  so  as  to  remove  him  from  the  sight  of  the  Indians, 
returned  overland  to  Monterey.  The  cause  of  the  disturbance 
having  been  thus  removed,  efforts  were  made  to  re-attract  the 
natives,  and  with  so  much  success  that  by  degrees  they  began 


1  Palou,  Vida,  130,  131. 


SAN  LUIS  OBISPO.  345 

to  come  in.  Before  long  they  solicited  baptism;  and  among 
the  first  of  those  received  into  the  bosom  of  the  church  was 
the  son  of  the  dead  chief. 

By  the  spring  of  1772  the  converts  at  the  older  missions  of 
San  Diego  and  Monterey  had  become  so  numerous  that  the 
supplies  brought  up  by  the  San  Antonio  were  no  longer 
sufficient  to  feed  them  all.  Want  began  to  be  felt  and  it 
became  so  pressing  at  San  Diego  that  the  place  was  on  the 
point  of  being,  and  would  have  been,  abandoned  but  for 
speedy  relief  sent  overland  by  a  pack  train  from  Monterey. 
But  while  San  Diego  was  thus  relieved,  Motjterey  itself  began 
to  suffer  and  particularly  so  as  the  San  Antonio,  upon  whose 
cargo  reliance  had  been  had  to  replace  the  stores  sent  to  San 
Diego,  did  not  arrive  for  months  after  the  expected  time. 
Under  these  circumstances,  Junipero  called  upon  the  Indians 
for  relief;  and  they  cheerfully  undertook  to  collect  such  seeds 
and  nuts  as  the  wilderness  afforded.  But  the  most  remark- 
able resource  was  that  put  to  the  test  by  Comandante  Pedro 
Fages.  About  fifty  leagues  southeastward  of  Monterey  and 
near  what  is  now  San  Luis  Obispo,  there  was  a  well-watered 
valley  in  which  the  previous  expeditions,  both  on  their  way 
northward  and  on  their  return  southward,  had  noticed  a  great 
many  bears.  These  animals  were  so  abundant  that  the  place, 
on  account  of  them,  was  named  and  thenceforth  known  as  the 
"  Canada  de  los  Osos."  \  Thither  Fages  now  proceeded  with 
the  greater  number  of  his  soldiers  and  went  to  work  slaugh- 
tering and  supplying  the  suffering  people  with  bear-meat.2 
By  the  help  of  these  means  of  subsistence,  aided  by  the 
scanty  provisions  that  were  left,  the  milk  of  the  cows  and  the 
few  garden  vegetables  that  had  been  set  out,  the  missions 
managed  to  exist  until  the  arrival  of  new  supplies  from 
Mexico. 

In  August  news  reached  Junipero  of  the  arrival  at  San 
Diego  of  the  two  ships,  San  Antonio  and  San  Carlos.  The 
courier  who  brought  the  intelligence,  also  brought  letters  from 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  II,  159,  160. 

2  Palou,  Vida,  135. 


346  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

the  captains  of  the  vessels,  stating  that  they  had  attempted  to 
reach  Monterey  but  that  on  account  of  violent  winds  they 
had  failed  and  would  not  again  attempt  it.  This  information 
made  it  necessary  for  Juni'pero  to  proceed  to  San  Diego  and 
confer  with  the  captains  in  person.  But  he  thought  that, 
while  on  his  way  thither,  he  might  as  well  as  not  found  a  new 
mission  and  thus  accomplish  several  objects  by  one  and  the 
same  journey.  In  accordance  with  recent  instructions,  as  will 
be  recollected,  there  were  two  missions  to  be  founded  be- 
tween Monterey  and  San  Buenaventura.  One  of  these  had 
been  established  at  San  Antonio.  It  was  determined  that  the 
other  should  be  located  at  or  near  the  Canada  de  los  Osos, 
the  scene  of  Pedro  Fages'  exploits  among  the  bears. 

This  place  had  been  first  seen  by  the  exploring  party  of 
Governor  Portola  and  Father  Crespi  in  September,  1769.  As 
they  approached  it  from  the  south,  they  came  to  a  valley  of 
oaks,  having  a  small  stream  running  through  it  flowing 
among  water-cresses  and  bordered  by  alders  and  willows. 
In  this  valley  was  a  rancheria  of  very  friendly  Indians,  whose 
captain  had  an  immense  wen  growing  on  his  neck;  and  on 
this  account  the  soldiers  of  the  party  called  the  place  El 
Buchon  or  The  Man  with  the  Wen;  but  Crespi,  with  the  object 
as  he  stated  of  naming  a  saint  under  whose  intercession  the 
natives  might  be  converted  to  the  faith,  called  it  San  Ladis- 
lao.  Thence  the  party  proceeded  a  couple  of  leagues  over  a 
very  rough  road  into  a  narrow  but  rich  valley  called  Canada 
de  Santa  Elena  and  thence  into  the  beautiful  valley,  which  on 
account  of  the  multitude  of  bears  seen  there,  as  before  stated, 
was  called  and  afterwards  known  as  Canada  de  los  Osos  or 
Bear  valley.  These  animals  were  so  plentiful  that  they  were 
seen  in  troops  and  the  ground  in  every  direction  was  pawed 
up  by  them  in  search  of  roots.  The  soldiers  killed  one; 
another,  which  was  only  wounded,  taught  them  that  the  sport 
was  dangerous.  But,  notwithstanding  the  bears,  there  were 
many  Indians  in  the  neighborhood;  and  the  place  was  deemed 
a  proper  one  for  a  mission. 

Upon  setting  out  from   Monterey  for  the   journey  south- 


SAN  LUIS  OBISPO.  347 

ward  Junipero  took  along  with  him  Father  Jose  Cavalier, 
whom  he  had  appointed  missionary  of  the  contemplated  new- 
establishment.  Pedro  Pages,  the  comandante,  accompanied 
them  with  all  the  soldiers  that  could  be  spared.  They  pro- 
ceeded first  to  the  mission  of  San  Antonio,  where  Junipero 
was  greatly  pleased  with  the  progress  that  had  been  made, 
and  thence  twenty-five  leagues  further  southeastward  to  the 
valley  that  had  thus  been  chosen  as  the  locality  of  the  next 

i  mission.  Upon  reaching  it  they  found  a  beautiful  stream, 
whose  waters  were  remarkably  clear  and  abundant  enough  to 
irrigate  the  fields  on  both  sides.  Following  this  and  carefully 
examining  the  neighborhood,  they  came  to  a  gently-rising  • 
hill,  which  overlooked  the  landscape  and  afforded  a  charming 
view  of  stream,  meadows,  hills  and  mountains.     Only  three 

!,  leagues  distant,  and  within  easy  access  by  a  hard,  smooth  and 
jlevel  road,  was  the  ocean.  Here  it  was  at  once  resolved  to 
found  the  new  mission.  Formal  possession  was  according])' 
taken  of  the  place  by  Junipero;  a  large  cross  hastily  put 
together,  elevated  and  worshiped,  and  mass  celebrated.  Five 
soldiers  and  two  Lower  California  Indians  were  detailed  to 
guard  the  missionary.     Thus  hastily,  on   September    i,  1772, 

I  was  founded  the  mission  of  San  Luis  Obispo  de  Tolosa. 
The  next  day,  Junipero  and  Images  having  resumed  their 
journey,  Father  Cavalier  and  his  soldiers  betook  themselves 
to  the  construction  of  buildings  and  soon  had  huts  and  a 
stockade  erected,  which  though  flimsy  still  for  the  time 
answered  all  their  purposes.  There  were  at  first  no  Indians 
in  the    immediate  neighborhood;    but  it  was  not  long  until 

1  those  of  the  regions  round  about  began  to  make  their  appear- 
ance, and  soon  their  visits  to  the  new-comers  became  frequent. 
They  were  very  friendly  and  among  other  things  very  profuse 
in  their  thanks  for  the  slaughter  recently  made  among  the 
bears.  These  fierce  animals,  they  said,  had  been  very  destruc- 
tive; and  not  a  few  of  the  Indians  showed  that  they  had  been 
lacerated  and  maimed  by  their  terrible  claws. 

It  was  at  this  mission  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  and  not  long\ 
after  its  foundation,  that  the  use  of  tiles  for  roofing  purposes 


348  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

was  first  adopted  in  California.     In  the  beginning  the  build- 
ings erected  for  churches,  as  well  as  those  erected  for  dwell- 
ings and  barracks,  were  mere  huts  thatched  with    straw  or 
reeds.     The  roof  of  the  mission  building  here  was  of  straw. 
This,  as  soon   as  the  warm  sun  thoroughly  dried  it,  became 
very  inflammable;  and,  as  it  happened,  it  was  thrice  set  on  . 
fire — the  first  time  by  the  burning  arrow  of  an  incendiary  1 
Indian  and  twice  afterwards  in  some  manner  unknown.     The 
loss  thus  occasioned  and  the  danger  of  still  further  damage   \ 
caused  the  missionaries  to  bethink  themselves  of  how  they 
could  produce  tiles;  and,  although  no  one  had  any  previous 
knowledge  of  the  art,  they  managed  in  a  short  time  to  man-  j 
ufacture  those  heavy,  rough,  half-cylindrical  plates  of  hard- / 
burnt  clay,  which  down  to  a  comparatively  recent  period  cov- 
ered all  the  mission  buildings  from  one  end  of  the  country  to 
the  other  and  are  to  be  found,  more  or  less  perfect,  scattered 
among  the  debris  of  all  those  that  have  fallen  into  ruins.1 

From  San  Luis  Obispo  Father  Junipero  and  Comandante 
Fages  hastened  on  southeastward.  As  they  passed  along  the 
Santa  Barbara  Channel  they  were  struck  with  the  great 
number  of  Indian  towns  they  found;  and  at  one  place,  which 
afterwards  became  the  sife  of  the  mission  of  San  Buenaven- 
tura, they  stopped  and  made  a  survey.  Thence  they  pro- 
ceeded to  the  mission  of  San  Gabriel,  where  Junipero  was 
delighted,  upon  this  his  first  visit  to  the  spot,  with  what  had 
been  done  and  with  the  bright  prospect  for  the  future  afforded 
as  well  by  the  magnificent  location  of  the  place  as  by  the 
great  numbers  and  apparent  tractability  of  the  surrounding 
native  population.  After  a  short  stay  at  San  Gabriel,  they 
again  got  under  way  and  on  September  16,  1772,  reached 
San  Diego.  Arrived  there,  Junipero  at  once,  without  even 
taking  time  to  rest,  made  his  way  to  the  ship  San  Antonio 
and  began  expostulating  with  Captain  Juan  Perez  about  his 
failure  to  reach  Monterey.  The  latter  urged  the  lateness  of 
the  season  and  the  frequency  and  violence  of  the  northern 
winter  winds;  but  Junipero  showed    him    how  impossible  it 

1  Palou,  Vida,  142,  143. 


SAN  LUIS  OBISPO.  349 

would  be  to  relieve  the  northern  missions,  except  by  his  sail- 
ing thither  with  his  cargo,  and  how  his  failure  to  do  so  would 
involve  their  speedy  abandonment.  At  the  same  time  he 
gently  hinted  that  in  such  case  Captain  Perez  would  incur  a 
fearful  responsibility.  From  these  reasons  passing  to  others, 
which  struck  him  as  still  more  forcible  and  which  to  such  a 
character  as  his  own  would  have  been  the  most  weighty  of  all, 
Junipero  set  forth  the  great  work  in  the  service  of  the  Lord 
that  had  been  initiated  in  those  northern  missions  and  assured 
his  hearer  that  God  would  certainly  not  suffer  harm  to  befall 
any  one  aiding  in  an  undertaking  so  void  of  selfish  considera- 
tions and  so  pious.  It  does  not  appear  which  of  these  argu- 
ments had  most  effect  upon  Captain  Perez;  but  it  is  certain 
that  he  changed  his  mind  and  immediately  prepared  to  resume 
his  voyage  for  Monterey.  Junipero  at  the  same  time  arranged 
an  overland  train  for  the  same  point;  and  a  few  days  after- 
wards he  had. the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  San  Antonio  sail 
and  the  train  march;  and  from  that  moment  he  felt  that  the 
threatened  destruction  of  his  northern  labors  was  averted 
and  a  great  weight  lifted  from  his  mind. 

While,  however,  the  immediate  wants  of  the  missions  were 
thus  provided  for,  there  were  other  matters  which  gave  Juni- 
pero great  uneasiness  and  eventually  obliged  him  to  under- 
take a  long  and  perilous  journey.  The  principal  of  these 
were:  first;  the  withdrawal  from  America  of  the  visitador- 
general  and  the  consequent  loss  of  a  great  coadjutor;  sec- 
ondly, a  change  in  the  administration  of  Mexico  and  the 
advent  of  a  new  viceroy  whose  policy,  it  seemed  likely,  would 
be  to  neglect  the  northwest  coast;  and  thirdly,  a  formal  de- 
mand preferred  by  the  order  of  Dominicans  to  be  admitted 
into  equal  participation  with  the  Franciscans  in  the  religious 
management  of  California — a  demand  which,  if  acceded  to 
by  the  government,  involved  the  probability  and  prospect  of 
introducing  endless  disagreements  and  distractions.  Previous 
to -the  recent  arrivals  Junipero  had  very  little  definite  infor- 
mation in  reference  to  any  of  these  subjects.  But  now,  upon 
hearing  more  particularly  the  state  of  affairs,  it  appeared  to 


350  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

him  that  there  was  serious  ground  of  apprehension  for  the 
continued  prosperity,  if  not  for  the  very  existence,  of  the 
entire  spiritual  conquest.  The  emergency  seemed  to  him  so 
great  that  he  called  to  his  aid  the  other  missionaries  then 
present  at  San  Diego,  of  whom  there  were  three,  and  seriously 
and  prayerfully  discussed  with  them  the  situation  and  what 
under  the  circumstances  was  best  to  be  done.  All  agreed 
that  some  one  must  at  once  proceed  as  the  representative  of 
the  Californian  missions  to  Mexico;  and  it  was  plain  to  the 
minds  of  his  companions  that  Junipero,  if  it  were  possible  for 
him  to  undergo  the  journey,  was  the  proper  person.  He 
himself  came  at  length  to  the  same  conclusion;  and,  as  soon 
as  he  did  so,  notwithstanding  his  advanced  age  and  increas- 
ing infirmities  and  the  risk  to  which  he  would  thereby  expose 
his  life,  he  immediately  prepared  himself  and  on  October  20 
set  sail  in  the  San  Carlos  for  San  Bias,  where  he  arrived  on 
November  4.1       / 

The  only  person  whom  Junipero  took  along  as  a  compan- 
ion was. an  Indian  boy  of  Monterey,  one  of  the  first  whom 
he  had  baptized  there  and  who,  though  nothing  more  than  a 
body-servant,  attracted  much  attention  in  Mexico  as  a  speci- 
men of  the  first  fruits  of  Alta  California.  With  this  lad  he 
proceeded  to  Tepic  and  thence  to  Guadalajara.  At  the  latter 
place  both  were  stricken  down  with  a  fever,  which  in  a  short 
time  assumed  so  malignant  a  type  that  they  were  given  up  to 
■  die.  Junipero,  in  view  of  expected  death,  hastily  made  what 
he  supposed  would  be  his  final  arrangements  in  this  world 
and  then  prepared  for  the  last  ceremonies  of  the  church.  As 
for  himself  he  seemed  to  have  no  concern,  but  he  was  greatly 
grieved  for  his  companion  and  especially  for  the  bad  effect 
his  death,  so  remote  from  his  relatives  and  friends,  might 
produce  upon  the  mission  at  Monterey.  In  a  few  days,  how- 
ever, the  dangerous  symptoms  of  the  disease  passed;  and 
before  long  both  were  able  to  continue  their  journey.  At 
Oueretaro  Junipero  had  a  relapse  or  repetition  of  the  previ- 
ous symptoms;  and  now  he  thought  surely  he  must  succumb. 
He  again  made  himself  ready  for  extreme  unction;  when  a 

1  Palou,  Vida,  143  147. 


SAN  LUIS  OBISPO.  351 

skillful  physician.^a  different  and  evidently  an  abler  one  than 
the  regular  attendant,  happening  to  be  present  asked  to  see 
the  dying  man.  Being  introduced  to  the  bed-side  and  tak- 
ing Junipero  by  the  pulse,  he  exclaimed,  "  And  is  this  the 
reverend  father  to  whom  the  last  sacrament  is  to  be  admin-  I 
istered  ?  It  might  as  well  be  administered  to  me.  He  is 
not  sick;  he  is  a  well  man  and  may  rise  whenever  he  will." 
And  so  upon  experiment  it  proved.  There  was  of  course 
much  wonder  at  what  seemed  to  be  so  sudden  a  recovery; 
but  the  explanation  undoubtedly  is  that  there  had  been  a 
mistake  about  the  reality  or  severity  of  the  sickness.  Be  this~A 
as  it  may,  Junipero,  instead  of  receiving  extreme  unction  and 
paying  the  debt  of  nature,  immediately  rose  from  his  bed 
and  in  a  few  days  afterwards  resumed  his  journey  to  the  city 
of  Mexico,  which  he  reached  on  February  6,  1773,  very  tired, 
very  much  reduced  and  very  weak  but  otherwise  sound  and 
in  good  spirits.1 

Upon  his  arrival  at  San  Bias,  and  more  fully  upon  his  ar- 
rival at  the  college  of  San  Fernando  in  the  city  of  Mexico, 
Junipero  learned  the  particulars  of  the  great  changes  that  had 
recently  taken  place  and  of  which  he  had  been  only  partially 
informed  previous  to  his  voyage.  It  now  appeared  that  the 
twenty  Franciscan  missionaries,  who  had  been  sent  to  Lower 
California  in  1 77  r ,  did  not  arrive  at  Loreto  until  it  was  too  late 
to  effect  anything  important.  It  had  been  intended  to  found 
five  new  missions  between  Vellicata  and  San  Diego;  but  by 
the  time  the  missionaries  arrived  there  were  no  soldiers  on 
hand  to  act  as  guards,  and  the  proposed  foundations  had 
therefore  to  be  given  up  and  the  friars  distributed  among  the 
old  missions.  About  the  same  time,  the  viceroyalty  of  Mex- 
ico had  passed  from  the  hands  of  the  Marques  de  Croix  to 
those  of  Antonio  Maria  Bucareli  y  Ursua;  and  the  visitador- 
general,  Jose  deGalvez,  had  been  recalled  to  be  promoted  to 
more  important  duties  in  Spain.  Both  De  Croix  and  Galvez 
had  been  deeply  and  sincerely  interested  in  the  progress  and 
prosperity  of  California  and  their  withdrawal  could  not  be 
otherwise  than  a  misfortune.     This  was  particularly  the  case 

1  Palou,  Vida,  147   151. 


352  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

in  respect  to  Galvez,  who  in  all  his  transactions  connected  with 
California  had  shown  himself  a  man  of  very  great  ability  and 
very  great  zeal.  In  the  long  line  of  distinguished  men  whose 
labors  have  helped  to  make  up  the  history  of  the  country,  he 
deserves  and  will  always  occupy  a  prominent  place. 

Junipero  further  learned  that  about  the  time  of  the  occur- 
rences just  mentioned  and  partly  on  account  of  them,  the 
order  of  Dominicans  of  Mexico  had  made  a  demand  to  share 
with  the  Franciscans  in  the  spiritual  conquest  of  California. 
These  two  orders,  the  former  of  which  was  usually  known 
among  English-speaking  people  as  Black  Friars  and  the  lat- 
ter as  Gray  Friars,  had  always  been  to  some  extent  rivals;  and 
it  was  doubtless  on  account  of  the  eclat  which  Junipero  had 
gained  by  his  labors  for  the  Franciscans,  that  the  Dominicans 
turned  their  attention  in  the  same  direction.  Whatever,  how- 
ever, might  have  been  the  moving  cause,  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment had  no  special  reason  to  be  partial;  and  it  therefore 
directed  that  the  Dominicans  should  be  allowed  to  take  part 
in  the  conquest.  Negotiations  had  thereupon  been  opened 
by  the  Dominicans  with  the  college  of  San  Fernando  for  the 
purpose  of  being  admitted  to  a  joint  possession  of  California. 
But  the  Franciscans,  being  actuated  with  a  wise  policy  and  a 
prudent  foresight,  declined  to  join  or  mix  the  rival  orders,  and 
offered  rather  to  give  up  all  their  claims  to  Lower  California, 
settled  and  regulated  though  it  was,  and  devote  themselves 
entirely  to  the  more  remote  wilderness  beyond.  The  Domin- 
icans did  not  hesitate  to  accept  the  proposition;  and  the  ar- 
rangement was  confirmed  by  royal  decree  on  April  30,  1772.1 

All  the  above  stated  facts  had  been  for  some  time  known 
in  Lower  California  and  dispatches  containing  the  same 
information  had  been  forwarded  to  Alta  California;  but  they 
had  not  reached  their  destination  at  the  time  Junipero  sailed 
from  San  Diego.  On  account  of  these  changes,  Palou,  the 
Franciscan  president  of  Lower  California,  had  already  made 
arrangements  to  deliver  over  that  province  to  the  Dominicans 
and  had  sent  some  of  the  supernumerary  missionaries  under 
his  jurisdiction  to  Alta  California,  while  others  had  returned 

1  Palou,  Vida,  117,  1 1 8. 


SAN  LUIS  OBISPO.  353 

to  Mexico.  But  these  were  matters  of  very  inconsiderable 
importance  in  comparison  with  another,  which  Junlpero  now 
found  himself  called  upon  to  meet.  This  was  the  proposed 
abandonment  -of  the  port  of  San  Bias,  which  was  seriously 
contemplated  by  the  new  viceregal  government  and  which,  if 
carried  into  effect,  would  have  rendered  future  communica- 
tion between  Mexico  and  Alta  California  impracticable  and 
doubtless  involved  the  destruction  of  all  that  had  been  done. 
Altogether,  affairs,  as  Junipero  gathered  up  the  various  strands 
and  threads,  presented  a  very  different  aspect  from  that  which 
they  had  previously  worn;  and  it  now  became  manifest  that, 
whatever  he  and  his  companions  at  San  Diego  may  have 
thought  of  the  propriety  of  his  journey  to  Mexico,  it  was  not 
only  by  far  the  best  thing  but  very  likely  it  was  the  only  thing 
that  could  have  been  done  to  save  the  country. 


23    Vol.  I, 


CH  APTE  R    V  I  I. 

BUCARELI. — -SAN    DIEGO     DESTROYED    AND    RESTORED. — SAN 
JUAN    CAPISTRANO. 

ANTONIO  MARIA  BUCARELI  Y  URSUA,  the  new 
viceroy  of  Mexico,  however  little  he  at  first  knew  about 
Alta  California  and  however  damaging  his  intended  policy  of 
abandoning  the  port  of  San  Bias  would  have  been  to  the  new 
settlements,  was  a  man  of  quick  perceptions,  of  sincerity  and 
honesty  of  purpose  and  of  great  energy;  and  he  proved,  as 
soon  as  informed  of  all  the  facts  and  circumstances,  to  be  one 
of  the  firmest  and  fastest  friends  that  the  country  ever  had. 
He  undoubtedly  understood  that  the  general  policy  of  the 
reigning  king  was  to  pre-occupy  all  the  northwest  coast  and 
thereby  exclude  other  nations  from  interference  with  it;  but 
he  did  not  at  first  know  how  this  policy  was  to  be  carried 
out  or  how  the  desired  objects  would  be  best  promoted.  In 
this  state  of  facts  nothing,  perhaps,  could  have  been  more 
fortunate  for  him  than  to  find  such  an  advocate  of  the  north- 
west as  Junipero;  and  nothing  on  the  other  hand  could  have 
been  more  fortunate  for  Junipero  and  the  northwest  than  to 
find  such  a  patron  as  Bucareli. 

Junipero  almost  immediately  upon  his  arrival  at  Mexico, 
having  first  received  the  blessing  of  his  titular  superior  the 
father  guardian  of  the  college  of  San  Fernando,  proceeded 
to  the  viceregal  palace.  Being  kindly  received  there  by 
Bucareli,  he  forthwith,  in  an  open,  straight-forward  and  con- 
fiding but  at  the  same  time  zealous  manner,  stated  the  objects 
of  his  visit  and  the  circumstances  under  which  he  had  been 
induced  to  make  it.  Upon  such  a  subject  and  in  such  an  audi- 
(354) 


BUCARELI.  355 

ence  Junipero  could  not  be  otherwise  than  eloquent;  and  Buca- 
reli  was  so  favorably  impressed  with  the  man  and  so  forcibly- 
struck  with  his  arguments  that  he  answered  that  he  would  do 
everything  he  consistently  could  for  the  benefit  of  the  con- 
quest represented  by  him.  He  thereupon  suggested  to  Juni- 
pero to  put  in  writing  the  main  points  of  what  he  considered 
necessary  to  be  done,  both  with  regard  to  the  temporal  and 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  Alta  California.  Junipero  replied 
that  he  would  do  so,  but  that  there  were  two  subjects  which 
required  immediate  attention:  one  was  the  supply  of  the 
missions  that  had  received  nothing  from  Mexico  for  many 
months,  and  the  other  was  the  preservation  of  the  port  of  San 
Bias  as  the  only  one  whence  it_was  practicable  to  succor  the 
northwest  coast.  Bucareli  rejoined  that  so  far  as  concerned 
the  relief  of  the  missions,  supplies  should  at  once  be  for- 
warded; and  that,  so  far  as  concerned  San  Bias,  if  Junipero 
would  note  down  his  reasons  for  the  continuance  of  a  port  at 
that  place,  they  should  receive  immediate  and  serious  consid- 
eration. Junipero  thereupon  retired  for  the  purpose  of  draw- 
ing up  his  statement  in  reference  to  San  Bias;  and  Bucareli 
proceeded  to  send  off  orders  for  the  immediate  preparation, 
lading  and  dispatch  for  Monterey  of  the  San  Carlos,  which 
still  lay  at  the  port  of  San  Bias.  These  orders  being  promptly 
obeyed,  the  vessei  was  soon  on  the  way.  It  was  now  under 
the  command  of  Juan  Perez,  the  same  who  had  passed  so 
many  times  in  the  San  Antonio  forwards  and  backwards  from 
port  to  port.  But  unfortunately  Perez  was  not,  upon  this 
voyage,  as  lucky  as  usual.  Soon  after  spreading  his  sails  he 
met  with  bad  weather.  Instead  of  getting  out  to  sea  and 
doubling  Cape  San  Lucas,  he  was  driven  up  the  gulf  and 
compelled  to  unload  at  Loreto.  From  that  point  there  was 
no  means  of  conveyance,  or  none  in  any  respect  practicable, 
to  the  remote  missions  in  the  northwest;  so  that,  although 
sufficient  effort  was  made  and  duly  appreciated  for  its  relief, 
Alta  California  in  fact  received  no  succor;  and  for  upwards  of 
eight  months  its  missionaries  and  soldiers  were  reduced  to 
very  great  straits.1 

1  Palou,  Vida,  p.  153. 


356  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

As  soon  as  Junipero  had  prepared  his  statement  in  refer- 
ence to  San  Bias,  setting  forth  the  reasons  why  the  port  and 
governmental  department  connected  therewith  should  not  be 
abandoned,  he  handed  it  to  Bucareli,  who  was  so  much 
pleased  that  he  forwarded  it  to  Madrid.  The  result  mani- 
fested itself  afterwards  in  a  royal  order  not  only  for  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  port  but  also  for  the  establishment  of  the 
department  on  a  much  more  complete  and  solid  basis  than 
ever  before.  New  officers  were  named  and  provision  made 
for  their  support  and  the  support  of  the  department.  And 
that  there  might  be  no  question  as  to  what  the  government 
intended,  an  important  part  of  the  new  arrangement  was  that 
it  should  be  carried  into  effect  as  soon  as  possible,  which  was 
accordingly  done.  In  all  these  respects  Junipero  could  not 
have  succeeded  better  or  gained  more  entirely  the  object  for 
which  he  strove, 

In  his  other  and   more  extensive  statement,  Junipero  set 
forth,  under  thirty-two    separate    heads,  the  main  points  of 
■  what  he  considered  necessary  to  secure  the  safety  and  pros- 
perity of  Alta  California.     He  entered  minutely  into  the  sub- 
ject and  produced  a  document  which  exhibited  a  remarkable 
degree  of  ability  as  a  man  of  business.  '  Bucareli  was  so  much 
edified  that  he  was  completely  won  to  the  cause;  and,  to  use 
the  words  of  Palou,  he  at  once  became  its  advocate  and  patron 
..as  well  as  its  judge.     He  called  together  his  council  and  pre- 
•sented  to  it  the  different   propositions,  one  after  the  other; 
and,  when  the  vote  came  to  be  taken,  he  and  all  with  0reat 
unanimity  were  in  favor  of  the  conquest  and  conceded  almost 
everything  that  Junipero  asked. 

One  of  the  matters  of  most  immediate  concern  was  the  set- 
tlement of  the  relations  between  the  missionaries  and  the  mil- 
itary authorities  Under  ordinary  circumstances,  in  the  occu- 
pation and  settlement  of  a  new  country  inhabited  by  savages, 
it  might  have  been  expected  that  the  military  department 
would  be  recognized  as  the  dominant  power;  and  to  some 
extent  at  least  its  claim  to  general  control  had  been  made 
and  acted  on  by  Pedro  Fages,  the  comandante  of  Monterey. 


BUCARELI.  357 

But  Junipero  insisted  that  the  conquest  of  California  was  a 
spiritual  one  and  that  the  military  should  be  subordinate 
to  the  missionary  authority.  There  had  already  been  several 
petty  disputes  arising  out  of  this  conflict  of  claims,  sufficient 
to  show  that  Fages  was  not  disposed  to  be  as  compliant  and 
submissive  as  the  missionaries  desired;  and  among  the  very 
first  of  Junipero's  demands  therefore  was  that  Fages  should 
be  removed.  To  give  color  to  the  demand  it  was  charged 
that  his  government  was  harsh,  immoral  and  calculated  to 
cause  desertions,  and  that  in  many  ways  he  had  interfered 
with  and  thwarted  the  progress  of  the  conquest.  Whether 
there  was  any  truth  in  the  charges  or  not,  it  was  certain  that 
the  proper  kind  of  harmony  did  not  exist;  and  it  was  there- 
fore resolved  that  Fages  should  be  superseded. 

It  was  also  in  the  same  connection  resolved  that  if  any 
missionary  should  charge  any  soldier  at  a  mission  with  bad 
conduct  and  demand  his  removal,  the  new  comandante  to 
be  appointed,  should  at  once,  and  without  inquiring  into  the 
charge,  remove  him  to  the  presidio.  Another  resolution  was 
that  the  missionaries  should  have  the  government,  manage- 
ment, punishment  and  education  of  the  Indians,  baptized  or 
to  be  baptized,  and  exercise  the  same  power  of  control- over 
them  that  a  father  has  a  right  to  exercise  over  his  children. 
In  addition  to  these  resolutions,  it  was  provided  that  property 
and  letters  intended  for  the  missionaries  should  be  kept  and 
forwa-  1  ,d  separately  from  those  of  the  military  department; 
and  special  instructions  were  to  be  given  that  the  comandante 
should  not  open,  meddle  with  or  delay  the  correspondence  ' 
of  the  missionaries,  that  their  letters  should  be  free  and  that 
whenever  a  mail  or  courier  was  about  to  be  dispatched  ample 
notice  should  be  given  to  them  beforehand. 

Another  important  series  of  orders,  asked  for  by  Junipero 
and  conceded  by  Bucareli  and  his  council,  was  that,  for  cul- 
tivating mission  lands  and  securing  harvests,  young  men 
qualified  to  conduct  and  teach  farming  might  be  enlisted  in 
the  neighborhood  of  San  Bias  and  distributed  among  the 
missions,    as    many  as    six    to    each  one;    that    they  should 


358  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

receive  salaries  and  rations  like  sailors;  that  they  should  not 
be  removed  or  interfered  with  by  the  comandante,  and  that 
they  should  be  allowed  to  remain  after  the  first  year  if  satis- 
fied, otherwise  to  return  at  their  option  to  San  Bias.  Two 
blacksmiths  with  forges  and  the  necessary  iron  were  also  to 
be  provided  and  two  carpenters,  one  of  each  for  Monterey 
and  neighborhood  and  the  other  for  San  Diego  and  neighbor- 
hood. It  was  likewise  provided  that  some  of  the  neophyte 
families  of  Lower  California,  if  willing  to  go,  might  be  dis- 
tributed among  the  new  missions  for  the  purpose  of  assisting 
in  labor  and  affording  an  example  of  Christian  conduct  to 
the  gentiles.  Ornaments  and  vestments,  wanting  at  several 
of  the  missions,  were  to  be  supplied,  and  also  two  bells  as 
directed  by  the  king  for  such  missions  as  were  not  as  yet 
provided.  It  was  likewise  resolved  that  supplies  furnished  at 
San  Bias  should  be  properly  inspected,  measured  and  packed 
and  a  stop  put  to  dishonest  and  fraudulent  practices,  which 
had  become  too  frequent  there;  and  that  a  full  set  of  sealed 
measures  should  be  furnished  to  each  of  the  missions.  The 
cattle  intended  for  the  new  establishments  were  to  be  placed 
under  the  charge  of  the  missionaries,  so  that  they  might  be 
well  cared  for  and  their  milk  utilized  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  new  Christians.  A  surgeon  was  also  to  be  provided  in 
the  place  of  Pedro  Prat,  who  had  died. 

The  matter  of  the  military  establishment,  which  under  the 
circumstances  was  one  of  difficulty,  was  referred  by  Bucareli 
and  the  council  to  Juan  Jose  Echeveste,  who  had  been  an 
officer  in  the  department  at  San  Bias  and  was  familiar  with 
the  subject,  for  the  purpose  of  formulating  a  reglamento  or 
system  fitted  to  the  surroundings.  Echeveste  presented  his 
plan  and  it  was  adopted.  It  provided  for  a  comandante, 
subordinate  to  the  governor  of  the  Californias,  a  sergeant, 
two  corporals,  twenty-two  soldiers,  two  carpenters,  two  black- 
smiths, four  muleteers  and  a  storekeeper  at  Monterey;  two 
sergeants,  two  corporals,  twenty-two  soldiers,  two  carpenters, 
two  blacksmiths  and  a  storekeeper  at  San  Diego,  and  five 
corporals    and    twenty-five    soldiers  for    the  five  missions  of 


BUCARELI.  359 

Alta  California.  It  further  provided  for  a  governor  of  the 
Californias,  who,  it  was  understood,  was  to  reside  at  Loreto. 
and  a  lieutenant,  sergeant,  three  corporals,  thirty  soldiers 
and  a  commissary  in  Lower  California;  also  for  the  proper 
officers  and  support  of  the  commissary  department,  ship-yard 
and  arsenal  at  San  Bias,  and  for  the  officers,  crews  and  cur- 
rent expenses  of  three  vessels.  The  estimated  annual  cost  of 
the  establishment  for  Alta  California  was  $38,385 ;  for  Lower 
California  $16,450;  for  the  San  Bias  department  $29,646,  and 
for  the  fleet  $34,037;  or  in  all  $118,518.  The  saleries  of  all 
the  Californian  officers  and  employees,  however,  except  the 
governor  and  commissaries,  were  to  be  paid  in  goods,  which 
were  to  be  furnished  in  Alta  California  at  an  advance  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  per  centum  on  the  original  cost  and  in 
Lower  California  at  an  advance  of  one  hundred  per  centum. 
As  articles  that  cost  a  certain  price  at  San  Bias  were  fur- 
nished at  double  that  price  at  Loreto  and  two  and  a  hulf 
times  that  price  at  Monterey,  the  amount  of  money  actually 
required  was  only  about  one-half  the  nominal  sum.  To 
meet  this,  there  was  an  annual  sum  of  $33,000,  which  the 
king  in  1772  when  providing  for  all  the  presidios  of  the 
northern  frontier  had  ordered  to  be  paid  out  of  the  royal 
treasury  at  Guadalajara  for  the  support  of  California;  and 
the  remainder  was  to  be  made  up  partly  from  the  receipts  of 
certain  salt-works  in  the  neighborhood  of  San  Bias,  which 
had  been  assigned  to  California  and  were  supposed  to  amount 
to  some  $25,000  annually,  partly  from  the  produce  of  the 
pious  fund,  which  after  paying  the  salaries  of  missionaries 
was  expected  to  yield,  some  $10,000  annually,  and  the  bal- 
ance from  the  royal  treasury. 

In  addition  to  the  resolutions  and  reglamento,  which  Juni- 
pero  had  thus  managed  to  procure  and  which  were  to  consti- 
tute for  a  time  at  least  the  code  of  the  new  province,  he 
succeeded  in  having  the  salaries  of  the  missionaries  increased 
from  three  hundred  and  fifty  to  four  hundred  dollars,  so  that 
each  mission  was  to  receive  eight  hundred  instead  of  seven 
hundred  dollars  per  annum;    and  he  also  succeeded  in   pro- 


360  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

curing  from  the  viceroy  a  large  contribution  of  clothing, 
provisions  and  other  supplies  amounting  in  value  to  over 
twelve  thousand  dollars  and  a  hundred  mules  to  be  distrib- 
uted among  the  missions.1 

The  matter  of  next  importance  that  engaged  the  attention 
of  Bucareli  was  the  communication  between  Alta  California 
and  Mexico.  Junipero  had  asked  in  his  statement  or  memo- 
rial that  Juan  Bautista  de  Anza,  captain  of  the  presidio  of 
Tubac  on  the  northern  frontier  of  Sonora,  might  be  aiithor- 
rized  to  open  as  he  had  offered  to  do  a  road  from  there  to 
Monterey.  Upon  looking  into  the  subject,  Bucareli  con- 
curred. It  became  apparent  to  him  that  the  passage  by  sea, 
with  such  vessels  as  were  then  used,  was  more  or  less  uncer- 
tain. If  one  of  them  should  be  delayed,  even  for  a  short  time, 
there  would  be  trouble;  and,  if  lost,  the  consequences  might 
be  serious.  Such  being  the  case,  it  appeared  very  plain  that 
a  road,  if  at  all  practicable,  ought  to  be  opened  forthwith 
between  the  new  province  and  Sonora;  so  that,  in  case  of  a 
disaster  at  sea,  relief  might  be  furnished  overland.  Nothing 
further  was  required.  Bucareli  at  once  sent  word  to  Anza  to 
open  the  proposed  road;  and  Anza,  who  appears  to  have 
been  as  active  and  prompt  a  captain  as  Bucareli  was  a  vice- 
roy, as  soon  as  he  could  do  so,  collected  the  necessary  soldiers 
and  supplies  and  started  off  northwestward  through  the  sands 
and  deserts  upon  his  appointed  expedition. 

There  was  apparently  little  or  nothing  more  that  could 
have  been  done  for  California.  But  the  zeal  and  warmth  of 
Tunipero  had  so  fired  the  kindred  spirit  of  Bucareli  as  to 
inspire  him  with  a  desire  to  go  beyond  all  that  had  been  sug- 
gested and  accomplish  results  that  should  be  glorious.  He 
conceived  that  this  might  be  done  by  making  voyages  of  dis- 
covery and  exploration  into  the  far  northwest  and  extending 
the  dominion  of  the  Spanish  arms  and  the  faith  of  the  Span- 
ish church  into  all  the  immense  and  as  yet  comparatively 
unknown  regions  beyond  Mendocino.  He  mentioned  his 
thought  to  Junipero  and  at  the  same  time  stated  that,  if  he 

1  l'alou,  Noticias,  III,  36-147;  Vida,  153-155. 


BUCARELI.  361 

had  a  vessel,  he  would  send  it  off  immediately  upon  a  prelim- 
inary survey  to  ascertain  the  condition  of  those  regions  and 
where  a  settlement  could  best  be  planted  to  secure  them. 
Junipero  answered  that  the  vessel  which  was  shortly  to  sail 
for  Monterey  would  be  at  the  service  of  his  excellency  for 
the  proposed  survey  as  soon  as  its  cargo  should  be  unloaded; 
and  that,  if  he  so  desired,  he  might  put  it  in  commission  for 
service  beyond  Monterey  at  once.  Bucareli,  without  hesita- 
tion, gave  the  necessary  orders  to  that  effect  and  thus  ini- 
tiated a  new  series  of  Spanish  voyages  of  discovery,  some 
of  which  in  their  spirit  and  heroic  effort  resemble  those  of 
Cabrillo  and  Viscaino.  Arrangements  for  the  first  of.  these 
voyages  and  for  shipping  to  the  missions  having  been  com- 
pleted, Junipero  prepared  for  his  return  to  California.  Upon 
taking  leave  of  his  brethren  of  the  college  of  San  Fernando, 
he  embraced  and  kissed  the  feet  of  all;  begged  that  they 
would  pardon  the  example  his  short-comings  had  given  them, 
and  asked  their  prayers  and  benediction,  as  they  should  see 
him  no  more.  He  then,  in  company  with  Father  Pablo  Mu- 
gartegui,  set  off  for  San  Bias. 

There  were  at  that  time  at  San  Bias  two  ships,  one  the 
San  Antonio  and  the  other  a  smaller  vessel,  just  built  there, 
called  the  Santiago.  The  first  was  laden  and  sailed  with 
supplies  for  San  Diego.  The  second  was  laden  and  sailed 
with  supplies  for  Monterey  on  January  24,  1774,  having  on 
board  Junipero  and  Mugartegui,  also  a  commissary  or  store- 
keeper for  Monterey,  a  surgeon  with  his  family,  three  black- 
smiths with  their  families  and  three  carpenters.  It  was  the 
intention  of  this  vessel  upon  leaving  San  Bias  to  proceed 
directly  to  its  destination,  without  stopping  on  the  way;  but, 
instead  of  doing  so,  it  ran  in  to  San  Diego,  where  it  arrived 
on  March  13.  At  that  place  Junipero,  learning  that  there 
had  been  much  suffering  on  account  of  want  of  supplies, 
resolved  instead  of  prosecuting  the  remainder  of  his  journey 
by  sea  to  proceed  overland,  so  as  to  visit  the  missions  of  San 
Gabriel,  San  Luis  Obispo  and  San  Antonio;  and,  as  he  did 
so,  he  relieved  their  necessities  and  rejoiced  over  the  stead- 


362  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

fastness  they  had  shown  and  the  progress  they  had  made 
during  his  absence.  He  aJso_had_lhe.sa-tisfaction-of  meeting 
Juan  Bautista  de  Anza,  the  captain  of  the  presidio  of  Tubac, 
who  was  then  on  his  way  back  from  Monterey,  having^apened 
a  road  in  accordance  with  the  directions  given  him  by  Buca- 
reli  from  Sonora  to  that  place. 

Anza,  according  to  Palou,  had  inherited  the  zeal  which  he 
exhibited  for  this  service.  His  father,  who  had  likewise  been 
a  captain  of  a  frontier  presidio  of  Sonora,  had  for  many  years 
taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  old  project,  originally  conceived 
by  Kino,  of  opening  a  communication  between  Sonora  and, 
California  around  the  head  of  the  gulf.  During  his  lifetime 
however,  nothing  important  towards  the  accomplishment  of 
that  object  had  been  done.  After  the  father's  death,  the  son 
manifested  equal  and  even  greater  enthusiasm  for  the  project. 
In  1769,  when  the  expeditions  by  land  and  sea  for  San  Diego 
and  Monterey  were  preparing  in  Lower  California,  he  offered 
to  conduct  a  separate  expedition  to  the  same  places  from 
Sonora.  The  yisitador-general,  however,  did  not  see  proper 
to  accept  his  proposition.  In  1773,  after  San  Diego  and 
Monterey  had  both  been  occupied,  he  renewed  his  offer;  and 
Bucareli,  feeling  as  he  did  upon  the  subject  and  having  first 
consulted  Father  Junipero  and  also  obtained  authority  from 
the  king  to  pay  the  expense  out  of  the  royal  treasury,  ordered 
the  expedition.  Anza  at  once  prepared  to  set  out;  but  just 
as  he  was  about  starting,  the  Apaches  stole  his  horses  and 
killed  some  of  his  men.  This  delayed  him  for  a  time.  But,  as 
it  happened,  the  delay  was  not  altogether  unfortunate.  While 
he  was  engaged  in  supplying  his  losses,  a  Lower  Californian 
Indian,  called  Sebastian  Tarabal,  a  native  of  Santa  .Gertrudis 
who  had  been  in  Alta  California,  was  brought  to  him.  This 
man  had  been  one  of  the  Indians  who  accompanied  the  first 
expedition  to  San  Diego  and  had  afterwards  gone  back  to 
and  returned  from  Lower  California.  He  had  been  employed 
at  San  Gabriel  but  in  August,  1773,  deserted  together  with  his 
wife  and  a  Lower  Californian  companion.  Upon  flying  from 
San  Gabriel  they  had,  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  capture, 


BUCARELI.  363 

gone  out  into  the  desert,  where  his  wife  and  countryman  died. 
He  himself  managed  to  survive  and  finally  reached  the  Colo- 
rado river  and  was  thence  taken  to  Anza  at  Altar,  who  received 
him  as  a  sort  of  providentially-sent  guide  for  the  journey  he 
was  about  to  undertake. 

•  Anza  got  under  way  from  Altar  on  January  8,  1774.  He 
was  accompanied  by  Fathers  Francisco  Garces  and  Juan 
Diaz,  Franciscan  missionaries  of  the  college  of  Santa  Cruz  de 
Queretaro,  twenty  soldiers  and  the  guide  Sebastian,  and  had 
a  large  train  of  horses  and  cattle.  According  to  his  estimate, 
it  was  ninety  leagues  from  Altar  to  the  junction  of  the  Col- 
orado and  Gila  rivers;  and  it  took  him  a  month  to  reach  it. 
There  he  found  the  banks  of  the  rivers  thickly  populated  with 
Indians,  who  seemed  comparatively  civilized.  They  pos- 
sessed many  horses,  which  they  had  obtained  from  Sonora, 
and  cultivated  plentiful  harvests  of  maize,  wheat,  beans,  pump- 
kins and  melons.  They  manifested  so  friendly  a  disposition 
that  Anza  resolved  to  leave  there  some  of  the  cattle  and 
some  of  the  worn-out  beasts  of  burden  and  a  few  soldiers  to 
keep  charge  of  them  until  his  return.  Then,  crossing  the 
rivers,  he  with  the  main  body  of  his  men  and  animals  struck 
out  into  the  sands  of  the  desert,  led  by  Sebastian.  They 
wandered  about  for  some  time,  suffered  much  from  thirst  and 
made  very  slow  progress,  but  finally  reached  the  greener  lands 
of  the  west  where  there  were  water  and  pasture;  and  on 
March  22  they  arrived  at  the  mission  of  San  Gabriel.  All 
were  in  good  health;  but  their  stock  of  provisions  was  ex- 
hausted; and,  as  they  happened  to  arrive  when  there  were  no 
supplies  at  San  Gabriel,  they  were  compelled  to  wait  until 
succor  came  from  San  Diego  before  their  necessities  could  be 
properly  supplied. 

At  San  Gabriel,  Anza  waited  until  April  10  with  the  ex- 
pectation of  meeting  Father  Juni'pero,  who  was  then  daily 
looked  for.  But  Juni'pero  was  detained  at  San  Diego.  Under 
the  circumstances,  Anza.  with  a  portion  of  his  company  con- 
tinued his  journey  to  Monterey,  remained  there  three  days, 
and  on  his  way  back  met  and  conferred  with  Juni'pero,  as 


364  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

before  stated.  He  then  hurried  on  to  San  Gabriel  and,  with- 
out loss  of  time,  started  off  on  his  return  to  Sonora.  Fages 
sent  along  six  of  the  Monterey  soldiers  for  the  purpose  of 
learning  the  route  as  far  as  the  Colorado  river.  Upon  arriv- 
ing at  that  place  it  was  found  that  the  Indians  of  the  neigh- 
borhood, who  had  before  appeared  so  friendly,  were  treacher- 
ous and  had  made  several  attempts  to  steal  the  animals  left 
there  in  charge  of  a  guard  the  previous  February.  They  also 
attacked,  though  without  success,  the  Monterey  soldiers  as 
they  were  setting  out  on  their  return.  Anza  meanwhile  con- 
tinued on  to  Altar  and  from  that  place  proceeded  to  Mexico 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  an  account  of  his  expedition  to  the 
viceroy.1 

In  the  meanwhile,  and  during  Jum'pero's  absence  in  Mexico, 
the  Lower  California  missions  had  been  turned  over  to  the 
Dominicans.  Eighteen  missionaries  of  that  order  had  arrived 
at  Loreto  on  May  12,  1773;  and  almost  immediately  the  for- 
malities of  delivery  had  taken  place.  Of  the  Franciscans,  who 
had  by  this  change  been  released  from  service  there,  some 
had  returned  to  Mexico;  but  eight  had  been  chosen  to  assist 
in  the  spiritual  conquest  of  Alta  California.  These  were 
Fathers  Francisco  Palou,  who  had  been  president  of  the  mis- 
sions since  1769,  Fermin  Francisco  de  Lasuen,  Jose  Murguia, 
Juan  Prestamero,  Gregorio  Amurrio,  Vicente  Fuster,  Miguel 
de  la  Campa  Cos  and  Pedro  Benito  Cambon.  Palou  and  De 
la  Campa  Cos  had  been  at  Loreto  at  the  time  of  the  arrival 
of  the  Dominicans  and  the  latter  was  left  there  temporarily, 
with  the  title  of  president,  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the 
Franciscans  and  settle  disputes.  Palou,  on  his  part,  started 
for  Alta  California  and  on  the  road,  passing  by  the  missions 
of  Mulege,  Guadalupe,  San  Ignacio,  Santa  Gertrudis  and 
Borja,  was  joined  by  Murguia,  Prestamero,  Amurrio  and 
Lasuen.  He  was  also  joined  by  Sergeant  Jose  Francisco  de 
Ortega  and  a  company  of  soldiers,  who  had  been  detailed  by 
Governor  Fages  to  escort  him  and  his  companions  to  their 
destination. 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  III,  154-160. 


BUCARELI.  365 

The  party  on  July  13  reached  San  Fernando  de  Vellicata, 
where  they  found  Fathers  Fuster  and  Cambon.  The  last 
was  left  there  to  look  after  matters  of  importance  and  inter- 
est, much  as  De  la  Campa  Cos  had  been  left  at  Lorcto;  and 
the  other  six  resumed  their  journey  on  July  21.  They  were 
accompanied  by  Ortega  with  fourteen  soldiers  and  six  fami- 
lies of  Indians,  three  from  Santa  Gertrudis  and  three  from 
Borja.  At  the  end  of  about  two  weeks  they  met  Fathers 
Antonio  Paterna  of  San  Gabriel  and  Tomas  de  la  Perto  Sar- 
avia  of  San  Diego,  who  had  been  notified  of  their  approach 
and  had  come  out  to  assist  them  along.  On  August  19  they 
reached  the  Arroyo  de  San  Juan  Bautista,  about  fifteen 
leagues  south  of  San  Diego,  which  had  been  fixed  on  as  the 
dividing  line  between  the  Dominicans  and  Franciscans,  or 
between  what  began  to  be  known  as  Antigua  or  Old  and 
Nueva  or  New  California,  afterwards  more  generally  desig- 
nated as  Baja  or  Lower  and  Alta  or  Upper  California.  There 
they  erected  a  great  cross  of  alderwood,  with  the  inscription: 
"  Division  de  las  Misiones  de  Nuestro  Padre  Santo  Domingo 
y  de  Nuestro  Padre  San  Francisco:  Ano  de  1773 — Division 
between  the  missions  of  our  Father  St.  Dominic  and  of  our 
Father  St.  Francis:  year  1773."  As  the  cross  was  raised,  they 
worshiped  and  with  extraordinary  joy  chanted  the  Te  Deum 
Laudamus,  thankful  for  thus  safely  reaching  the  land  of  their 
destination  and  future  labors.  On  July  30  they  arrived  at  San 
Diego.  There  Palou  found  that  he  had  been  appointed  to 
act  as  president  of  thjs  new  missions  during  the  absence  of 
Jum'pero.  In  this  capacity  he  immediately  began  gathering 
statistics  for  a  report  on  the  condition  of  affairs  and  making 
a  new  distribution  of  missionaries  to  the  different  establish- 
ments. On  September  26  he  left  San  Diego;  and,  after  mak- 
ing a  few  stoppages  at  missions  along  the  road,  he  reached 
Monterey  on  November  14.  At  San  Luis  Obispo  he  left  the 
Lower  California!!  Indian  families  and  was  joined  by  Gov- 
ernor Fages,  who  had  come  to  meet  him.  A  league  out  from 
Monterey  he  was  met  by  Father  Crespi.  As  he  passed  over 
from  Monterey  to  San  Carlos,  all  the  populace  turned  out; 


366  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

there  was  great  rejoicing,  and  not  the  least  happy  was  Palou 
himself,  who  thus  at  length  found  himself  in  the  spot  to  which 
his  thoughts  for  years  had  been  directed  and  where  he  hoped 
and  expected  to  labor  the  remainder  of  his  life.1 

On  May  n,  1774,  five  months  after  Palou's  arrival  at  Mon- 
terey, Juni'pero  returned  from  Mexico.  He  had  been  absent 
nearly  two  years.  He  had  labored  hard  and  accomplished 
much  for  California;  had,  by  the  influence  he  had  been  able 
to  exert  with  Bucareli,  rendered  it  possible  for  the  spiritual 
conquest  to  go  on  without  any  great  risk  of  failure ;  and  he 
now  returned,  according  to  his  language  to  his  brethren  at  San 
Fernando  in  Mexico,  to  leave  California  no  more  forever.  His 
arrival  was  of  course  the  occasion  of  celebration  and  thanks- 
giving, and  particularly  so  as  there  had  been,  for  upwards  of 
a  month  before,  much  suffering  for  want  of  provisions.  Palou 
wrote  that  he  had  lived  thirty-seven  days  without  a  tortilla 
or  morsel  of  bread  and  subsisted  only  on  a  few  ground  peas 
or  beans  mixed  with  milk  and  a  little  coffee  in  the  mornings 
instead  of  chocolate,  while  the  Indians  had  been  obliged  to  seek 
the  beach  at  Monterey  and  eke  out  an  existence  by  what  they 
could  pick  up.  But  this  state  of  destitution  had  already  been 
relieved  by  the  Santiago,  which  had  sailed  into  port  two  days 
previously;  and  in  a  short  time  everything  was  in  its  normal 
state  again. 

The  captain  of  the  Santiago,  as  has  been  stated,  was  Juan 
Perez,  the  same  who  had  previously  commanded  the  San 
Antonio.  He  had  been  directed  by  Bucareli,  after  unloading 
his  Monterey  cargo,  to  proceed  into  the  northwestern  seas  and 
survey  the  coast  to  as  high  a  latitude  as  he  could  conveniently 
reach  before  the  bad  weather  could  be  expected  to  set  in.  He 
immediately  prepared  himself  for  this  service;  and  Juni'pero, 
in  compliance  with  a  request  of  the  viceroy  that  missionaries 
should  be  sent  along,  named  Fathers  Juan  Crespi  and  Tomas 
de  la  Pena  Saravia  to  accompany  the  expedition.  Pere« 
sailed  from  Monterey  on  June  11,  1774,  and  returned  on 
August  27.      He  sailed  as  far  north  as  latitude  550  and  dis- 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  I,  240-270. 


BUCARELI.  367 

covered  the  large  island  now  known  as  Queen  Charlotte,  which 
he  called  Santa  Margarita.  Sailing  southeasterly  from  that 
point,  he  surveyed  the  coast  and  found  many  roadsteads;  and 
the  whole  country  seemed  populous.  At  one  point,  which 
appears  to  have  been  that  now  known  as  Nootka  Sound  on 
the  west  coast  of  Vancouver  Island,  he  attempted  to  land  and 
erect  a  cross;  but  sudden  winds  came  on  which  put  him  in 
so  much  danger  that  he  ran  out  as  soon  as  possible  and  made 
no  second  attempt.  He  had,  however,  some  intercourse  with 
the  Indians,  numbers  of  whom  came  out  in  immense  wooden 
canoes  and  bartered  various  articles  of  their  handiwork, 
especially  wooden  ware  beautifully  carved,  hair  blankets  and 
mats  and  hats  made  of  bark,  for  pieces  of  iron.  These  Indians 
were  friendly,  of  manly  forms,  and  most  of  them  clothed 
with  skins  or  blankets.  The  women  were  decently  covered 
and  of  good  appearance,  except  that  every  one  including 
even  the  girls  had  her  lower  lip  slit  and  a  disk  of  wood  so 
inserted  that  by  a  simple  movement  of  the  lip  she  could 
cover  and  conceal  her  mouth  and  nostrils.1 

Upon  receiving  an  account  of  what  had  thus  been  accom- 
plished, Bucareli,  apparently  dissatisfied  with  the  result,  gave 
immediate  orders  for  a  second  expedition.  This  was  to  ad- 
vance further;  and,  if  a  port  should  be  found,  it  was  directed 
that  immediate  possession  should  be  taken  of  it.  For  this 
expedition  he  appointed  two  vessels:  the  Santiago,  which  had 
returned  to  San  Bias,  and  a  schooner  called  the  Sonora.'  He 
named  Bruno  de  Heceta  as  commander  of  the  ship  and  Juan 
Francisco  dc  la  Bodega  y  Quadra  as  commander  of  the 
schooner.  The  college  of  San  Fernando  at  Mexico,  at  the 
viceroy's  suggestion,  appointed  Fathers  Miguel  de  la  Campa 
Cos  and  Benito  Sierra  to  accompany  them.  These  vessels 
sailed  from  San  Bias  about  the  middle  of  March,  1775.  After 
being  driven  about  for  some  time  by  contrary  winds,  they 
reached  the  latitude  of  41  °  north  and  then  ran  in  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring  water.  They  there  found  a  tolerably 
good   port    and    on    June   11,    1775,  took  formal   possession; 

1  Crespi's  journal  of  this  voyage  is  given  in  Palou,  Noticias,  III,  164-224. 


368  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

celebrated  the  mass;  set  up  a  cross;  sang  the  Te  Deum,  and 
gave  it  the  name  of  Santisima  Trinidad.  Sailing  thence  they 
ran  up  to  about  latitude  47?-  north  and  anchored  in  a  spa- 
cious and  beautiful  roadstead;  and  the  next  day,  July  14, 
Heceta  and  one  of  the  fathers  landed  and  planted  a  cross  on 
the  beach,  but  were  prevented  from  going  through  the  usual 
ceremonies  of  taking  possession  by  the  violence  of  the  surf. 
Sailing  on  towards  the  north,  the  vessels  on  July  30  separated 
and  did  not  come  together  again  until  they  met  at  Monterey. 
The  Santiago  proceeded  northward  as  far  as  49}4Q  and  then 
turning  around  ran  down  to  Monterey,  which  it  reached  on 
August  29  with  almost  all  its  crew  down  with  scurvy. 
Heceta  afterwards  claimed  that  on  August  17,  upon  his 
return  voyage,  he  had  discovered  the  mouth  of  a  great  river 
to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Rio  de  San  Roque,  and  that  it 
was  in  fact  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  But  it  is  plain  that 
he  did  nothing  more  at  best  than  notice  that  there  were  strong 
currents  and  the  likelihood  of  a  great  river  or  important  pas- 
sage. It  is  certain  he  did  not  enter  the  opening;  nor  is  he 
under  the  circumstances  entitled  to  any  credit  as  the  discov- 
erer of  the  river.1 

Bodega  y  Quadra,  on  his  part,  continued  in  the  schooner 
Sonora  to  pursue  the  objects  of  the  expedition;  and,  running 
up  as  far  as  latitude  580  north,  he  discovered  the  spacious  and 
excellent  port  of  Sitka,  called  by  him  Puerto  de  Nuestra 
Senora  de  los  Remedios,  where  he  landed,  erected  a  cross 
and  took  formal  possession.  From  that  point,  upon  getting 
to  sea  again,  the  winds  drove  him  southward  to  about  the 
latitude  of  550,  where  he  discovered  a  large  strait  entering 
inland.  He  was  unable  on  account  of  the  advance  of  the 
season  to  examine  it  fully;  but  from  what  he  could  see  he 
made  up  his  mind  that,  if  any  passage  from  the  Pacific  to 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  existed,  that  was  it.  He  therefore  in 
honor  of  the  viceroy  named  it  Paso  de  Bucareli  or  Bucareli's 
Passage,  and  sailed  on.  Proceeding  thence  southward,  he  on 
October  3  discovered  and  ran  into  a  bay,  about  four  leagues 

1  See  Greenhow,  120,  430-433. 


BUCARELI.  369 

north  of  Point  Reyes,  which  then  received  and  still  bears  the 
name  of  Bodega.  After  a  short  stay  at  that  place  and  run- 
ning some  danger  of  losing  his  vessel,  he  again  gained  the 
open  sea  and  on  October  7  reached  Monterey.  Eight  days 
afterwards  Bodega  y  Quadra  and  every  one  of  his  crew  went 
over  to  the  mission  of  San  Carlos  at  the  river  Carmcl,  where 
joining  in  confession  and  mass  they  returned  thanks  for  the 
happy  outcome  of  their  voyage.  .-*■ 

Father  Junipero  in  the  meanwhile,  after  his  return  from 
Mexico  in  May,  1774,  had  devoted  himself  energetically  to 
his  apostolic  duties.  The  then  recent  supplies  having  fur- 
nished him  with  provisions  and  clothing  in  abundance,  he 
soon  managed  to  collect  a  great  number  of  natives;  and  bap- 
tisms were  frequent.  But  what  he  could  thus  effect  by  no 
means  sufficed  to  satisfy  his  ardent  zeal.  He  had  not  founded 
a  new  mission  for  several  years.  The  new  regulations  pro- 
vided that  there  should  be  no  other  establishments  started 
until  such  time  as  the  government  could  furnish  the  neces- 
sary soldiers;  but  there  was  a  saving  clause  in  favor  of  one  or 
two,  if  it  should  be  found  that  soldiers  could  be  spared  from 
the  presidios  and  missions  already  established.  Acting  upon 
this  proviso  and  actuated  by  his  irrepressible  spirit,  Junipero 
soon  determined  to  found  a  new  mission,  to  be  called  San 
Juan  Capistrano,  at  a  point  on  the  coast  about  twenty-six 
leagues  north  of  San  Diego.  He  accordingly  treated  with 
Fernando  de  Rivera  y  Moncada,  who  had  just  superseded 
Pedro  Fages  in  the  office  of  comandante,  and,  arranging  with 
him  for  eight  soldiers  to  be  chosen  from  Monterey  and  San 
Diego,  assigned  Fathers  Fermin  Francisco  de  Lasuen  and 
Gregorio  Amurrio  and  sent  them  off  to  commence  the  new 
establishment.  These  fathers  with  the  Monterey  soldiers 
proceeded  to  San  Gabriel,  where  Amurrio  stopped  for  the 
time  being;  while  Lasuen  went  on  to  San  Diego  and,  procur- 
ing the  San  Diego  soldiers,  returned  with  them  to  the  site  of 
the  proposed  new  mission.  There  on  October  30,  1775,  a 
grand  cross  was  erected  and  the  first  mass  celebrated.  A 
few  days  afterwards  Amurrio  arrived  from   San  Gabriel  and 

24    Vol.  2. 


370  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

everything  seemed  to  be  going  on  prosperously,  when  a  cour- 
ier arrived  from  San  Diego  with  the  melancholy  intelligence 
of  the  murder  of  Father  Luis  Jayme  of  that  place  and  the 
burning  of  the  mission.  This  at  once  broke  up  the  new 
establishment;  and  the  fathers,  as  well  as  the  soldiers,  pro- 
ceeded without  delay  to  San  Diego,  where  they  found  the 
sad  intelligence  but  too  true.1 

Luis  Jayme  was  a  countryman  of  Jum'pero  and  with  Father 
Vicente  Fuster  had  charge  of  the  mission  of  San  Diego. 
That  mission  had  been  removed  in  1774  from  the  original 
site  on  the  north  of  the  bay  opposite  the  anchorage  and  near 
the  presidio  to  a  cultivable  spot  in  the  valley  of  the  San 
Diego  river  about  two  leagues  distant.  There  were  at  the 
time  a  number  of  neophytes,  two  of  whom,  however,  had 
apostatized.  These,  leaving  the  mission,  had  gone  into  the 
neighboring  hills  and  mountains  and  incited  the  wild  tribes 
to  attack  the  establishment  and  if  possible  destroy  it.  On 
the  night  of  November  4,  1775,  the  Indians  to  the  number  of 
eight  hundred  proceeded  to  the  mission  and  immediately 
commenced  an  assault.  The  only  soldiers  then  there  were  a 
corporal  and  three  privates.  Beside  these  there  were  the  two 
missionaries,  a  blacksmith  named  Romero,  two  carpenters  and 
two  little  boys,  son  and  nephew  of  Jose  Francisco  de  Ortega, 
the  commander  of  the  presidio,  who  had  gone  off  to  San 
Juan  Capistrano.  In  a  short  time  after  the  attack  com- 
menced Father  Luis  Jayme,  seeing  a  large  body  of  Indians, 
approached  them  with  the  customary  salutation,  "  Amad  a 
Dios,  hijos — Love  God,  children;"  but  instead  of  answering 
they  seized  him;  carried  him  some  distance;  tore  off  his  robes, 
and  beat  him  to  death  with  their  clubs.  At  the  same  time 
other  Indians  guarded  the  houses  of  the  neophytes  so  that 
they  could  not  assist  the  Spaniards;  others  attacked  the 
house  where  the  blacksmith  and  carpenters  were;  and  still 
others  the  house  where  Father  Fuster,  the  soldiers  and  the 
boys  defended  themselves.  The  blacksmith  sallied  forth, 
sword   in   hand,  against   the  assailants;   but  was  soon  struck 

1  Palou,  Vida,  173-176. 


SA  N  DIE  GO  DESTRO  YED.  37 1 

down  by  the  arrows  of  the  Indians.  One  of  the  carpenters 
was  fatally  wounded  as  he  lay  sick;  and  the  other,  seizing  a 
musket,  fought  his  way  to  the  house  of  the  soldiers.  There 
the  battle  raged  with  greatest  fury;  for  while  the  soldiers  on 
the  one  hand  fought  with  fire-arms  the  Indians  on  the  other, 
besides  discharging  clouds  of  arrows,  set  fire  to  the  thatched 
roofs  which  immediately  flamed  up  with  an  immense  blaze. 
It  fortunately  happened,  however,  that  there  was  a  small 
house  near  by,  constructed  of  adobes  and  with  a  fe»w  sticks  or 
boughs  only  by  way  of  roof.  To  this  thJ  Spaniards  removed 
with  their  arms  and  munitions.  The<P,  the  only  danger  to 
be  anticipated  from  the  flames  was  the  ignition  of  the  gun- 
powder. But  this  was  effectually  guarded  against  by  Father 
Fuster,  who  spread  over  it  the  ample  folds  of  his  sacerdotal 
robe.  The  Indians,  finding  they  could  not  with  all  their 
efforts  dislodge  the  Spaniards,  attempted  to  overwhelm  them 
with  burning  brands  and  pieces  of  adobes  thrown  in  upon 
them  and  in  this  way  continued  the  fight  until  morning; 
when  finally,  picking  up  their  dead  and  wounded,  they 
marched  off  and  left  the  little  handful  of  Spaniards  in  pos- 
session of  their  defenses.  They  seemed  convinced  that  the 
Spaniards  were  invincible  and  made  no  attempt  to  renew  the 
attack. 

As  soon  as  the  enemy  thus  retired,  the  neophytes  came  up. 
They  said  that  the  enemy  had  threatened  them  with  death 
if  they  left  their  houses,  and  had  thus  prevented  them  from 
coming  sooner.  Father  Fuster  immediately  sent  one  of  them 
to  carry  notice  of  what  had  taken  place  to  the  presidio  and 
directed  the  others  to  search  for  Father  Jayme,  of  whose  fate 
he  was  still  ignorant.  They  soon  returned  with  Jayme's 
body,  which  they  had  found  in  the  bed  of  the  creek  not  far 
off.  It  was  entirely  stripped  of  clothing,  covered  with  blood, 
and  beaten  and  bruised  and  pierced  with  arrows  from  head 
to  foot.  Father  Fuster  wrote  that  only  the  consecrated  hands 
remained  untouched.  It  was  also  said  of  the  carpenter,  Urse- 
lino,  that  when  he  received  his  fatal  wound  he  exclaimed, 
"Ah,  Indian,  thou  hast  killed  me — God  pardon  thee;  "  and  it 


372  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

was  added  that  he  continued  in  the  same  forgiving  and  Chris- 
tian spirit  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  five  days  afterwards. 
Nor  was  this  all.  Desiring  to  return  good  for  evil  and  even 
after  his  death  benefit  those  who  had  murdered  him,  he  made 
a  will  and  left  all  his  property,  which  was  not  inconsiderable, 
to  the  Indians  of  the  mission;  thus  exhibiting,  according  to 
Palou,  a  heroism  well  worthy  a  true  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ.1 
As  soon  as  possible,  after  the  finding  of  Jayme's  dead  body, 
it  as  well  as  that  of  Romero  the  blacksmith  and  the  wounded 
Urselino  were  placed  upon  litters  and,  with  the  help  of  the 
neophytes,  removed  to  the  presidio.  The  corporal  and  three 
soldiers  were  also  more  or  less  wounded  but  not  seriously. 
Father  Fuster  had  not  entirely  escaped;  but  his  injuries  were 
not  enough  to  prevent  him  following  the  melancholy  proces- 
sion on  foot.  At  the  presidio,  arrangements  were  made  for 
the  burial  of  the  dead  and  care  of  the  wounded;  and  then  a 
messenger  was  dispatched  to  carry  the  sad  tidings  northward. 
It  was  the  arrival  of  this  messenger  and  his  startling  news 
that  interrupted  the  foundation  of  the  mission  of  San  Juan 
Capistrano,  as  already  related.  Thence  the  messenger  pro- 
ceeded further  northward  and  at  length  reached  Monterey. 
Father  Junipero  upon  being  informed  of  what  had  taken 
place,  regarding  Jay  me  as  a  martyr  and  his  death  to  be 
envied,  exclaimed,  "Thanks  be  to  God,  the  soil  is  at  length 
watered:  now,  surely,  will  follow  the  reduction  of  the  Diegui- 
nos."  He  then  directed  the  proper  religious  honors  and  cer- 
emonies of  respect  to  be  paid  to  the  memory  of  the  murdered 
missionary  and  made  arrangements  to  proceed  as  soon  as 
possible  in  person  to  the  scene  of  the  disturbances.  Coman- 
dante  Rivera  y  Moncada,  on  his  part,  almost  immediately 
marched  with  all  the  soldiers  that  could  be  spared  and  on 
January  3,  1776,  reached  San  Gabriel.  There  on  the  suc- 
ceeding day  he  met  Juan  Bautista  de  Anza  at  the  head  of  a 
considerable  number  of  soldiers  and  settlers,  whom  he  had 
just  brought  up,  on  this  his  second  expedition  from  Sonora 
to  California.     The  new-comers  were  on  their  way,  under  the 

1  Palou,  Vida,  176-184;  Noticias,  IV,  118-127. 


SA  iV  DIE  G O  DESTR O  YED.  373 

instructions  of  Bucareli,  to  found  a  settlement  at  San  Fran- 
cisco; but,  on  account  of  the  disaster  at  San  Diego,  Anza  first 
accompanied  Rivera  y  Moncada  to  that  place  and  detached  a 
portion  of  his  soldiers  to  remain  there  until  the  southern 
country  should  be  entirely  pacified.  Anza  then  with  the 
remainder  of  his  people  marched  to  Monterey. 

In  the  work  of  pacification  at  San  Diego  there  was  a  very 
decided  difference  of  opinion  and  quarrel  between  Rivera  y 
Moncada  and  the  missionaries.  It  was  found  that  some  of 
the  neophytes  had  been  concerned  in  the  recent  outbreak  and 
had  participated  in  the  murders.  The  missionaries  were  for 
pardoning,  the  comandante  for  punishing  them.  It  was  per- 
fectly well  understood  that  in  cases  of  capital  crimes  the  mil- 
itary department  had  jurisdiction.  But  there  was  an  old  idea, 
originating  far  back  in  history,  that  the  church  was  a  place  of 
sanctuary  and  that  a  criminal,  who  could  throw  himself  under 
the  protection  of  the  altar,  was  safe  so  long  as  he  remained 
there.  It  would  be  sacrilege  to  drag  him  forth,  even  for  the 
purposes  of  justice.  •  Not  long  after  Rivera  y  Moncada's 
arrival  and  while  he  was  investigating  and  taking  proofs  in 
reference  to  the  murder  of  Father  Jayme,  it  so  happened  that 
one  of  the  neophytes  who  had  taken  part  in  it  returned,  pre- 
tended penitence  and  had  been  allowed  by  the  missionaries, 
Fathers  Fuster,  Lasuen  and  Amurrio,  to  take  refuge  in  the 
warehouse,  then  temporarily  used  for  a  church,  as  a  place  of 
sanctuary.  The  comandante  demanded  the  culprit;  but  the 
missionaries  refused  to  give  him  up.  The  comandante  in- 
sisted that  the  Indian,  on  account  of  the  peculiar  heinousness 
of  his  crime,  was  not  entitled  to  sanctuary;  that  under  any 
circumstances  the  warehouse  was  not  a  church  and  could  not 
be  claimed  as  a  sanctuary,  and  that,  if  the  criminal  were  not 
given  up,  he  would  feel  himself  obliged  to  take  him  by  force. 
To  this  the  missionaries  replied  that,  if  he  did,  they  would 
excommunicate  him.  But  notwithstanding  the  threat,  the 
comandante  went  with  a  troop  of  soldiers;  surrounded  the 
place;  entered  with  his  staff  in  one  hand  and  a  lighted  can- 
dle in  the  other,  having  his  sword  by  his  side;  dragged  the 


374  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

Indian  forth;  handed  him  over  to  his  attendants,  and  ordered 
him  to  be  removed  to  the  guard-house  and  fettered.  The 
missionaries  from  the  door  of  their  quarters  witnessed  the 
comandante's  proceedings,  which  they  regarded  as  scandalous 
and  sacrilegious;  and  Father  Fuster,  as  the  guardian  of  the 
mission,  then  and  there  launched  at  him  and  those  who 
assisted  him  the  anathema  of  excommunication. 

At  first,  it  seems,  the  curse  was  not  regarded  as  very  seri- 
ous. But  the  next  day  the  missionaries  sent  word  that,  if 
the  Indian  were  not  returned,  they  would  publish  the  excom- 
munication. To  this  the  comandante  made  no  reply.  Two 
days  afterwards,  at  the  feast  of  Nuestra  Seilora  de  los  Dolores, 
when  the  missionaries  were  about  to  celebrate  mass,  Father 
Lasuen  addressed  the  assembled  people;  spoke  of  what  had 
occurred;  stated  that  those  who  had  been  excommunicated 
could  not  assist  in  or  be  present  at  the  ceremonies,  and 
demanded  that  they  should  depart:  otherwise  the  celebration 
could  not  go  on.  This  was,  perhaps,  as  mild  a  manner  as  could 
have  been  adopted  of  saying,  "  Hence,  ye  accursed  !  "  Such 
was  regarded  as  the  meaning  and  at  the  same  time  it  was 
understood  that  it  was  the  church  as  the  heir  and  representa- 
tive of  the  kingdom  of  God  that  said  it;  and  the  comandante 
and  his  men  felt  constrained  to  withdraw.  Rivera  y  Moncada 
himself  may  have  cast  a  contemptuous  smile  at  the  cowls; 
but  there  were  others  who  were  frightened.  The  time  had 
not  yet  come,  as  it  afterwards  came  even  in  Catholic  Califor- 
nia, when  an  excommunication  could  be  laughed  at.  On  the 
contrary,  the  comandante  soon  found  it  expedient  to  seek  for 
absolution;  and,  leaving  San  Diego,  he  proceeded  to  Monte- 
rey to  apply  to  Jum'pero  for  that  purpose.  But  Junipero 
took  the  part  of  Fuster  and  his  brethren  and  answered  that 
the  only  way  to  obtain  absolution  was  to  comply  with  the 
demands  of  the  church  and  deliver  up  the  prisoner..  Both 
parties  thereupon  appealed  to  the  superior  authorities  at 
Mexico;  but  there  the  complication  was  only  regarded  as  a 
source  of  regret ;  and,  as  Rivera  y  Moncada  was  soon  after- 


SAN  DIEGO  RESTORED.  375 

wards  transferred  to  the  command  of  Loreto  in   Lower  Cali- 
fornia, the  matter  was  allowed  to  drop  ' 

Junipero  meanwhile  was  straining  every  nerve  to  reach  the 
scene  of  disturbance  and  start  the  rebuilding-  of  the  ruined 
mission.  It  had  been  difficult  enough  for  him  to  resist  his 
passion  for  founding  new  establishments;  but  to  lose  one 
already  founded  was  intolerable.  He  seems  to  have  had  no 
rest  or  peace  of  mind  until  he  could  see  the  new  walls  rising 
out  of  the  ashes.  But  there  were  various  circumstances  that 
detained  him  at  Monterey,  among  others  the  arrival  of  Anza 
and  his  immigrants  from  Sonora;  and  it  was  not  until  the  end 
of  June  that  he  finally  got  off.  Shortly  before  this  time  the 
ships  San  Carlos  and  San  Antonio  had  arrived  at  Monterey 
and  the  latter,  after  discharging  a  portion  of  its  cargo,  turned 
around  and  carried  the  remainder  to  San  Diego.  Junipero 
took  advantage  of  the  opportunity  and  embarked  in  the  ves- 
sel on  June  30,  1776,  carrying  with  him  Father  Vicente  Santa 
Maria  to  supply  the  place  of  the  deceased  Luis  Jayme. 
Upon  reaching  San  Diego  Junipero  found  everything  com- 
paratively quiet  and  at  once  addressed  himself  to  the  work  of 
re-establishing  the  mission.  For  this  purpose  he  applied  to 
the  commander  of  the  San  Antonio  for  the  loan  of  his  sailors 
as  workmen.  Juan  Perez,  the  old  captain  whose  name  had 
been  so  long  connected  with  the  vessel,  had  after  being  trans- 
ferred to  the  Santiago  died  on  a  voyage  from  Monterey  to 
San  Bias;2  and  his  place  on  the  San  Antonio  was  now  filled 
by  Diego  Choquet.  The  new  commander  not  only  will- 
ingly acceded  to  Juni'pero's  request,  but  offered  himself 
to  aid  in  the  work  and  at  the  same  time  made  a  personal 
application  to  Rivera  y  Moncada,  who  had  returned  to  San 
Diego  in  May,  for  an  escort  of  soldiers  from  the  presidio. 
These  being  supplied,  Junipero  started  for  the  site  of  the 
mission  on  August  22.  Besides  himself  there  were  two  mis- 
sionaries, Captain  Choquet,  his  mate,  a  pilot  and  twenty  sail- 
ors, a  corporal  and   five  soldiers  and  a  number  of  neophytes. 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  IV,  146-158. 

2  Palou,  Vida,  166. 


37 G  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

Arrived  at  the  spot  they  all  went  to  work;  some  quarrying 
stone;  others  laying  foundations,  and  others  making  adobes. 
They  labored  with  so  much  energy  that  in  a  few  weeks  the 
work  would  have  been  completed;  when  very  unexpectedly 
Rivera  y  Moncado,  having  been  informed  and  believing  or 
pretending  to  believe  that  the  Indians  meditated  new  treach- 
ery and  that  another  outbreak  was  imminent,  called  off  his 
soldiers.  Their  withdrawal  induced  Choquet  and  his  sailors 
to  stop  in  the  midst  of  their  labors  and  in  the  end  occasioned 
the  abandonment  for  the  time  being  of  the  uncompleted  walls. 
The  new  structures,  that  were  being  thus  erected,  were  a 
very  great  improvement  on  the  old  mission  buildings;  and 
Jum'pero  felt  almost  as  much  disappointed  to  see  them  stop 
as  if  they  had  been  again  destroyed.  But  his  disappointment 
did  not  last  long.  In  a  few  weeks  dispatches  arrived  from 
the  viceroy,  which  gladdened  his  heart.  In  answer  to  the 
representations  that  had  been  sent  in  reference  to  the  out- 
break at  San  Diego  and  the  quarrels  that  had  arisen  in  conse- 
quence of  it,  Bucareli  ordered  all  the  Indians  implicated  to  be 
pardoned.  He  also  gave  notice  that  he  had  ordered  twenty- 
five  additional  soldiers  to  be  recruited  and  sent  to  California 
for  the  purpose  of  reinforcing  the  presidio  of  San  Diego  and 
especially  of  re-establishing  the  mission  there  and  that  of  San 
Juan  Capistrano,  which  had  been  suspended  when  the  troubles 
at  San  Diego  commenced.  Upon  the  receipt  of  this  news, 
Jum'pero  was  so  overjoyed  that  he  set  the  bells  ringing  and 
the  next  day  testified  his  gratitude  by  a  thanksgiving  mass. 
On  the  other  hand  Rivera  y  Moncada  found  himself  obliged 
not  only  to  countermand  orders  he  had  given  for  sending  the 
San  Diego  Indian  criminals  to  San  Bias  but  to  release  them 
and  also  to  forward,  instead  of  delaying,  the  re-establishment 
of  the  missions.  The  twenty-five  soldiers  referred  to  had 
been  recruited  under  the  viceroy's  directions  at  Guadalajara 
by  Pedro  Fages,  who  on  his  supersession  as  comandante  of 
California  by  Rivera  y  Moncada  had  returned  to  Mexico. 
The'y  marched  from  Guadalajara  to  San  Bias;  thence  shipped 
to  Loreto,  and  from  there  proceeded  overland  to  San  Diego 


SAN  JUAN  CAPISTRANO.  377 

where  they  arrived  on  September  29,  the  day  after  the  dis- 
patches and  at  the  very  time  that  Junipero  was  pouring  out 
the  fervor  of  his  soul  in  thanksgivings. 

Rivera  y  Moncada,  upon  receiving  the  new  orders  of  the 
viceroy,  and  the  new  soldiers  having  arrived  as  before  stated, 
immediately  detached  twelve  of  them  as  a  guard  and  for  the 
rebuilding  of  the  mission  of  San  Diego;  named  ten  for  the 
refoundation  of  San  Juan  Capistrano,  and  sent  two  to  San 
Gabriel.  At  the  same  time,  the  new  turn  affairs  had  taken 
reminded  him  of  the  missions  of  San  Francisco  and  Santa 
Clara;  and  he  deemed  it  advisable  to  exhibit  more  alacrity  in 
their  favor  than  he  had  heretofore  rhanifested.  Accordingly, 
on  October  1 1,  he  left  San  Diego  for  Monterey  with  the  inten- 
tion of  proceeding  thence  to  San  Francisco  and  founding  the 
two  new  missions.  At  San  Luis  Obispo  he  learned  that  the 
mission  of  San  Francisco  had  already  been  founded  with- 
out his  presence;  but  instead  of  finding  fault,  as  might  have 
been  expected,  matters  had  so  changed  with  him  under  the 
recent  dispatches  from  the  viceroy,  that  he  expressed  perfect 
satisfaction.  He  said  he  would  proceed  to  the  foundation  of 
the  mission  of  Santa  Clara  and  accordingly  kept  on  his  way 
to  Monterey  and  thence  northward,  taking  Father  Tomas  de 
la  Pefla  Saravia  along  with  him  to  give  a  start  to  the  new 
establishment. 

In  the  meanwhile  Junipero  at  San  Diego  proceeded  with 
all  the  soldiers  and  neophytes  to  the  unfinished  walls  of  the 
mission  which  he  had  been  compelled  to  leave,  and  soon  had 
them  completed  and  the  missionaries  designed  for  them 
installed  in  their  duties.  He  then,  with  the  missionaries  and 
soldiers  appointed  for  San  Juan  Capistrano,  proceeded  to  the 
site  of  that  mission,  the  foundation  of  which  had  been  inter- 
rupted. They  found  the  great  cross,  that  had  been  erected 
the  year  before,  still  standing.  They  then  dug  up  the  bells 
that  had  been  buried  and,  swinging  them  aloft,  rang  out  their 
glad  tidings  to  the  gentiles.  A  booth  was  built,  an  altar 
erected,  and  mass  performed  on  November  1,  1776,  which  was 
thenceforth  recognized  as  the  foundation  day  of  the  mission, 


378  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

though  a  start  had  been  made  in  October  1775.  Father 
Lasuen,  who  had  been  present  on  the  previous  occasion,  had 
remained  at  San  Diego;  but  his  place  was  filled  by  Father 
Mugartegui. 

While  the  work  of  building  houses  at  San  Juan  Capis- 
trano  was  going  on,  Juni'pero  made  a  trip  to  San  Gabriel 
for  the  purpose  of  procuring  provisions  and  bringing  down  to 
the  new  mission  a  number  of  cattle.  He  was,  however,  so 
unwilling  to  interrupt  the  progress  of  the  labor  that  he  took 
with  him  the  very  inadequate  guard  of  a  single  soldier.  On 
his  return  with  the  cattle,  being  accompanied  only  by  the 
soldier  and  a  San  Gabriel  Indian,  he  ran  very  great  danger 
of  being  robbed  and  murdered.  About  half  way  between 
the  two  missions,  a  large  body  of  gentile  Indians  painted  and 
armed  threw  themselves  in  his  way  and  manifested  a  deter- 
mination to  kill  the  missionary  and  his  guard  and  run  off  the 
cattle.  But  the  faithful  San  Gabriel  Indian,  bethinking  him- 
self of  a  strategem,  cried  out  to  the  gentiles  that  they  should 
beware,  as  there  was  a  large  body  of  soldiers  coming  up  not 
far  behind.  This  changed  the  tactics  of  the  gentiles;  and 
they  not  only  allowed  Juni'pero  and  the  cattle  to  pass  un- 
harmed, but  accepted  presents  and  became  friends. 

The  site  of  the  mission  of  San  Juan  Capistrano  is  delight- 
fully situated  on  elevated  ground  overlooking  the  ocean.  In 
front  of  it  lies  a  roadstead,  protected  from  winds  on  the  north 
by  a  high  promontory.  On  the  other  side  runs  a  stream  of 
fresh  water  which  empties  into  the  ocean  and  forms  a  sort  of 
creek,  where  vessels  can  take  in  and  discharge  cargo.  From 
the  first  the  site  was  seen  to  be  one  of  the  pleasantest  on  the 
coast  and  the  climate  charming  all  the  year  round.  There 
were  sufficient  rains  in  the  proper  season;  and  these  with  the 
moisture  furnished  by  the  stream  enabled  abundant  crops  of 
wheat,  corn  and  beans  to  be  raised  without  difficult}7.  In  a 
short  time  after  starting  their  establishment,  the  missionaries 
raised  enough  not  only  to  support  themselves  and  the  soldiers 
and  neophytes  but  also  to  exchange  for  all  the  clothing  they 
required.     The  neighboring  grounds  also  afforded  pasture  for 


SAN  JUA  N  CA  PIS  TRA NO.  379 

numerous  herds  and  flocks,  which  on  account  of  the  excel- 
lence and  abundance  of  their  food  increased  rapidly.  But 
one  of  the  most  notable  productions  of  the  place  were  the 
wild  vines,  which  in  some  spots  seemed  almost  to  cover  the 
country.  These  suggested  to  the  Spaniards  the  planting  of 
some  of  the  grape  stocks,  brought  from  Lower  California, 
which  had  originally  been  introduced  from  Spain.  They  suc- 
ceeded beyond  expectation  and  in  a  short  time  produced  wine 
in  plenty.  Besides  grapes,  other  Castilian  fruits  were  planted 
and  throve,  among  which  were  pomegranates,  peaches,  nec- 
tarines and  quinces.  The  Indians  on  their  part  were  more 
tractable  than  the  Californian  tribes  in  general;  and  the  work 
of  conversion  and  baptism  went  on  rapidly  The  new  mis- 
sion became  one  of  the  most  successful  in  the  country.1 

Juni'pero,  having  thus  re-established  the  mission  of  San 
Diego  and  founded  that  of  San  Juan  Capistrano,  turned  his 
attention  to  the  north  again.  Since  his  departure  from  Mon- 
terey in  June  he  had  learned  nothing  of  what  was  going  on 
there.  It  had  been  intended  that  the  new  missions  of  San 
Francisco  and  Santa  Clara  should  be  founded;  and  not  only 
were  Anza's  immigrant  settlers  present  but  Juni'pero  had 
already  named  the  missionaries  for  the  new  establishments. 
Still  of  what  had  been  done,  whether  anything  in  fact,  whether 
a  single  stake  had  been  driven  or  a  single  stone  laid,  he  was 
altogether  ignorant.  It  would  doubtless  have  been  a  great 
satisfaction  to  him  to  be  personally  present  at  the  new  founda- 
tions; and  on  his  return  northward,  as  he  started  off  by  the 
way  of  San  Gabriel,  San  Luis  Obispo  and  San  Antonio,  he 
consoled  himself  with  the  thought  that,  if  the  new  missions 
were  not  already  established,  he  should  yet  have  a  hand  in 
founding  them.  But,  as  it  turned  out,  this  was  not  to  be.  He 
did  not  reach  Monterey  till  January,  1777,  and  by  that  time 
the  new  establishments  were  already  under  way.  The  Span- 
ish standard  already  floated  over  the  Golden  Gate  and  the 
Spanish  cross,  at  two  different  places,  overlooked  the  waters 
of  San  Francisco  bay. 

1  Palou,  Vida,  198,  199. 


CH  APTE  R    VIII. 

DISCOVERY   AND    SETTLEMENT   OF   SAN    FRANCISCO. 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  which  has  since  proved  the  most 
important  point  upon  the  Pacific  coast,  was  discovered 
late.  Cabrillo  in  1542  approached  it  very  nearly  from  the 
south,  and  Drake  in  1579  from  the  north;  but  neither  saw  it 
or  had  any  idea  of  its  existence.  Viscaino  in  1603  passed  by 
and  anchored  in  its  neighborhood,  but  he  likewise  had  no 
conception  of  the  magnificent  bay,  locked  in  among  the 
mountains,  upon  whose  bosom  have  since  floated  the  ships  of 
every  nation.  All  that  was  known  was  the  expanse  of  water 
lying  between  Point  Reyes  on  the  north,  the  Farallones 
Islands  on  the  west,  and  the  main  coast  line  on  the  cast; 
and  this,  from  very  early  times,  had  been  known  as  the  port 
of  San  Francisco;  but  no  white  man  had  ever  seen  or  at 
least  penetrated  the  narrow  entrance  flanked  with  precipi- 
tous rocks  which  forms  the  Golden  Gate,  or  gazed  upon  the 
smooth  and  deep  waters,  extending  northeastwardly  and 
southwestwardly  almost  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  which 
form  the  arms  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  bay. 

The  first  mention  made  of  the  port  of  San  Francisco  seems 
to  have  been  in  connection  with  the  loss  of  the  ship  San 
Agustin  in  the  year  I595:  and  the  turning  aside  of  Viscaino 
in  search  of  its  wreck  in  1603.  It  is  very  likely,  as  was  stated 
in  relating  the  voyage  of  the  San  Agustin,  that  if  that  ves- 
sel was  lost  on  the  coast  of  California  at  all  it  was  nearer 
the  Santa  Barbara  Channel  than  San  Francisco;  but,  be  this 
as  it  may,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Viscaino  never  entered 
what  is  now  known  as  San  Francisco  bay.  The  port  of  those 
(380) 


DISCO  VER  Y  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO.  381 

days  and  for  upwards  of  a  century  and  a  half  afterwards  was 
the  outside  bay  above  mentioned;  and  the  only  safe  place 
of  anchorage  in  it  was  at  its  northern  extremity  under  Point 
Reyes.  It  was  there  that  Drake  had  found  a  refuge  from  the 
northern  winds  and  careened  his  ship.1  It  was  there  also,  as 
near  as  can  now  be  ascertained,  that  Viscaino  anchored  in 
1603,  when  he  looked  for  the  wreck  of  the  San  Agustin. 
That  it  was  this  that  in  those  days  was  known  as  San  Fran- 
cisco port  is  rendered  certain  by  the  description  of  Jose  Gon- 
zalez Cabrera  Bueno,  a  Philippine  pilot  of  great  skill  and 
knowledge,  who  in  1734  at  Maniia  published  a  book  on  navi- 
gation, in  which  he  gave  an  account  of  the  Californian  coast.2 
When  speaking  of  the  port  of  San  Francisco,  and  he  evi- 
dently spoke  of  it  as  if  it  were  well  known,  he  said  that  it 
lay  in  the  latitude  of  thirty-eight  and  a  half  degrees,  having 
Point  Reyes  on  the  north  and  the  Farallones  Islands  on  the 
south-southwest.3 

As  a  matter  of  fact  San  Francisco,  or  what  is  now  known  as 
San  Francisco  including  the  port  and  bay,  was  absolutely 
unknown  to  Europeans  until  1769.  It  was  discovered  not 
by  navigators  but  by  the  land  party,  which  in  the  year  named 
marched  from  San   Diego  in  search  of  Monterey  and,  failing 

1  It  has  been  stated  by  various  writers  that  Drake  anchored  in  San  Francisco 
bay.  They  seem  to  have  b  en  misled  by  the  fact  that  the  place  where  he 
anchored,  and  which  was  under  Point  Reyes,  was  known  by  the  name  of  the 
"port  of  San  Francisco,"  as  stated  in  the  text.  One  writer,  however,  goes 
further  and  maintains  that  Drake  could  not  have  refitted  his  vessel  under  I'oint 
Reyes.  See  "  Seeking  the  Golden  Fleece,"  by  J.  D.  B  Stillman;  San  Francisco, 
1877;  pp.  285-3:6. 

2  The  book  was  entitled,  "  Navegacion  especulativa  y  priictica,  con  la  esplica- 
cion  de  algunos  instrumentos,  tabla  de  lasdeclinaciones  del  sol  &c. ,  por  D  Joseph 
Gonzalez  Cabrera  Bueno — Fol.  Manila,  1734." — See  Palou,  Noticias,  II,  201, 
note. 

3  Cabrera  Buenos  description  is  as  follows:  '■  Hace  la  tierra  una  punta  mediana, 
dividida  de  la  costa,  que  parece  desde  lejos  isla,  y  se  llama  punta  de  los  Reyes, 
la  cual  hace  un  morro  la\ado,  y  de  la  paite  del  norte  de  ella  hace  buen  abrigo 
para  todos  vientos  y  esta  en  altura  de  38  grados  y  medio,  que  llaman  de  San 
Francisco;  para  viento  sur  y  sueste,  se  ha  de  surgir  en  el  remale  de  la  playa  que 
hace  un  rincon  de  la  parte  dul  Sudueste,  y  de  la  parte  del  Nordeste,  eslan  tres 
barrancas  blancas  muy  cerca  de  la  mar,  y  en  frente  de  la  de  en  medio  entra  un 
estero  de  la  mar  qvie  tiene  buena  entrada,  sin  rebentazon  alguna;  entrado  en  ella 
hallaran  indios  amigos,  y  con  la  facilidad  se  hara  agua  dulce;  al  sursudueste  de 
e.ite  puerto  estdn  seis  6  siete,  farallones  blancos,  pequenos,  unos  mas  que  otros, 
ocuparan  de  circuyto  poco  masde  una  legua. " — See  Palou,  Noticias,  II,  202,  note. 


382  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

to  find  that  port  at  the  Point  of  Pines,  proceeded  on  along 
the  coast  northwestward  in  further  search  of  it.  The  party, 
as  will  be  recollected,  consisted  of  Governor  Portola,  Cap- 
tain Rivera  y  Moncada,  Lieutenant  Fages,  Engineer  Cos- 
tanso,  Fathers  Crespi  and  Gomez,  Sergeant  Ortega  and 
thirty-four  soldiers  besides  muleteers  and  Lower  California 
Indians,  making  sixty-four  persons  in  all.  They  left  their 
camp  at  the  mouth  of  the  Salinas  river  on  October  7  but 
advanced  very  slowly  on  account  of  the  sick,  many  of  whom 
were  suffering  from  scurvy  and  some  so  severely  that  they 
had  to  be  carried  on  litters.  The  next  day  they  reached 
Pajaro  or  Bird  river,  which  they  so  named  on  account  of 
a  stuffed  eagle  found  there.  On  October  17  they  reached 
and  named  the  San  Lorenzo  river  and  Santa  Cruz.  Thence 
they  passed  up  the  coast,  at  one  time  halting  on  account 
of  the  sick  or  to  rest  their  animals  and  at  another  stopped 
by  early  rains,  until  October  30,  when  they  reached  and 
camped  at  a  pleasant  spot  near  the  beach,  remarkable  for  the 
abundance  of  its  large  and  fine  mUssels.  It  was  what  is  now 
known  as  Point  San  Pedro,  but  was  then  named  Angel  Cus- 
todio  by  Father  Crespi  and  by  the  soldiers  called  Punta  de 
las  Almcjas  or  Mussel  Point.1  The  next  day,  upon  resum- 
ing their  journey  and  ascending  the  promontory  made  by 
the  point,  they  beheld  spread  out  before  them  a  great  bay, 
formed  by  a  distant  point  running  far  out  into  the  ocean, 
which  could  be  no  other  than  Point  Reyes,  and  six  or  seven 
small  rocky  islands  to  the  southwest  of  it,  which  were  clearly 
the  Farallones.  It  was  plain  that  this  was  the  port  of  San 
Francisco  as  described  by  Cabrera  Bueno,  whose  book  they 
carried  with  them,  and  that  they  therefore  must  have  passed 
the  port  of  Monterey,  the  real  object  of  their  search,  without 
recognizing  it.  There  seems,  however,  to  have  been  consid- 
erable  uncertainty  in  the  minds  of  some  as  to  this;  and  it  was 
deemed  proper  under  the  circumstances  to  camp  again  and 
make  investigations.     The  party  accordingly  chose  out  a  little 

1  On  a  map  of  San  Francisco  and  ils  neighborhood,  made  by  I. a  l'erouse  in 
1786,  Point  San  Pedro  is  laid  down  as  "  Punta  de  las  Almejas  "  or  Mussel  Point. 
—  Dwindle' s  Colonial  History  of  San  Francisco,  Intro,  xiii,  note. 


DISCO  VER  Y  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO.  383 

valley  about  six  hundred  yards  long  by  one  hundred  wide  on 
the  north  of  Point  San  Pedro,  having  two  small  streams  run- 
ning through  it  which  united  and  flowed  into  the  ocean.  It 
was  covered  with  reeds,  brambles  and  roses.  There  were  no 
trees  in  the  vicinity  except  some  small  willows,  and  none  on 
the  hills  around:  only  on  the  distant  mountains  could  any  be 
seen.1  It  might  be  difficult  at  this  day  to  point  out  the  exact 
spot,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  neighborhood. 
There,  the  party  having  camped  and  disposed  itself  for  a 
stay  of  some  days,  Sergeant  Ortega  was  ordered  forward  with 
a  company  of  soldiers  to  explore  the  country,  so  that  all 
doubts  might  be  settled  before  any  further  action  should  be 
taken. 

On  Thursday,  November  2,  1769,  some  of  the  soldiers  re- 
maining in  camp,  seeing  a  number  of  deer,  asked  permission 
to  hunt  them.  The  request  being  granted,  they  proeeeded 
to  the  hills  lying  to  the  eastward,  ascended  them,  and  spent 
the  entire  day  upon  the  hunt.  In  the  evening  upon  their 
return  they  said  that  towards  the  north  they  had  seen  an 
immense  arm  of  the  sea  running  inland  and  that  it  extended 
in  a  southeasterly  direction  as  far  as  they  could  see.  They 
also  said  they  had  seen  beautiful  plains  well  covered  with 
groves  of  trees  and  that  from  the  number  of  columns  of  smoke 
observed  they  judged  the  country  thickly  populated  with 
Indians.2  This  account,  which  is  given  in  the  journal  of  \ 
Father  Crespi,  is  the  first  notice,  so  far  as  known,  of  the  bay 
of  San  Francisco.     It  is  possible  that  Ortega  and  his  soldiers, 

1  "  Con  estas  dudas  y  fundamentos  bajamos  la  cuesta  y  paramos  el  real  en  medio 
de  un  pequefio  valle  de  unas  seiscientas  varas  de  argo  y  como  ciento  de  ancho 
que  tiene  bastante  agua  en  dos  arroyos  pequefios  que  se  juntan  para  entrar  en  la 
mar  que  tiene  bastante  carrizo,  mucho  zarzal  y  rosales;  arboleda  muy  poca  en  la 
caja  de  los  arroyos;  algunos  sauces  medianos;  en  las  lomas  ningun  arbol  y  solo  se 
divisan en  una  sierra  que  circumbala  esta  bahia."     Palou,  Noticias,  II,  198. 

2  "  Jucvcs  2dde  Noviembre.  Este  dia  de  los  Finados  celebramos  los  dos  para  las 
animas,  y  despues  de  misa  pidieron  licencia  algunos  soldados  para  salir  a  cazar 
porque  se  han  visto  muchos  venados.  Algunos  se  retiraron  bastante  del  real,  y 
se  enmontaron  los  cerros,  de  modo  que  volvieron  ya  de  noche.  Dij^ron  estosque 
ti  la  parte  del  Norte  habian  visto  un  immenso  brazo  de  mar  6  estero  que  se  metia 
por  la  tierra  adentro  cuanto  alcanzaba  la  vista  tirando  para  el  sudeste,  que  habian 
divisado  unos  planes  hermosos  muy  matizados  de  arboledas,  y  que  las  humaderas 
que  veian  por  todos  partes  no  les  dejaba  duda  que  la  tierra  estaba.muy  poblada 
de  rancherias  de  gentiles." — Palou,  Noticias,  II,  200,  201. 


384  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

who  had  gone  off  the  day  before,  saw  it  as  soon  as  the  hunt- 
ers; but  upon  this  point  Crcspi  gives  no  definite  information. 
All  that  he  says  is  that  on  the  night  of  November  3,  Ortega 
and  his  party  returned,  signalizing  their  approach  by  firing 
off  their  guns  as  if  they  had  good  news  to  communicate. 
This  news  turned  out  to  be  that  they  had  been  given  to 
understand  by  the  Indians  that  at  a  distance  of  two  days' 
journey  from  where  they  were  there  was  a  port  and  a  ship. 
It  being  supposed  from  this  information  that  Monterey  was 
not  far  distant,  Governor  Portola  resolved  to  march  in  search 
of  it  in  the  direction  indicated  by  the  Indians.  He  accord- 
ingly set  off,  traveling  northward  along  the  beach  for  some 
distance;  and  then  turning  off  northeast  and  mounting  the 
hills,  he  and  all  his  people  saw  the  great  bay,  apparently  four 
or  five  leagues  across,  stretching  out  to  the  northwest  and 
southeast  below  them.  Descending  the  heights  they  marched 
for  several  days  southeastward,  in  what  are  now  known  as  the 
San  Andres  and  San  Raimundo  valleys,  having  a  line  of  hills 
on  their  left  between  them  and  the  bay,  and  the  main  chain 
bristling  with  redwood  trees  on  their  right.  After  traveling 
about  ten  leagues,  they  reached  the  end  of  the  second  valley, 
where  it  turned,  so  to  speak,  to  the  eastward,  and  camped  on 
the  bank  of  a  stream  whose  waters  came  from  the  mountain 
and  ran  swiftly  to  the  bay.  From  that  place  they  sent  out 
the  explorers  again  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  further  infor- 
mation about  the  port  and  ship  previously  spoken  of.  On  the 
night  of  November  10,  after  four  days'  absence,  the  explorers 
returned  with  discouraging  news;  confessing  that  they  had 
misunderstood  the  Indians,  and  describing  the  country  to  the 
northward  of  them  as  very  rough  and  impassable  on  account 
of  the  scarcity  of  pasture  and  hostility  of  the  natives.  They 
said  further  that  they  had  seen  another  arm  of  the  sea  of 
equal  magnitude  with  that  in  front  of  them  and  communica- 
ting with  it;  that  it  would  require  a  journey  of  many  leagues 
to  pass  around  it  and  that  there  was  nothing  to  indicate  the 
proximity  of  the  port  in  that  direction.  The  pro-spect  of 
reaoiiing  the  desired  port  and  ship  being  thus  destroyed,  and 


DISCO  VER  Y  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO.  385 

all  the  party  being  more  or  less  exhausted  with  sickness  and 
the  want  of  proper  food,  a  council  was  held;  and  it  was  deter- 
mined to  retrace  their  steps.  On  November  11,  accordingly, 
the  expedition  set  out  on  its  return.  Passing  along  the  same 
valleys  it  had  come,  it  crossed  over  to  the  ocean  beach  about 
a  league  north  of  Point  San  Pedro,  and  then  made  its  way 
southeastward  and  on  November  27  reached  Santa  Delfina, 
the  old  camp  at  the  mouth  of  the  Salinas  river.1  Thence, 
after  another  vai;i  search  of  nearly  two  weeks  for  Monterey, 
as  has  been  already  related,  it  resumed  its  march  southeast- 
ward and  reached  San  Diego  on  January  24,  1770. 

Upon  the  return  of  the  expedition  to  San  Diego  and  its 
report  of  having  failed  to  find  Monterey  but  discovered^  San 
Francisco,  a  note-worthy  conversation  was  recollected  as  hav- 
ing taken  place  nearly  two  years  previously  and  which  was 
now  regarded  as  very  significant.  It  was  in  the  year  1768,  at 
La  Paz  in  Lower  California,  when  the  preparations  were  being 
made  for  the  settlement  of  the  northwest  coast.  Galvez,  the 
visitador-general,  in  giving  an  account  to  Jum'pero  of  the  first 
three  missions  that  were  to  be  founded  in  Alta  California, 
said  they  were  to  be  ascribed  to  and  named  after  San  Diego. 
San  Carlos  and  San  Buenaventura  respectively.  "  But,  sir," 
exclaimed  Jum'pero,  "is  our  Father  St.  Francis  to  have  no 
mission?  "  Galvez  replied,  "  If  St.  Francis  desires  a  mission,/ 
let  him  show  us  his  port  and  he  shall  have  one  there."  This; 
remark  of  Galvez  was  probably  intended  only  as  a  polite  way 
of  answering  Junipero's  zealous  exclamation;  but  it  was  now 
supposed  that  St.  Francis  had  taken  it  literally  and  miracu- 
lously interposed  to  conceal  Monterey  and  lead  the  adven- 
turers to  San  Francisco.2     It  was  plain,  thought  the  devout 

1  I'alou,  Noticias,  II,  200-215. 

2  "  Quando  el  V.  P.  Fr.  Junipero  trato  con  el  Illmo.  Seiior  visitador-general 
sobre  las  tres  misiones  primeras  que  le  encargo  fundar  en  esta  Nueva  California, 
viendo  los  nombres  y  patronos  que  les  asignaba,  le  dixo  "  Seiior  ly  para  N.  I'.  S. 
Francisco  no  hay  una  mision?"  A  lo  que  respondio  "Si  San  Francisco  quiera 
mision,  que  haga  se  lialle  su  puerto,  y  se  le  pondrd."  Subio  la  expedicion;  llega 
al  Puerto  de  Monterey;  par6  y  planto  en  el  una  cruz,  sin  que  lo  conociese  ninguno 
de  quantos  iban,  siendo  asi  que  leian  todas  sus  senas  en  la  historia;  suben  qua- 
renta  leguas  mas  arriba,  se  encuentran  con  el  Puerto  de  San  Francisco  N.  Padre, 

25    Vol.  I. 


386  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

Juni'pero,  that  St.  Francis  wished  a  mission;  and,  as  the  place 
was  now  pointed  out,  it  was  determined  that  at  the  proper 
time  he  should  have  one.  So  also  thought  Galvez,  the  visita- 
dor-general,  when  the  discovery  was  reported  and  his  conver- 
sation with  Juni'pero  recalled  to  his  recollection;  and  he  im- 
mediately negotiated  with  the  viceroy  for  the  establishment 
of  such  a  mission.1  But -various  obstacles  intervened;  and  it 
was  not  until  six  years  afterwards  that  the  mission  was  estab- 
lished. 

It  was  a  remarkable  fact,  considering  the  many  voyages 
that  had  been  made  in  its  vicinity,  that  the  bay  of  San  Fran- 
cisco should  remain  so  long  undiscovered.  It  was  a  still  more 
remarkable  fact  that,  after  it  had  been  discovered,  it  should 
remain  so  long  unappreciated.  With  the  single  exception  of 
the  stir  produced  among  the  Franciscans  by  what  was  sup- 
posed to  be  the  miraculous  interposition  of  their  patron  saint, 
and  the  obligation  imposed  by  him  of  founding  a  new  mis- 
sion, the  discovery  produced  comparatively  no  effect.  No 
one  had  any  idea  of  its  great  importance.  No  one  could  see 
that  it  had  any  special  value  at  all.  When  the  news  was 
carried  down  to  Mexico,  along  with  information  of  the  settle- 
ment of  Monterey,  although  all  the  bells  were  rung  and  every 
mouth  full  of  thanksgiving  for  Monterey,  no  attention  was 
paid  to  San  Francisco.  Its  discovery  was  hardly  men- 
tioned. In  the  official  narrative  published  at  the  time  in 
Mexico  and  spread  broadcast  over  the  country,  giving  an 
account  of  the  occupation  of  Alta  California  and  congratulat- 
ing the  people  on  the  new  territory  secured  for  the  Spanish 
crown,  not  a  word  was  said  about  it.  That  Crespi  and 
Gomez  and  their  brother  priests  should  not  be  able  to  appre- 
ciate the  importance  of  the  new  discovery  is  perhaps  not  to 
be  wondered  at;  but  that  such  men  as  Portola,  Rivera  y 
Moncada,  Fages  and  Costanso  should  be  equally  blind  is 
strange  indeed.     It  remains   to    be  added,  however,  that  no 

y  lo  conocen  luego  todos  por  la  concordancia  de  las  senas  que  llevahan.     En  vista 
de  esto,  ique  hemos  de  decir,  sino  que  N.  S.  Padre  queria  mision  en  su  Puerto?  " 
— I'alou,  Vida,  88,  89. 
1  Palou,  Vida,  114. 


DISCOVERY  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO.  387 

one  of  Spanish  blood,  during  the  time  it  was  under  the  gov- 
ernment of  Spain  and  afterwards  of  Mexico,  ever  fully 
appreciated  its  importance  ;  and  that  it  was  not  until  the 
coming  of  the  Americans  that  its  advantages,  as  the  site  of  a 
great  city  and  of  future  empire,  were  at  all  adequately  rec- 
ognized. 

In  the  year  1772,  after  Pedro  Fages  had  returned  to  Mon- 
terey from  the  founding  of  the  mission  of  San  Gabriel,  as  has 
been  stated,  Juni'pero  induced  him  to  undertake  a  second 
expedition  to  San  Francisco  for  the  purpose  of  examining 
the  country  and  ascertaining  the  best  place  for  a  mission.  It 
was  still  supposed  that  the  port  of  San  Francisco  lay  under 
Point  Reyes  and  that  the  inland  bay,  seen  by  the  expedition 
of  1769,  communicated  directly  with  it;  and  the  object  now 
was  to  resume  the  search  made  by  that  expedition  and  con- 
tinue it  around  the  eastern  side  of  the  bay  to  Point  Reyes 
and  the  supposed  port.  This  also  had  been  the  express  order 
of  the  viceroy,  dated  November  12,  1770,  and  transmitted 
the  next  year  to  Fages  at  Monterey.1 

The  new  expedition  consisted  of  Fages,  Father  Crespi 
whom  Juni'pero  had  directed  to  accompany  him,  twelve  sol- 
diers, and  a  muleteer  and  Lower  California  Indian  to  attend 
to  the  pack  train.  It  left  Monterey  on  March  20,  1772,  and, 
after  crossing  the  Salinas  river,  then  known  as  the  Santa  Del- 
fina,  it  took  first  a  northeasterly  and  then  a  northwesterly 
direction,  passing  near  the  present  site  of  the  town  of  Gil- 
roy  and  then  down  the  Santa  Clara  valley.  On  March  24  it 
reached  the  head  of  the  bay  and  camped  on  a  little  creek  a 
few  miles  north  of  what  is  now  Milpitas.  The  plain  to  the 
south  and  southwest,  called  by  Crespi  "  La  Llanura  de  los 
Robles  del  Puerto  de  San  Francisco — The  Plain  of  the  Oaks 
of  the  Port  of  San  Francisco,"  was  recognized  as  the  same 
as   that    reached    by  the    expedition    of    1769.     Thence    the 

1  The  Marques  de  Croix,  under  date  of  Mexico,  November  12,  1770,  among 
other  things,  directed  Fages,  "  luego  que  sea  posible  reconocer  por  tierra  6  por 
mar  el  p uerto  de  San  Francisco  situado  mas  al  nortedeese  [Monterey];  lo  ejecute 
V.  M.  { oniendose  al  acuerdo  con  el  Padre  Presidente  de  las  Misiones  a  fin  de 
establecer  en  61  una,  y  que  no  quede  expuesto  tan  importante  parage  a  ocupacion 
agena." — Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  I,  ioi. 


388  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

expedition  proceeded  along  the  eastern  shore  of  the  bay, 
seeing  many  elks,  bears  and  deer  and  much  troubled  by  mos- 
quitoes, and  on  March  27  camped  opposite  the  straits  leading 
out  to  the  ocean.  Thence  it  proceeded  to  and  around  by  the 
shore  of  San  Pablo  bay,  expecting  to  reach  the  mountains 
seen  to  the  north  of  it,  which  were  supposed  to  form  Point 
Reyes  and  were  named  by  Crespi  the  Mountains  of  San 
Francisco.  But  the  straits  of  Carquinez  prevented  further 
advance  in  that  direction,  and  the  expedition  thereupon 
turned  eastward  and  proceeded  along  the  southern  shore  of 
Suisun  bay  to  a  point  on  the  hills  north  of  Monte  Diablo 
From  those  hills  it  saw  the  great  interior  valley,  spread  out 
like  the  open  palm  of  one's  hand  and  extending  northward 
and  southward  as  far  as  could  be  seen.  Two  great  rivers  were 
observed  emptying  into  the  head  of  Suisun  bay  and  com- 
municating with  each  other  near  their  mouths  by  many 
channels.  Near  the  bank  of  the  nearest  of  these  rivers,  the 
San  Joaquin,  which  by  Crespi  was  named  the  San  Francisco, 
the  expedition  camped  on  March  30;  and,  seeing  it  could  not 
proceed  further  in  the  search  for  Point  Reyes  and  the  port 
lying  under  it  without  boats  or  an  exceedingly  extensive 
detour,  it  resolved  to  return  to  Monterey.  On  the  march 
back,  instead  of  following  the  bay  shore,  it  crossed  over  by 
the  western  base  of  Monte  Diablo,  through  Amador  and 
Sunol  valleys,  down  Alameda  creek,  and  thence,  by  the  same 
way  it  had  come,  to  Monterey,  which  it  reached  on  April  5.1 
The  next  year,  when  Jum'pero  visited  Mexico  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ( conferring  with  the  new  viceroy,  Bucareli,  San 
Francisco  became  a  prominent  topic  of  their  conversation. 
Jum'pero,  finding  Bucareli  disposed  to  lend  a  willing  ear  to 
his  representations  as  to  what  ought  to  be  done  for  California, 
urged  the  foundation  of  the  new  mission,  which  St.  Francis 
had  so  plainly  indicated  he  desired.  Bucareli  readily  acqui- 
esced and  in  May,  1774,  ordered  a  further  survey  to  be  made. 
His  orders  reached  Monterey  in  July  of  the  same  year;  and 
on   November  23,  Captain    Rivera  y  Moncada    and    Father 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  111,  3-24. 


DISCOVERY  OF  SAX  FRANCISCO.  389 

Palou,  with  sixteen  soldiers  and  a  muleteer  in  charge  of  the 
train,  set  out  from  Monterey  for  the  purpose  of  making  it. 
They  proceeded  on  the  same  route  taken  by  Fages  in  1772, 
passing  near  what  is  now  Gilroy,  and  in  three  days  reached 
the  Santa  Clara  valley.  On  November  28  they  were  at  the 
same  camp  where  the  expedition  of  1769  stopped  and  from 
the  neighborhood  of  which  the  expedition  of  1772  resumed 
the  search  for  Point  Reyes  and  the  port  of  San  Francisco. 
The  spot  presented,  according  to  Palou,  every  advantage  for 
a  mission;  and,  in  the  hope  that  a  church  might  be  built  there 
to  the  honor  of  St.  Francis,  he  erected  a  cross.  Thence  the 
next  day  they  proceeded  northwestward  along  the  shore  of 
the  bay  for  a  few  leagues  and  then,  on  account  of  miry  places, 
ascended  the  hills,  and  crossing  over  followed  the  route  of 
the  expedition  of  1769.  On  November  30,  the  festival  of 
San  Andres,  they  gave  that  name  to  the  valley  still  so  called. 
Proceeding  thence  almost  northward,  passing  by  Lake  Merced 
and  over  the  sand  dunes,  they  arrived  on  December  4  at 
Point  Lobos,  where,  supposing  themselves  the  first  Christian 
visitors,  they  erected  a  cross  upon  the  summit  of  the  hill 
looking  down  upon  the  jagged  points  of  the  Seal  Rocks  on 
the  one  side  and  upon  the  deep  precipices  of  the  entrance  into 
the  bay  on  the  other.  It  had  been  the  intention  of  this 
expedition  to  proceed  to  the  San  Joaquin  river,  or,  as  it  was 
then  called,  the  San  Francisco;  make  an  examination  of  its 
course,  and  thus  extend  the  survey  of  the  expedition  of  1772. 
But  the  almost  continuous  rains  and  the  nearly  worn-out 
condition  of  the  animals,  which  had  only  a  short  time  before 
come  from  Sonora,  induced  the  travelers  to  return  directly  to 
Monterey.  This  they  did,  taking  the  route  along  the  coast, 
and  arrived  at  the  latter  place  on  December  1 3.  They  were 
received  with  joy;  but  Junipero  was  much  disappointed  that 
they  had  not  gone  entirely  around  the  bay  and  river  of  San 
Francisco  and  thus  advanced  the  project  of  the  new  mission, 
which  was  uppermost  in  his  mind.1 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  same  year,  1774,  Bucareli  ordered 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  III,  254-315. 


390  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

the  establishment  of  a  presidio  at  San  Francisco  and  of  two 
missions,  one  at  that  place  and  one  at  Santa  Clara.1  All  had 
been,  very  fully  discussed  between  himself  and  Junipero.  He 
also,  upon  the  return  of  Juan  Bautista  de  Anza  from  his  over- 
land trip  from  Sonora  to  California  and  his  report  of  having 
opened  the  road,  ordered  that  officer  to  raise  a  large  body  of 
settlers  in  Sonora  and  Sinaloa,  including  thirty  married  sol- 
diers and  their  families,  and  with  them  proceed  to  and  settle 
the  port  of  San  Francisco.  And  at  the  same  time  he  sent 
word  to  Junipero  at  Monterey  of  Anza's  intended  march  and 
suggested  that  Junipero  should  at  once  name  missionaries  for 
both  San  Francisco  and  Santa  Clara. 

The  ship  that  carried  this  joyful  information  to  Junipero 
was  the  San  Carlos,  the  same  vessel  that  had  first  sailed 
for  Alta  California  with  permanent  settlers  or,  in  other  words, 
with  the  first  division  of  the  pioneers  of  1769.  On  this  oc- 
casion it  reached  Monterey  on  June  27,  1775.  Its  com- 
mander was  Juan  de  Ayala,  a  lieutenant  of  the  royal  navy. 
His  instructions  from  Bucareli  were  that,  after  delivering  his 
dispatches  and  unloading  a  portion  of  his  cargo  at  Monterey, 
he  should  proceed  at  once  to  the  port  of  San  Francisco  and 
make  a  survey  of  it,  and  particularly  with  the  object  of  ascer- 
taining whether  the  canal  or  arm  of  the  sea,  that  had  been 
seen  in  1769  and  again  in  1772,  communicated  with  it."  Pur- 
suant to  these  instructions  Ayala  set  sail  from  Monterey  on 
July  27  and,  cautiously  creeping  up  the  coast,  in  nine  days 
arrived  off  the  Heads.  He  had  taken  with  him  a  launch, 
which  he  had  caused  to  be  constructed  by  his  carpenters  out 
of  a  large  redwood  tree  on  the  banks  of  the  Carmel  river. 
Upon  arriving  at  the  Heads  the  launch  was  sent  ahead  to 
explore  the  narrow  passage,  now  known  the  world  over  as  the 
Golden    Gate.3     There  was    no    difficulty  in    entering.     The 

1  Palou,  Vida,  i$4,  201. 

2  "  Traia  la  orden  de  que,  dexada  en  Monterey  la  carga  de  viveres  y  memorias, 
pasase  al  Puerto  de  San  Francisco  a  registrarlo,  a  tin  de  ver  si  tenia  entrada 
por  la- Canal  6  garganta  que  de  tierra  se  habia  visto. " — Palou,  Vida,  202. 

3  The  name  "  Golden  Gate."  as  applied  to  the  entrance  to  San  Francisco  bay, 
first  appeared  in  John  C.  Fremont's  map  of  Oregon  and   California.      That  map 


DISCO  VER  Y  OF  SA  N  FRANCISCO.  391 

water  was  deep  and  the  way  clear.     It  is  likely,  as  is  usual  in 
the  summer  season,  that  a  brisk  breeze  was  blowing  in  at  the 
time.     At    any  rate   Ayala  saw   that   the   launch   proceeded 
/Without  hindrance;  and  he  at  once  prepared  to  follow.      By 
'  this  time,  however,  it  had  grown  dark.     He  nevertheless  kept \ 
on  and  thus,  on  the  night  of  August  5,  1775,  the  San  Carlos  1 
sailed  in  through  the  straits,  the  first  ship  that  ever  passed  the  ! 
pillared  passage  or  entered  what  is  now  known  as  the  bay  of/ 
San  Francisco.        ' 

Having  safely  entered,  Ayala  moored  his  vessel  just  inside 
the  bay  and  the  next  morning,  after  looking  around  him, 
chose  out  an  island  not  far  from  the  entrance  as  a  convenient 
spot  to  make  his  head-quarters.  Upon  examining  it,  he  found 
a  good  place  for  mooring  his  ship  and  wood  and  water  in 
abundance.  This  island  was  then  named  that  of  Nuestra 
Senora  de  los  Angeles,  an  appellation  which  it  still  bears 
though  now  most  usually  known  by  the  shorter  name  of 
Angel  Island.  It  is  a  league  or  two  in  circumference  with  a 
high  hill  for  its  center,  having  grassy  slopes  on  its  western  and 
southern  sides  and  timbered  with  oaks  and  chaparral  on  its 
eastern  and  northern.  It  has  several  delightful  coves,  pebbly 
beaches  and  springs  of  deliciously  pure  water;  is  highly  pic- 
turesque in  itself  and  its  surroundings,  and  a  favorite  place  of 
resort  for  pleasure  seekers. 

There  were  with  Ayala  on  this  occasion  Father  Vicente  de 
Santa  Maria,  who  had  come  up  on  the  vessel  as  chaplain,  JoseA 
Caiiizares  first  pilot,  and  Juan  Bautista  Aguirre  second  pilot.    ) 
Hiey  went    to  work  immediately  examining  and  surveying  / 
the  bay  and  its  connections.     Canizares  with  the  launch  first  ( 


was  published  at  Washington  in  1848.  In  the  accompanying  "Geographical 
Memoir  upon  Upper  California  in  illustration  of  his  Map  of  Oregon  and  Califor- 
nia," published  at  the  same  time,  Fremont  called  the  strait,  "about  one  mile 
broad,  in  the  narrowest  part,  and  five  miles  long  from  the  sea  to  the  bay"'  a  gate. 
In  an  explanatory  note  to  the  word  "gate,"  he  wrote,  "Called  Chrysopylae 
(Golden  Gate)  on  the  map,  on  the  same  principle  that  the  harbor  of  Byzantium 
(tionstantinople  afterwards)  was  called  Chrysoceras  (Golden  Horn)."  Me  added 
that,  as  the  form  of  the  harbor  of  Byzantium  and  its  advantages  for  commerce 
suggested  the  name  of  the  Golden  Horn  to  the  Greek  founders  of  that  city,  so  the 
form  of  the  entrance  into  San  Francisco  bay  and  its  advantages  for  commerce  had 
suggested  the  name  of  the  Golden  Gate  which  had  thus  been  given. — Senate  Doc. 
30  Con.  1  Sess.  Misc.  No.  143,  p.  32. 


392  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

proceeded  into  San  Pablo  bay,  or  "  bahia  redonda — round  bay" 
as  it  was  then  called,  and  ascended  to  where  he  reached 
water  and  saw  the  famous  rivers,  said  to  be  five,  which  u 
to  form  the  San  Francisco  and  poured  their  currents  into 
head  of  this  northeastern  arm.  Upon  his  return  Aguirre  took 
the  launch  and  examined  the  southeastern  arm  and  found  it 
to  consist  of  many  smaller  bays  with  excellent  places  of 
anchorage.  He  saw  only  three  Indians,  whom  he  found  at 
what  was  afterwards  known  as  Mission  bay,  though  now 
mostly  filled  up  and  built  over  and  forming  a  busy  part  of 
the  city  of  San  Francisco.  They  were  weeping  or  making 
noises  resembling  crying  and  for  this  reason  Aguirre  named 
the  cove  '*T^a  Ensenacbwle  los  Llorones — The  cove  of  the 
\  \veepers."/  And  this  seemsto~~nave  been  about  the  most 
remarkable  thing  that  he  noticed. 

At  the  same  time  that  Ayala  was  preparing  to  proceed  to 
the  examination  of  San  Francisco,  he  suggested  to  Rivera  y 
Moncada,  the  comandante  of  Monterey,  the  importance  of 
sending  a  land  expedition  to  assist  in  the  survey.  The  lat- 
ter answered  that  it  was  then  impracticable,  for  the  reason 
that  the  only  soldiers  that  could  be  spared  had  been  sent  to 
San  Diego;  but  that,  as  soon  as  they  should  return,  he  would 
dispatch  them  to  San  Francisco.  In  view  of  the  expected 
arrival  of  this  expedition,  Ayala,  about  the  time  of  finishing 
his  survey,  sent  a  part)7,  including  Father  Santa  Maria,  to 
visit  the  cross  that  had  been  planted  the  year  before  by 
Father  Palou  on  the  summit  of  Point  Lobos.  At  the  foot  of 
the  cross  Santa  Maria  deposited  two  letters;  one  giving  notice 
of  the  arrival  of  the  San  Carlos  at  and  its  successful  entrance 
into  the  bay,  and  the  other  giving  notice  of  its  intended 
speedy  return  to  Monterey  but  directing  the  land  party,  if  it 
should  arrive  there,  to  proceed  a  league  further  eastward  and 
build  a  fire  on  the  beach  in  view  of  Angel  Island,  so  that,  if 
Ayala's  party  still  remained,  the  two  might  communicate  a$d 
join. 

Rivera  y  Moncada's  soldiers  did  not  return  in  time  to  be 
sent  after  Ayala.     But  towards  the  middle  of  September,  a  few 


DISCO  VER  Y  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO.  393 

after  the  return  of  Bruno  de  Heceta  in  the  Santiago 
from  his  voyage  to  the  north,  it  was  determined  that  he  should 
proceed  with  a  small  party  overland  to  San  Francisco  and 
assist  Ayala.  He  accordingly  started  out  from  Monterey, 
accompanied  by  Fathers  Francisco  Palou  and  Miguel  de  la 
Campa  Gos.  They  had  nine  soldiers,  three  marines  and  a 
carpenter  and  carried  on  one  of  their  mules  a  small  canoe. 
On  September  22  they  arrived  at  the  beach  just  south  of  Point 
Lobos,  where  they  found  Ayala's  launch,  thrown  up  by  the 
surf  and  full  of  water  and  sand.  The  oars  were  not  far  off. 
Proceeding  on  to  the  cross,  they  found  Santa  Maria's  letters. 
They  followed  his  instructions  by  lighting  a  fire  in  view  of 
Angel  Island;  but  there  was  no  response.  They  then  returned 
to  their  camp  by  the  side  of  a  lake,  having  a  small  outlet  to 
the  ocean,  to  which  they  gave  the  name,  it  still  bears,  of 
"  Nuestra  Sehora  de  la  Merced — Our  Lady  of  Mercy."  The 
next  day  they  repaired  again  to  the  beach  opposite  Angel 
Island;  but  nothing  was  to  be  seen  of  Ayala's  vessel  or  party; 
nd  it  became  very  certain  that  they  had  returned  to  Monterey, 
nder  the  circumstances,  Heceta  determined  to  do  the  same 
and,  setting  out  on  September  24,  reached  Monterey  again  on 
(October  1,  where  he  found  the  San  Carlos  at  anchor  by  the 
side  of  the  Santiago  and  learned  from  Ayala  and  his  two 
pilots  the  particulars  of  their  survey  of  San  Francisco. 

It  appeared  that  they  had  remained  over  forty  days  in  the 
bay  and  had  left  it  only  a  short  time  before  Heceta's  arrival. 
Being  asked  whether  it  was  a  good  port,  they  answered  that 
it  was  one  of  the  best  in  the  possession  of  Spain;  that  in  fact 
it  was  not  only  a  port  but  a  series  of  ports  leading  into  one 
another,  having  a  single  entrance  from  the  ocean  and  capable 
of  containing  a  number  of  distinct  fleets,  each  out  of  sight  of 
and  separate  from  the  others.  And  among  other  things  they 
said  that  they  had  had  no  intention  of  abandoning  their  little 
launch,  which  had  done  such  excellent  service;  but  that  the 
day  before  they  sailed  it  had  broken  away  from  its  moorings 
and  without  doubt  had  been  carried  out  to  sea  by  the  tides 
and  cast  away  as  found.1 

1  Palou,  Xoticias,  IV,  72,   73,  100-104;  Yida,  203. 


394  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

Junipero,  upon  receiving  Ayala's  report  and  survey  and  a 
map  which  he  drew  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  forwarded 
them  to  Bucareli.  He  also  at  the  same  time  sent  word  that 
he  had  named  Fathers  Francisco  Palou  and  Pedro  Benito 
Cambon  as  missionaries  for  San  Francisco  and  Jose  Murguia 
and  Tomas  de  la  Pena  Saravia  for  Santa  Clara.  Meanwhile 
Juan  Bautista  de  Anza  had  collected  his  soldiers  and  settlers 
at  the  presidio  of  San  Miguel  de  Horcasitas  in  Sonora,  as 
directed  by  Bucareli,  and  on  September  29,  1775,  started 
with  them  for  San  Francisco.  There  were,  in  his  company, 
in  addition  to  his  own  guard  of  ten  men  who  were  to  return 
with  him,  thirty  married  soldiers  and  twelve  families  of  set- 
tlers, making  altogether  two  hundred  persons;  and  they  were 
well  provided  with  animals  and  provisions.  Some  of  them 
were  from  Sonora  and  some  from  Sinaloa.  Father  Pedro 
Font  of  the  college  of  Santa  Cruz  de  Queretaro,  who  after- 
wards made  a  map  of  the  route,  accompanied  the  expedition; 
and  Father  Francisco  Garces,  who  had  been  with  Anza  on  his 
first  trip,  went  along  as  far  as  the  Colorado,  where  he  stopped 
and  undertook  to  make  a  survey  and  also,  as  far  as  possible, 
to  convert  the  Indians  of  that  region.  Meanwhile  Anza  with 
his  company  proceeded  on  his  march.  In  January,  1776,  he 
reached  San  Gabriel,  where  his  people  remained  while  he 
himself  proceeded  to  San  Diego  to  assist  in  quieting  the 
disturbances  there,  as  already  stated;  after  which,  upon  his 
joining  them  again,  they  all,  with  the  exception  of  a  small 
detachment  left  at  San  Gabriel,  proceeded  to  Monterey  and 
arrived  there  on  March  10.  The  next  day  a  grand  mass  was 
celebrated  at  the  presidio;  Junipero,  Palou  and  three  other 
missionaries,  then  at  San  Carlos,  went  over  to  assist  in  the 
ceremonies;  a  sermon  to  the  immigrants  was  preached  by 
Father  Font,  and  fervid  thanks  were  rendered  to  God  and  to 
Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  the  archangel  Michael  and  St. 
Francis,  who  had  been  chosen  the  patrons  of  the  expedition. 

It  had  originally  been  intended  by  Bucareli  that  upon 
Anza's  arrival  at  Monterey,  Comandante  Rivera  y  Mon- 
cada  should  accompany  him  from  that  place  to  San  Francisco 


SETTLEMENT  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO.  395 

for  the  purpose  of  selecting  the  sites  for  the  new  presidio  and 
missions  and  then  making  a  survey  of  the  great  rivers  empty- 
ing into  the  northeastern  arm  of  the  bay.  But  Rivera  y 
Moncada,  as  has  been  seen,  had  been  called  to  San  Diego  and 
was  still  absent  there.  In  the  recent  intercourse  between  him 
and  Anza,  there  had  been  several  differences  of  opinion;  and 
the  result  was  a  quarrel,  which,  though  it  did  not  break  out 
into  open  violence,  still  prevented  anything  like  a  hearty  co- 
operation in  any  common  plan.  Rivera  y  Moncada  had, 
among  other  things,  expressed  an  opinion  that  the  new  foun- 
dations at  San  Francisco  should  be  deferred,  and  Anza  had 
unwillingly  consented  to  a  short  delay;  but,  upon  reaching 
Monterey,  he  found  that  the  comandante  had  sent  orders 
that  the  immigrants  should  build  houses  at  that  place  and 
that  the  delay  contemplated  by  him  would  be  at  least  a  year. 
Under  these  circumstances  Anza  determined,  without  wait- 
ing for  Rivera  y  Moncada,  to  take  Lieutenant  Jose  Joaquin 
Moraga,  who  had  come  up  with  him  from  Sonora  as  destined 
comandante  of  the  new  presidio,  Father  Font  and  ten  sol- 
diers, eight  from  his  own  guard  and  two  from  Monterey  who 
had  previously  been  over  the  road;  proceed  at  once  to  San 
Francisco,  and  make  the  necessary  surveys  and  locations  for 
the  proposed  new  establishments.  As  soon  as  he  had  come 
to  this  determination,  he  wrote  to  Rivera  y  Moncada  giving 
him  notice  of  what  he  intended  to  do  and  recommending 
that,  when  the  necessary  surveys  had  been  made,  the  proper 
steps  should  be  taken  to  conduct  the  immigrants  to  their  des- 
tination without  delay  and  as  the  viceroy  contemplated. 

Anza,  Moraga,  Father  Font  and  the  ten  soldiers  referred  to 
started  from  Monterey  on  March  22  and  took  the  same  route, 
by  the  way  of  Gilroy,  the  Santa  Clara  valley  and  the  west  side 
of  the  bay,  that  had  been  taken  by  Rivera  y  Moncada  and 
Father  Palou  in  1774.  At  Point  Lobos  they  found  the  cross 
that  had  been  planted  there  by  Palou  on  December  4  of  that 
year.  From  that  place  they  passed  along  the  top  of  the 
bluffs  eastward  to  the  end  of  the  strait  and  camped  near  what 
is  now  known  as  Fort  Point.     Moraga  pronounced  the  spot  a 


396  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

proper  site  for  the  presidio  and  fort.  Thence  they  proceeded 
southeasterly  to  the  cove,  which  had  been  named  by  Aguirre 
in  1775  "La  Ensenada  de  los  Llorones,"  afterwards  known  as 
Mission  bay.  There  they  found  a  large  lagoon,  discharging 
through  a  creek  into  the  bay,  and  gave  to  it  the  name  of 
Nuestra  Senora  de  los  Dolores.  Upon  examining  the  place, 
it  was  deemed  favorable  for  the  location  of  the  new  mission, 
which  was  to  be  founded  near  the  presidio,  being  only  a  league 
distant.  Thence  they  proceeded  southeastward  along  the  bay 
to  its  southeastern  head  and  named  the  first  little  river  empty- 
ing into  it  Nuestra  Senora  de  Guadalupe.  Near  the  bank  of 
the  river  they  chose  a  spot  as  suitable  for  another  mission, 
distant  eighteen  leagues  from  the  proposed  presidio  or  the 
cove  in  front  of  it,  which  had  by  that  time  begun  to  be  known 
as  the  port  of  San  Francisco.  From  that  place,  crossing  over 
to  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  they  proceeded  along  the 
eastern  side  of  the  bay  to  San  Pablo  and  thence  by  Carquinez 
and  the  southern  side  of  Suisun  bay  to  the  same  place,  on  the 
hills  north  of  Monte  Diablo,  from  which  Pedro  Fages  and 
Father  Crespi  in  1772  had  looked  out  upon  the  plains  and 
seen  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers.  It  seems  likely 
that  the  preceding  winter  had  been  much  more  rainy  than 
that  of  1772,  or  that  the  melting  of  the  snows  on  the  Sierra 
had  commenced  much  earlier.  However  this  may  have  been 
the  country  was  overflowed;  the  new-comers  could  see  only  a 
great  expanse  of  water  and  tules;  and  they  were  therefore  of 
opinion  that  there  were  no  rivers  but  only  an  immense  lagoon, 
which  communicated  through  the  straits  of  Carquinez  with 
San  Pablo  bay  and  thence  with  the  port  and  ocean.  As  there 
thus  appeared  to  be  no  rivers  to  be  surveyed  and  nothing  more 
for  them  to  do,  they  determined  to  return.  But,  instead  of 
retracing  their  steps,  they  passed  around  to  the  east  of  Monte 
Diablo  and  Grossed  over,  after  a  three  days'  journey  among 
the  mountains,  to  the  Santa  Clara  valley  and  thence  returned, 
by  the  same  route  they  had  come,  to  Monterey,  which  they 
reached  on  April  8.1 

1  1'alini,   Noticias,  IV,  133-144. 


SETTLEMENT  GF  SAN  FRANCISCO.  397 

The  immigrants  intended  for  San  Francisco  had  by  this 
time  become  very  much  dissatisfied  on  account  of  the  delays, 
t  >  which  they  had  been  subjected  first  at  San  Gabriel  and  now 
again  at  Monterey,  and  desired  to  be  led  at  once  to  their 
destination.  But  Anza  regarded  his  commission  as  ended 
and  resolved  to  set  out  on  his  way  back  to  Sonora.  He 
accordingly  started  with  his  guard  of  soldiers  and  Father 
Font  on  April  14.  Before  he  reached  San  Gabriel,  there  was 
one  meeting  and  before  he  left  that  place  there  were  several 
communications  between  him  and  Rivera  y  Moncada  who 
had  come  up  from  San  Diego.  But  the  ill-humor  previously 
manifested  by  the  comandante  towards  Anza  had  not 
decreased;  and  before  their  final  parting  Anza  manifested 
quite  as  much  ill-humor  and  even  more  discourtesy  towards 
the  comandante.  At  their  meeting,  which  was  on  the  road 
near  San  Antonio,  the  comandante  had  passed  by  without 
stopping  and  with  a  mere  official  salute.  He  had  then  gone 
on  to  Monterey;  but  a  few  days  afterwards  he  returned;  over- 
took Anza;  sent  an  apology  for  what  had  taken  place,  and 
asked  an  interview.  Anza,  however,  refused  to  have  any 
communication  except  in  writing.  The  result  was  that  there 
was  neither  an  interview  nor  any  communication  on  the  sub- 
ject of  San  Francisco,  except  that  Anza's  report  and  map  of 
survey  were  transmitted  to  the  comandante.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  May,  Anza  left  San  Gabriel  for  Sonora  and  Rivera  y 
Moncada  went  on  to  San  Diego. 

Meanwhile  Lieutenant  Moraga,  who  had  been  left  by  Anza 
in  charge  of  the  immigrants,  recognized  Rivera  y  Moncada 
as  his  superior  and  declined  to  act  further  until  he  should 
receive  instructions  to  that  effect.  These,  however,  soon 
came.  Rivera  y  Moncada  had  in  fact  scarcely  reached  San 
Diego  and  found  matters  comparatively  quiet  there,  when  he 
dispatched  a  letter  to  Moraga  directing  him  to  proceed  with 
twenty  soldiers  to  the  foundation  of  a  fort  at  San  Francisco 
on  the  spot  pointed  out  by  the  recent  expedition.  At  the 
same  time  he  wrote,  and  requested  him  to  inform  Juni'pero, 
that    the    foundation    of    the    proposed     missions    would    be 


398  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

deferred,  as  he  had  said  before.  But  as  he  wrote  nothing 
about  how  Moraga's  soldiers  were  to  be  afforded  spiritual 
comfort  or  who  was  to  say  mass  and  administer  the  sacra- 
ments, Juni'pero  determined  to  send  Fathers  Palou  and  Cam- 
bon,  the  missionaries  already  chosen  for  San  Francisco,  along 
with  the  expedition  for  the  purpose  of  acting  as  chaplains 
to  the  soldiers  and  being  on  hand  for  the  new  missions  and 
preparing  the  way  for  them.  Moraga  on  his  part,  as  soon  as 
he  had  received  his  instructions  authorizing  him  to  act,  gave 
notice  that  on  June  17,  if  everything  could  by  that  time  be 
made  ready,  he  would  proceed  to  San  Francisco  and  com- 
mence the  contemplated  settlement.  This  announcement 
had  hardly  been  made,  when,  very  opportunely,  the  ships  San 
Carlos  and  San  Antonio  arrived  from  San  Bias.  They  had 
left  that  place  on  March  9,  laden  with  what  were  known  as 
"  las  memorias  "  of  1776  or,  in  other  words,  the  annual  sup- 
plies for  the  pay  of  soldiers  and  support  of  the  establishments. 
The  San  Antonio,  part  of  whose  cargo  only  was  for  Monterey 
and  the  remainder  for  San  Diego,  arrived  on  May  21  and  was  in 
a  few  days  to  run  down  to  the  latter  port.  The  San  Carlos  on 
the  other  hand,  which  arrived  on  June  3,  while  some  of  its  cargo 
was  for  Monterey,  carried  the  remainder  for  the  proposed  new 
presidio  of  San  Francisco  and  it  had  express  orders  from 
Bucareli  to  proceed  a  second  time  to  that  place  and  assist  in 
the  settlement  to  be  there  made.  This  fact  enabled  Moraga  to 
send  the  bulkier  portions  of  the  furniture  and  supplies,  which 
he  would  otherwise  have  had  to  carry  with  him,  around  by  sea; 
and,  being  thus  relieved  of  much  care,  his  expedition  was 
fully  ready  to  proceed  when  the  appointed. time  arrived. 

The  founders  of  San  Francisco  marched  from  Monterey  on 
the  afternoon  of  June  17,  1776.  They  consisted  of  Lieuten- 
ant Jose  Joaquin  Moraga,  Fathers  Francisco  Palou  and  Pedro 
Benito  Cambon,  Sergeant  Pablo  Grijalba,  two  corporals,  six- 
teen soldiers  and  seven  pobladores  or  settlers.  Moraga  had 
left  his  family  in  Sonora;  but  the  sergeant,  corporals,  soldiers 
and  settlers  were  all  married  and  had  their  families  with  them. 
In  addition  to  these  there  were  a  number  of  servants  attached 


SETTLEMENT  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO.  399 

to  the  families  of  soldiers  and  settlers  and  five  muleteers  and 
vaqueros.1  The  missionaries  had  two  servants,  two  Lower 
California  Indians  and  a  Monterey  Indian.  It  was  supposed 
that  the  last  mentioned  might  act  as  interpreter  at  San  Fran- 
cisco; but  upon  his  arrival  there  it  was  found  he  could  not 
understand  the  language  and  was  degraded  to  the  office  of 
cow-herd.  There  were  also,  beside  the  horses  used  by  the 
travelers,  a  train  of  mules  laden  with  provisions  and  a  large 
drove  of  cattle,  consisting  of  some  two  hundred  for  the  pre- 
sidio and  eighty-six  for  the  mission.'  A  few  days  after 
Moraga's  party  thus  marched,  the  ship  San  Carlos  sailed, 
carrying  the  various  articles  and  supplies  that  could  not  well 
be  taken  by  land  and,  among  other  things,  two  cannon  from 
the  presidio  of  Monterey.  As  each  got  off,  Juni'pero,  who 
was  still  at  Monterey,  saw  them  depart  and  gave  them  his 
blessing.  He  then  made  arrangements  and  on  June  30 
embarked  with  Father  Santa  Maria  in  the  San  Antonio  for 
the  purpose  of  visiting  and  re-establishing  the  ruined  mission 
of  San  Diego,  as  already  related.  It  was  only  on  account  of 
the  urgent  necessity  of  his  presence  in  the  South  that  he  was 
not  present  at  the  foundation  of  San  Francisco. 

Moraga  took  the  same  route  for  San  Francisco,  by  the  way 
of  Gilroy  and  the  San  Jose  valley,  that  he  had  traveled 
before  with  Anza.  As  he  set  out,  many  of  the  Monterey 
officials  accompanied  him  for  a  mile  or  two.  Fernando 
Quiros,  the  commander,  and  Fathers  Vicente  de  Santa  Maria 
and  Jose  Nocedal,  the  chaplains,  of  the  San  Carlos,  went  as 
far  as  the  crossing  of  the  Salinas  river;  camped  there  with 
the  travelers,  and  the  next  day  saw  the  long  line  of  soldiers, 
missionaries,  families,  horses,  mule-train  and  cattle  start  on 
its  way  northeastward  across  the  Salinas  plains.  "  On  account 
of  the  children  and  particularly  of  some  of  the  women, 
whose  condition  required  care,  it  marched  very  slowly  and 
was  sometimes  obliged  to  stop.     But  no  untoward  accident 

1  The  names  of  all  appear  in  a  report  of  Hermenegildo  Sal,  December  31, 
1776. — Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  VI,  226. 

2  Palou,  Noticias,  IV,  158-164;  Vida,  205-207. 


400  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

occurred.  The  Indians  along  the  road  were  friendly  and 
looked  with  admiration  upon  the  white  women  and  children 
and  with  wonder  upon  the  cattle,  the  like  of  which  they  had 
never  seen.  In  the  San  Jose  valley,  about  half  way  between 
Monterey  and  San  Francisco,  the  travelers  encountered  a 
herd  of  elks,  to  which  the  soldiers  gave  chase  and  managed 
to  kill  three,  whose  flesh  was  carried  along  and  used  as  pro- 
visions. Palou  says  these  elks  were  very  large;  that  a 
mule  could  not  carry  one  of  them,  that  they  had  openings 
under  their  eyes,  which  appeared  to  be  intended  for  weeping; 
that  they  had  horns  four  yards  across  from  tip  to  tip,  and, 
to  finish  his  description,  that,  on  account  of  the  immense 
spread  of  their  antlers,  they  could  not  run  against  the  wind. 
Besides  elks,  antelopes  and  deer  were  also  seen  in  abundance. 
On  June  27  the  party  reached  San  Francisco  and  pitched 
their  camp  of  fifteen  tents  near  the  spot  which  afterwards 
became  the  mission.  It  was  on  the  bank  of  the  lakelet  or 
lagoon,  named  by  Anza  that  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  los  Dolores, 
which  discharged  into  the  Ensenada  de  los  Llorones  as  Mis- 
sion bay  had  been  named.  Around  it  spread  a  comparatively 
•level  and  grassy  plain,  almost  entirely  surrounded  by  hills 
but  affording  glimpses  of  the  bay  a  mile  or  so  distant.  On 
the  next  day  a  booth  was  erected  and  an  altar  set  up;  and 
the  following  day,  June  29,  that  according  to  the  Catholic 
calendar  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  the  first  mass  at  Dolores 
was  celebrated. 

One  of  the  first  things  to  be  done  was  to  station  a  look-out 
for  the  San  Carlos.  That  vessel  had  been  expected  to  arrive 
as  early  as  the  land  expedition;  but  it  had  not  made  its 
appearance.  It  was  thought  that  some  delay  had  occurred 
at  Monterey  and  that  it  could  not  be  far  off.  But  day  after 
day  went  by  without  tidings  of  it.  A  month  passed  and  still 
nothing  was  seen  or  heard.  In  the  meanwhile  the  soldiers 
were  employed  in  cutting  timber  for  the  presidio;  and  Mor- 
aga  made  a  very  minute  examination  of  the  entire  northern 
end  of  the  peninsula.  He  found  various  springs,  small  lakes 
and  green  patches  of  ground  suitable  for  pasture.     On  the 


SETTLEMENT  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO.  401 

eastern  slope  of  the  hill  or  point,  forming  the  south  side  of 
the  Golden  Gate,  he  selected  a  good  sice  for  the  presidio, 
being  in  view  of  the  port  and  entrance  and  not  far  from  the 
point  where  the  fort  was  to  be  constructed,  and  having  near 
it  two  springs  yielding  sufficient  water  for  the  use  of  the  set- 
tlement. It  was  there  that  he  resolved  to  locate  it;  and  at 
length,  having  waited  a  whole  month  in  vain  for  the  San 
Carlos  and  thinking  it  high  time  to  commence  the  foundation, 
he  determined  to  go  ahead  Though  his  orders  from  Rivera 
y  Moncada  only  applied  to  the  presidio  and  not  to  the  mis- 
sion, he  deemed  it  proper  to  allow  the  missionaries  to  remain 
and  maintain  the  settlement  at  Dolores  as  the  nucleus  of  the 
future  mission.  Accordingly  on  July  26,  leaving  six  soldiers 
and  two  pobladores  and  all  the  cattle  at  Dolores,  he  with  the 
rest  of  the  soldiers  and  people  proceeded  to  the  chosen  site 
of  the  presidio  and  immediately  began  erecting  huts  of  brush 
and  tules  and  a  chapel,  in  which  the  first  mass  was  celebrated 
on  July  28. 

On  August  18,  about  three  weeks  after  the  start  was  thus 
given  to  the  presidio,  the  San  Carlos  sailed  into  the  bay  and 
anchored  in  the  port  or  cove  in  front  of  it,  This  was  the  sec- 
ond time  the  vessel  had  entered  the  Golden  Gate.  Its  com- 
mander now  was  Fernando  Ouiros  and  its  pilots  Jose  Caiii- 
zares  and  Christoval  Revilla.  There  had  been  two  chap- 
lains; but  Father  Santa  Maria  had  gone  south  with  Jum'pero 
and  only  Father  Jose  Nocedal  remained.  It  appeared  that 
they  had  left  Monterey  soon  after  the  march  of  the  land 
expedition,  but  had  experienced  violent  head  winds  and  been 
driven  out  to  sea  and  as  far  south  as  the  parallel  of  San 
Diego.  They  had  managed  only  with  great  difficulty  to  beat 
up  and  had  run  as  far  north  as  parallel  42 °,  from  which  they 
had  come  down  along  the  coast;  run  in  between  Point  Reyes 
and  the  Farallones,  and  on  the  night  of  August  17  anchored 
in  what  is  now  known  as  Drake's  bay.  The  next  morning 
they  had  sailed  without  trouble  into  the  port.  Upon  landing, 
Ouiros,  the  two  pilots  and  Nocedal  proceeded  to  Moraga's 
camp  and   pronounced   the   site   excellently   chosen.     With 

*      26     Vol.  I. 


402  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

tO/^their  assistance  a  square  space  of  ninety-two  varas  or  two 
hundred  and  forty-seven  and  a  half  feet  on  each  side  was  laid 
out  and  places  designated  in  it  for  church,  head-quarters, 
store-house,  guard-house,  barracks  and  houses  for  the  pobla- 
dores  or  settlers.  I  Canizares  drew  a  plan  or  map  of  the  whole- 
*  The  work  of  building  houses  immediately  commenced;  two 
carpenters  and  a  company  of  sailors  from  the  ship  assisted  at 
the  labor;  and  in  a  short  time  a  store-house  for  the  provisions, 
a  house  for  the  comandante  and  a  chapel,  all  made  of  pali- 
sades of  wood  plastered  with  mud  and  thatched  with  tules> 
were  constructed  and  also  many  of  the  houses  for  the  soldiers 
and  families.  As  soon  as  the  work  at  the  presidio  was  well 
under  way,  Quiros,  Father  Nocedal,  one  of  the  pilots,  the 
surgeon  of  the  ship  and  six  sailors  went  over  to  the  site 
of  the  proposed  mission  on  the  Laguna  de  los  Dolores, 
which  they  also  pronounced  well  chosen,  and  assisted  in 
building  a  church  or  chapel  and  a  house  for  the  missionaries. 
These,  like  those  at  the  presidio,  were  of  palisades  plastered 
with  mud  and  thatched  with  tules.  By  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember all  were  finished — the  provisions  and  supplies  from 
the  ships  housed  and  the  soldiers  and  pobladores  furnished 
with  habitations. 

There  still  remained  to  be  performed  the  formal  celebra- 
tion of  the  foundation  of  the  presidio.  The  day  chosen  for 
the  ceremonies  was  September  17,  1776,  the  day  known  in 
the  Catholic  calendar  as  that  of  the  Impression  of  the  wounds 
of  St.  Francis,  the  patron  of  the  establishment.  On  that  day 
all  the  people  congregated,  as  well  those  from  Dolores  and 
the  crews  from  the  ships  as  those  belonging  to  the  presidio. 
There  was  also  present  Father  Tomas  de  la  Pena  Saravia, 
who  had  been  named  as  missionary  for  Santa  Clara  and  had 
come  up  from  Monterey  to  urge  forward  the  foundation  of 
that  mission.  Everything  being  ready,  the  royal  standard 
was  hoisted  in  front  of  the  buildings  that  had  been  put  up; 
and  formal  possession  of  the  place  and  region  around  about 
was  taken  in  the  name  of  Charles  III.,  king  of  Spain.  \  At 
the  same  time  the  cross  was  elevated  and  mass  performed  by 


SETTLEMENT  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO.  403 

Father  Palou  assisted  by  his  brother  missionaries;  and  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  ceremonies  the  Te  Deum  was  sung,  accom- 
panied, as  was  usual  whenever  practicable  on  such  occasions, 
with  ringing  of  bells,  salvos  of  artillery  and  fusillades  from 
land  and  sea.  A  collation,  the  best  the  circumstances  afforded, 
was  then  spread  for  the  entertainment  of  the  company  by 
Comandante  Moraga;  and  the  day  closed  with  a  feast,  if  not 
of  luxuries,  of  food  seasoned  with  greater  joys  than  any  lux- 
uries alone  could  have  produced. 

It  is  likely  that  the  formal  foundation  of  the  mission  at 
Dolores  would  have  taken  place  about  the  same  time;  but 
Moraga  thought  proper  to  await  an  order  for  that  purpose 
from  Rivera  y  Moncada.  In  the  meanwhile  it  was  determined 
to  make  a  more  complete  examination  and  survey  of  the  bay 
than  had  yet  been  made.  Accordingly,  while  Moraga  with 
eight  of  his  soldiers  started  off  southeastwardly  to  pass 
around  the  southern  arm,  Quiros  and  Canizares  of  the  San 
Carlos,  accompanied  by  Father  Cambon  and  a  few  sailors, 
embarked  in  the  launch  belonging  to  the  ship  and  proceeded 
to  the  northward.  Moraga  marched  until  he  reached  the 
head  of  the  southern  bay;  and  then,  passing  around  it  he 
marched  along  the  eastern  side  with  the  intention  of  follow- 
ing it  up  to  a  point  on  the  Straits  of  Carquinez,  which  had 
been  agreed  upon  for  a  meeting  of  the  two  parties.  But,  see- 
ing a  large  opening  in  the  Contra  Costa  mountain  range  and 
supposing  it  would  afford  him  a  short  cut,  he  marched  off  to 
the  right  and  soon  found  himself  involved  among  the  mount- 
ains, from  which  it  would  be  impossible  to  reach  the  point  of 
union  by  the  time  fixed  on.  This  compelled  him  to  give  up 
the  idea  of  joining  Quiros;  and,  turning  off  and  following  the 
valleys  northeastward  and  gradually  ascending  until  he 
reached  the  top  of  the  mountains,  he  looked  over  into  the 
immense  plains  beyond.  There,  by  the  long  lines  of  wood 
stretching  away  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  he  thought  he 
could  distinguish  five  distinct  water  courses;  and  he  made  up 
his  mind,  contrary  to  the  impressions  produced  by  the  flooded 
country  in  the  spring,  that  five  great  rivers  coming  from  dif- 


404  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

ferent  sources  joined  together  to  make  the  one  immense  river, 
called  the  San  Francisco,  which  swept  down  through  the 
Straits  of  Carquinez  and  by  the  way  of  the  Golden  Gate  into 
the  ocean.  He  descended  the  eastern  slope  of  the  mountains 
and  went  on  to  the  first  of  these  five  rivers,  which  was  the 
present  San  Joaquin,  and,  having  managed  to  ford  it,  marched 
eastward  into  the  plains.  He  finally  reached  a  point  from 
which  it  appears  he  could  see  neither  mountain  nor  hill.  All 
seemed  one  unbroken  plain  like  the  ocean:  the  sun  rose  and 
set  on  an  apparently  level  horizon.  There  were  no  trees; 
there  was  no  water;  it  was  excessively  hot;  nothing  was  to 
be  seen  of  Indians,  who  abounded  along  the  river;  and  even 
the  elks  and  other  game  became  scarce  in  those  seemingly 
arid  wastes.  Under  the  circumstances,  Moraga  contented 
himself  with  what  he  had  thus  seen  and  retracing  his  steps 
returned  to  San   Francisco,  where  he  arrived  on  October  7.1 

Ouiros  and  his  party,  meanwhile,  proceeded  in  their  launch 
into  San  Pablo  bay  and  up  along  the  eastern  shore  to  the 
Straits  of  Carquinez.  They  seem  to  have  examined  what  is 
now  the  port  of  Vallejo,  which  they  called  Puerto  de  la  Asun- 
cion de  Nuestra  Sehora,  and  pronounced  it  as  fine  as  that  of 
San  Diego."  They  then  passed  around  towards  the  westward, 
examined  the  shores  and  entered  into  what  is  now  known  as 
Petaluma  creek,  which  they  at  first  supposed  to  communicate 
with  the  ocean  at  or  near  Bodega;  but  after  a  day  and  night's 
labor  they  found  an  end  of  their  navigation  and  were  con- 
vinced that  the  only  exit  of  the  waters  of.  the  bay  and  river 
of  San  Francisco  was  the  narrow  passage  by  which  the  San 
Carlos  had  entered.  Having  completed  the  survey  of  San 
Pablo  bay,  Quiros  returned  to  the  presidio.  After  Moraga's 
return  the  two  sat  down  together,  compared  notes  and  made 
up  a  joint  report  of  what  they  had  done  and  seen  for  his 
excellency,  the  viceroy  Bucareli. 

The  formal  foundation  of  the  mission  at  Dolores  had  not 
yet  taken  place.     Moraga  had   intended,  as  before  stated,  to 

1  Palou,  Vida,  206-212;  Noticias,  164-175. 

2  "No  menos  famoso  y  seguro  que  el  de  San  Diego." — Palou,  Vida,  213. 


SETTLEMENT  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO.  405 

wait  for  special  orders  from  Rivera  y  Moncada;  but  upon  his 
return  from  his  recent  trip  to  the  San  Joaquin  river,  no  orders 
had  been  received.  It  was  uncertain  when  they  would  come. 
It  was  getting  late  in  the  season.  The  church,  eighteen  varas 
long  by  five  wide,  and  the  missionaries'  residence  adjoining, 
ten  varas  long  by  five  wide,  were  completed.  Ouiros  and  his 
sailors,  who  had  aided  in  building  the  houses,  were  about 
returning  to  Mexico;  and  the  missionaries  were  ready  and 
anxious  to  commence  their  regular  labors.  Under  these 
circumstances  Moraga  consented  that  the  foundation  might 
be  celebrated  without  further  delay;  and  by  the  joint  orders 
of  himself  and  Ouiros  the  ceremonies  were  directed  to  pro- 
ceed. It  had  been  intended  by  the  missionaries  themselves 
that  the  celebration  should  take  place  on  October  4,  the  feast 
day  of  St.  Francis;  and  in  that  expectation  the  church  had 
been  blessed  with  all  solemnity  on  the  day  before.  But 
Moraga  still  remained  absent.  He  did  not  make  his  appear- 
ance on  St.  Francis'  day;  the  celebration  therefore  could  not 
go  on;  and  "-all  that  was  done  was  the  chanting  of  a  mass. 
Upon  Moraga's  arrival,  however,  preparations  were  at  once 
made  for  the  ceremonies.  They  took  place  on  October  9.1 
Flags  and  pendants  had  been  brought  over  from  the  San 
Carlos;  and  the  altar  and  walls  of  the  church  were  adorned 
as  well  as  could  be.  All  the  people  were  assembled,  as  at 
the  foundation  of  the  presidio  twenty-two  days  before.  On 
this  occasion,  the  place  having  been  blessed  and  the  cross 
raised,  a  procession  was  formed  of  all  the  people  and  an 
image  of  St.  Francis  borne  to  and  placed  above  the  altar. 
Father  Palou,  assisted  by  his  brother  missionaries,  performed 
the  foundation  mass  and  invoked  the  saint  as  the  patron  of 
the  new  mission.  Nor  were  there  wanting  on  the  occasion 
the  usual  salutes  and  fusillades,  as  the  soldiers  from  the  pre- 
sidio and  the  guard  of  the  mission  all  had  their  fire-arms  and 
the  sailors  from  the  San  Carlos  had,  with  the  permission  of 
Quiros,  brought  over  several  of  their  swivel-guns  to  give  eclat 

1  Palou,  in  the  Noticias,  IV,  177,  says  October  S;  but  in  the  Vida,  214,  he  says 
October  9;  and  this  seems  to  have  been  the  proper  date. 


406  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

to  the  proceedings.  After  the  ceremonies  two  beeves  were 
slaughtered  and  a  banquet  spread;  and,  as  at  the  presidio, 
the  day  closed  with  feasting  and  enjoyment. 

But  there  was  wanting  upon  the  occasion  one  element  that 
(might  have  appeared  almost  indispensable  for  the  formation 
/of  a  mission,  and  this  was  the  presence  of  the  natives.     It    | 
appears  that  about  the  middle  of  the  previous  August,  a  tribe 
called  Salsonas,  mortal  enemies  of  the  tribes  inhabiting  the 
extremity  of  the  peninsula  and  living  some  six  leagues  to  the    ' 
southeast  of  them,  had  made  a  sudden  and  unexpected  on-   } 
slaught,  set  fire  to  the  rancherias  and  killed  all  they  could  meet/ 
The  San   Francisco  Indians,  unprepared  for  such  an  attack, 
fled  for  their  lives;  and  those  who  escaped  slaughter  threw 
themselves  upon  their    rafts,  paddled   out  into  the  bay  and 
took  refuge  either  upon  the  uninhabited  islands  or  upon  the 
opposite  shores.     So  merciless  and  unsparing  were  the  ene- 
mies that  not  a  single  survivor  remained  on  the  San  Francisco 
shore;  and  so  great  was  the  dread  the  fugitives  entertained  of 
their   assailants  that  none  of   them,  except    a  few  skulking 
hunters,  who  were  hostile,  ventured  to  return  until  the  next 
spring;  and  it  was  consequently  not  until  then  that  the  work 
of  conversion  could  commence.  •  Such  were  the  ceremoniefx 
and  such  the  circumstances  under  which  was  founded  the  sixth  /  ( 
mission  of  Alta  California,  known  as  that  of  San   Francisco 
or  Dolores,  or,  more  properly  and  in  full,  the  Mission  of  San 
Francisco  de  Assisi  at  Dolores.1    


1  Palou,  Vida,  214,  215;  Noticias,  IV,  176-181 


CHAPTER    IX. 

SANTA    CLARA   AND   SAN    JOSE. — EVENTS   OF    1 7/7-/9- 

THE  mission  of  Santa  Clara,  which  had  generally  been 
mentioned  in  connection  with  that  of  San  Francisco  and 
was  intended  to  have  been  established  about  the  same  time, 
was  not  founded  until  January  12,  1777,  three  months  after  that 
of  San  Francisco.  The  great  plain,  in  the  midst  of  which  it 
is  situated,  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Spaniards  from  the 
first  time  they  laid  their  eyes  upon  it.  This  was  in  Novem- 
ber, 1769,  when  Governor  Portola,  after  discovering  San  Fran- 
cisco, marched  down  the  bay  shore  to  the  neighborhood  of 
what  is  now  San  Jose.  It  was  next  seen  and  traversed  by 
Pedro  Fages  and  Father  Crespi  in  their  exploration  of  the 
eastern  side  of  the  bay  in  1772.  It  was  next  traversed  by 
Rivera  y  Moncada  and  Palou  in  1774  and  by  Heceta,  Palou 
and  De  la  Campa  in  1775.  In  the  spring  of  1776  Anza, 
Moraga  and  Font  passed  through  it  and  in  June  of  that  year 
it  was  again  traversed  by  Moraga,  Palou,  Cambon  and  the 
San  Francisco  soldiers  and  settlers  on  their  march  up  from 
Monterey.  At  that  season,  being  thickly  covered  with  grass, 
as  yet  uncropped  by  domestic  animals,  it  swarmed  with  herds 
of  elks,  deer  and  antelopes.  In  September  of  that  year 
Moraga  saw  it  twice  more,  once  upon  his  way  around  the 
head  of  the  bay  and  again  upon  his  return.  But  it  was  not 
until  November,  1776,  that  it  was  regularly  surveyed,  nor 
until  January,  1777,  as  above  stated,  that  it  was  settled. 

Comandante  Rivera  y  Moncada,  after  the  troubles  rigi- 
nating  out  of  the  uprising  of  the  Indians  at  San  Diego  had 
been  settled  as  has  been  related,  returned  to  Monterey  and 

(407) 


408  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

arrived  there  about  the  beginning  of  November.  He  had 
started  from  San  Diego,  after  reading  the  last  dispatches  from 
Bucareli,  with  the  intention  of  pressing  forward  and  assisting 
in  the  foundation  of  San  Francisco  and  Santa  Clara.  But 
finding  that  San  Francisco  had  been  already  founded,  he  now 
turned  his  entire  attention  to  Santa  Clara  and  at  once  set  out 
with  Father  Tomas  de  la  Pefia  Saravia,  one  of  the  missionaries 
appointed  for  the  new  establishment,  to  visit  the  neighbor 
hood  and  select  a  site.  They  proceeded  to  the  Guadalupe 
river  near  where  it  discharges  into  the  bay  and  examined  its 
course  and  thfr  surrounding  plains  with  great  care.  They 
found  many  small  streams  of  running  water,  and  soon  selected 
as  the  site  of  the  future  mission  a  place  -upon  one  of  them, 
three  leagues  from  the  bay,  which  seemed  the  most  advan- 
tageous not  only  for  communication  with  the  surrounding 
Indians  but  for  cultivation  of  the  soil,  which  was  there  pecu- 
liarly rich  and  well  watered.  Having  accomplished  this  task 
they  then  proceeded  to  the  mission  of  San  Francisco,  where 
Peha  remained,  while  Rivera  y  Moncada  after  visiting  the 
new  presidio  made  another  visit  to  the  San  Joaquin  river  and 
then  returned  to  Monterey.  Arrived  there,  he  immediately 
prepared  and  sent  off  the  soldiers  specially  designated  as  a 
guard  for  the  mission  of  San  Francisco  and  also  those  intended 
for  Santa  Clara.  All  these  being  joined  in  one  party,  and  their 
families  accompanying  them,  they  took  up  their  march  first  to 
San  Francisco,  where  they  arrived  towards  the  end  of  Decem- 
ber; and  thence  those  intended  for  Santa  Clara  marched  back, 
under  the  leadership  of  Moraga  accompanied  by  Father  Pefia, 
to  the  site  of  the  proposed  new  mission.  On  January  12,  1777, 
as  before  stated  having  reached  the  chosen  spot,  they  con- 
structed, sanctified  and  erected  a  cross;  put  up  a  rude  chapel; 
built  an  altar,  and  Pena  celebrated  the  first  mass.  Soon 
afterwards  a  square  of  seventy  varas  in  each  direction  was 
marked  off  two  sides  of  which  were  intended  for  the  church, 
missionaries'  residence  and  various  shops  and  offices,  and  the 
other  two  for  a  guard-house,  barracks  for  nine  soldiers  and  a 
ppblador,  and  a  store-house.     The  work  of  building  was  com- 


SANTA   CLARA  AND  SAN  JOSE.  409 

menced  almost  immediately;  and,  as  soon  as  it  commenced,  a 
messenger  was  dispatched  for  Father  Jose  Murguia,  who  had 
been  named  as  the  associate  missionary  of  the  place  and  who 
still  remained  at  Monterey.  Murguia,  upon  receiving  notice 
of  the  foundation,  set  out  with  the  various  articles  of  furni- 
ture designed  for  the  new  mission  and  arrived  on  January  21; 
and^ thereafter  the  work  went  rapidly  forward.1 
f  "Tlie  Santa  Clara  valley,  which  seems  to  have  been  first 
called  "  El  Llano  de  los  Robles — The  Plain  of  the  Oaks  "  and) 
^afterwards  the  Plains  of  San  Bernardino/was  described  by 
Palou  as  thirty  Spanish  leagues  in  length  by  from  three  to 
five  in  breadth.  It  contained  the  richest  of  soil  and  after- 
wards, when  cultivated,  bore  great  harvests  of  wheat,  maize, 
beans  and  in  fact  every  kind  of  grain  and  vegetable  and 
every  species  of  European  fruit  that  was  planted.  The  yield 
was  so  luxuriant  as  not  only  to  maintain  the  missionaries  and 
neophytes  and  to  feast  and  thereby  attract  the  wild  Indians 
of  the  neighborhood,  but  also  to  furnish  supplies  for  the 
troops  and  people  at  San  Francisco.  The  Guadalupe  river 
and  the  many  springs  and  rivulets  furnished  water  in  abun- 
dance for  irrigation;  and  the  river  also  afforded  in  the  win- 
ter season  large  and  excellent  salmons;  but  there  were  no 
shell  fish  or  mussels  within  easy  reach.  The  oak  trees  scat- 
tered over  the  valley  bore  great  quantities  of  acorns,  and  the 
open  spaces  and  hills  various  kinds  of  seeds  and  wild  oats, 
all  of  which,  previous  to  the  advent  of  the  missionaries,  had 
served  as  food  for  the  numerous  natives  whose  rancherias 
were  seen  in  every  direction. 

The  natives  seemed  to  be  of  the  same  or  nearly  the  same 
blood  and  to  speak  nearly  the  same  language,  as  those  of  San 
Francisco.  They  were  very  friendly  and  in  a  short  time  after 
the  foundation  of  the  mission  began  to  repair  to  it.  But  it  was 
rather  for  what  they  could  beg  or  steal,  that  they  came,  than 
with  any  object  of  conversion.  They  were  great  thieves. 
One  of  their  first  exploits  was  to  run  off  and  slaughter  some 
of  the  mules  belonging  to  the  soldiers;  and,  though  they  were 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  IV    197-199;  Vida,  218,  219. 


410  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

pursued,  a  few  killed  and  others  flogged,  the  time  can  hardly 
be  said  to  have  ever  come  when  they  were  not  ready  for  a 
theft,  if  an  opportunity  presented  itself.  In  May  an  epidemic 
broke  out,  which  carried  off  most  of  their  children.  The 
missionaries,  by  going  about  among  the  rancherias,  managed 
to  baptize  some  fifty  of  them  before  they  died;  and  these 
being  the  first  baptized  and  dying,  as  they  did,  within  the 
communion  of  the  church,  were  regarded  as  the  first  fruits  of 
the  mission.  Afterwards  the  work  of  conversion  progressed 
rapidly  and  in  less  than  eight  years  the  number  of  neophytes 
amounted  to  nearly  seven  hundred.1 

Santa  Clara,  as  well  as  San  Francisco,  had  thus  been  ini- 
tiated in  the  absence  of  Jum'pero.  But  no  sooner  did  that  zeal- 
ous founder  of  missions  arrive  at  Monterey  from  his  south- 
ern labors,  which  was  about  the  beginning  of  January,  1777, 
than  he  made  preparations  to  visit  the  new  establishments. 
In  the  spirit  he  had  been  present  at  them  all  the  time.  It 
was  under  his  presidency  and  in  his  name  that  all  had  been 
done.  It  was  his  energy  that  had  opened  the  way  and  his 
foresight  that  had  laid  the  foundations  for  the  new  settle- 
ments. But  as  a  matter  of  fact  he  had  never  yet  seen  either 
San  Francisco  or  Santa  Clara  or  any  part  of  the  bay  or  the 
mountains  surrounding  it.  He  had  heard  much  about  them; 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  his  yearnings  were  almost 
limitless;  but  even  yet  there  were  various  causes  to  delay  his 
intended  visit.  The  principal  among  these  was  the  arrival  of 
Felipe  de  Neve,  the  recently-appointed  governor,  who  had  been 
directed  by  BucareH  to  change  his  residence  from  Loreto  to 
Monterey  and  reached  the  latter  place  on  February  3.  With 
him,  as  the  future  head  of  the  civil  and  military  authority, 
Jum'pero  had  much  to  discuss  in  reference  to  the  government 
of  the  country  and  especially  the  adjustment  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical with  the  civil  and  military  jurisdictions.  He  also  had 
many  arrangements  to  make  in  reference  to  the  new  mis- 
sions, which  were  to  be  founded  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Santa  Barbara  Channel;  and  at  the  same  time  he  felt  called 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  IV,  199,  200;  Vida,  219-221. 


SANTA  CLARA  AND  SAN  JOSE.  411 

upon  to  labor  sedulously  and  steadily  at  his  more  exclusively 
apostolic  duties.  In  the  early  part  of  the  autumn,  however, 
he  finally  got  away.  On  September  28  he  reached  Santa 
Clara,  whence,  after  performing  mass  and  preaching  one  day 
and  resting  another,  he  proceeded  to  San  Francisco  which  he 
reached  on  October  1.  Three  days  afterward  was  the  festival 
of  St.  Francis;  and  the  occasion  was  taken  advantage  of  for  a 
celebration  displaying  all  the  pomp  and  ceremony  of  which 
the  place  was  capable.  The  people  of  the  mission  were  joined 
by  the  soldiers  and  settlers  from  the  presidio;  a  mass  more 
than  ordinarily  imposing  was  performed  by  the  father  pres- 
ident; there  was  jubilee  on  every  side;  and  among  all  who 
were  congregated  not  the  least  joyful,  according  to  Palou, 
were  the  newly-made  Christians  of  the  mission,  of  whom 
there  were  already  seventeen  adults. 

After  remaining  with  his  old  friend  Palou  at  the  mission 
ten  days  and  fully  resting  from  the  fatigues  of  his  journey, 
Juni'pero  proceeded  to  the  presidio  for  the  purpose  of  seeing 
both  it  and  also  what  was  then  known  as  the  port.  This, 
as  has  been  stated,  was  the  anchorage  immediately  in  front  of 
the  presidio.  As  he  cast  his  eyes  for  the  first  time  upon  the 
Golden  Gate,  he  broke  out  in  thanks  to  God,  which  he  re- 
peated many  times.  "  At  length,  at  length,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  has  our  Father  St.  Francis  advanced  the  sacred  cross  of  his 
missions  to  the  very  last  extremity  of  California:  to  go  further 
requires  ships."  In  his  exultation,  however,  though  contem- 
plating the  great  advance  thus  made,  he  could  not  help  look- 
ing back  and  reflecting  that  the  eight  missions  so  far  estab- 
lished were  very  far  apart  and  that  to  fill  the  gaps  between 
them  would  require  further  efforts.  But  to  him  efforts  like 
these  were  a  labor  of  love;  and,  as  he  faced  around  and  re- 
turned to  Monterey,  it  was  only  to  renew  his  exertions  and 
work  on  unfalteringly  to  the  end. 

It  was  soon  after  this  time,  or,  to  be  exact,  it  was  Novem- 
ber 29,1  1777,  that  the  town  of  San  Jose,  or  to  give  the  full 
Spanish  title,  "El   Pueblo  de  San  Jose  de  Guadalupe,"  was 

1  Cal.  Archives,  M.  &  C.  I,  324. 


412  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

founded.  In  the  spring  of  that  year,  Governor  Felipe  de 
Neve,  while  on  his  way  to  visit  the  port  of  San  Francisco, 
had  stopped  at  the  mission  of  Santa  Clara  and  while  there 
had  taken  careful  note  of  the  luxuriant  plains  surrounding  it 
and  their  adaptability,  both  as  respected  soil  and  climate,  for 
cultivation.  It  had  been  a  favorite  part  of  the  viceroy  Buca- 
reli's  plan  for  the  settlement  of  California  to  plant  at  least  a 
few  pueblos  or  towns  of  Spanish  people;  and,  when  De  Neve 
was  transferred  from  Loreto  to  Monterey,  he  received  special 
instructions  upon  this  subject.  The  settlers,  who  had  been 
sent  up  under  the  leadership  of  Anza  from  Sonora  and  who 
had,  in  accordance  with  instructions,  gone  to  San  Francisco, 
did  not  find  the  site  of  either  the  presidio  or  mission  of  that 
place  suitable  for  raising  grain  or  fruits.  But  here,  at  a 
distance  of  but  little  more  than  a  day's  journey  and  near  the 
shore  of  the  same  bay,  there  were  fields  which  for  extent, 
richness,  salubrity  and  in  fact  everything  that  could  make 
them  suitable  for  settlement  and  cultivation,  were  not  to  be 
excelled.  Under  these  circumstances  the  governor  deter- 
mined upon  San  Jose  as  the  best  place  for  the  pueblo  which 
Bucareli  desired  founded  on  the  bay  of  San  Francisco;  and 
he  accordingly  designated  as  the  site  the  eastern  bank  of  the 
Guadalupe  river,  opposite  the  mission  of  Santa  Clara,  and 
along  that  river  to  its  source.1 

To  this  place,  after  reporting  to  the  viceroy  and  asking 
that  a  number  of  industrious  and  intelligent  settlers  might  be 
sent  up  from  Mexico  by  sea,  the  governor  directed  Lieutenant 
Moraga  to  proceed  with  nine  soldiers  and  five  of  the  pobla- 
dores  or  settlers  who  had  come  with  Anza  from  Sonora  and 
were  then  with  their  families  at  San  Francisco.  To  each  of 
the  pobladores  was  given  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  farming  imple- 
ments, two  cows,  two  horses,  a  mule,  two  sheep  and  two 
goats.  They  left  the  presidio  of  San  Francisco  on  November 
7  and  proceeded  very  leisurely.     Counting  children  and  all 

1  "LessenalJ  sitio  y  repartio  terras  para  forraar  un  pueblo,  titulado  de  San 
Joseph  de  Guadalupe,  serialandoles  para  la  ubicacion  arriba  de  la  mision  de  Santa 
Clara,  al  otro  lado  del  Rio  hiicia  al  nacimiento  de  el  nombrado  de  Guadalupe, 
distante  de  las  casas  de  la  mision  tres  quartos  de  legua." — Falou,  Vida,  225. 


SANTA   CLARA  AND  SAA  JOSE.  413 

there  were  sixty-eight  of  them.  Upon  arriving  at  the  spot, 
Moraga,  in  the  name  of  the  king  and  as  directed  by  the  gov- 
ernor, designated  the  square  where  the  houses  were  to  be 
erected;  distributed  building  lots,  and  marked  out  for  each 
one  a  field  for  cultivation,  sufficient  for  the  planting  of  a 
fanega  or  about  two  bushels  of  maize  and  for  beans  and  peas. 
He  then  commenced  the  building  of  houses,  which  were  con- 
structed of  palisades  or  upright  stakes  of  wood  plastered 
with  mud,  according  to  the  style  then  in  vogue.  As  soon  as 
these  were  finished,  the  fields  were  prepared  and  planted;  and 
then  an  irrigating  canal  was  constructed  so  as  to  bring  water 
from  the  river  to  the  fields.  Thus  was  started  the  pueblo  or 
town  of  San  Jose,  the  first  of  purely  civil  settlements  in 
California.  Its  pobladores  had  from  the  beginning  all  the 
privileges  belonging,  under  the  Spanish  laws,  to  inhabitants 
of  provincial  pueblos.  On  account  of  the  near  neighborhood 
of  the  mission  of  Santa  Clara,  the  missionaries  of  that  place 
were  requested  by  the  governor  and  they  consented  to  regard 
and  treat  them  as  parishioners,  and  to  administer  to  them  the 
necessary  sacraments.  But  so  far  as  their  government  was 
concerned,  as  soon  as  their  organization  was  completed,  they 
were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  an  alcalde  or  magistrate  of 
their  own  class,  who  was  subordinate  to  the  governor  only. 
They  also  maintained  their  own  guard,  consisting  of  a  cor- 
poral and  three  soldiers,  so  that  both  in  a  civil  and  military 
point  of  view  they  were  entirely  distinct  from  the  mission.1 
The  pueblo  and  the  mission  were  so  distinct  in  fact  that  in 
the  course  of  time  a  dispute  arose  in  reference  to  their  bound- 
ary line;  and  there  was  a  long  and  bitter  quarrel  between 
them  before  the  controversy  was  finally  settled. 

While  San  Jose  was  thus  being  founded,  Juni'pero  renewed 
his  missionary  labors  at  Monterey.  The  converts  there  had 
largely  increased  and  he  baptized  great  numbers.  But  there 
was  one  difficulty  which  caused  him  much  uneasiness.  This 
was  the  fact  that  he  could  not  confirm.     As  a  priest,  he  had 


1  Palou,  Noticias,   IV,   203-205;  Vida.  225;  Cal.    Archives,  M.  &  C.   I,   324, 
325- 


414  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

the  authority,  under  the  laws  of  the  church,  to  baptize;  but 
as  a  mere  priest  he  had  no  authority  to  confirm.  The  rite 
of  confirmation  could  be  administered  regularly  only  by  a 
bishop  It  was  not  likely,  however,  considering  the  remote- 
ness of  California,  that  any  bishop  would  visit  it;  and  conse- 
quently it  was  not  likely,  if  Juni'pero's  newly-made  Christians 
had  to  wait  for  a  bishop,  that  they  would  ever  be  confirmed 
He  was  too  sincere  in  his  convictions  of  the  necessity  of  such 
confirmation  not  to  be  greatly  exercised  in  spirit.  If  he  had 
been  more  of  a  politician,  or  if  the  church  had  had  more 
appreciation  for  modest  worth,  Junipero  would  long  already 
have  occupied  a  high  ecclesiastical  office.  But,  as  is  often 
the  case  with  those  of  the  greatest  merit,  he  found  his  happi- 
ness in  quiet  labor  and  shrank  from  everything  that  might 
seem  calculated  for  his  own  aggrandizement.  For  this  reason, 
though  he  sought  and  zealously  labored  to  be  invested  with 
the  power  of  confirmation,  to  the  end  that  the  Californians 
might  enjoy  all  the  fruits  of  their  conversion,  he  studiously 
avoided  asking  any  accession  of  ecclesiastical  dignity  for  him- 
self If  the  asseverations  of  Palou,  which  seem  borne  out 
by  the  character  of  his  illustrious  superior,  are  to  be  believed, 
it  may  be  doubtful  whether  Junipero  would  have  been  really 
pleased  to  have  been  made  a  bishop.  But  whether  so  or  not, 
his  great  object  of  being  invested  with  the  power  of  confir- 
mation was  accomplished  by  the  reception  of  a  patent, 
founded  on  a  bull  of  Pope  Clement  XIV.,  which  gave  him 
that  authority.  The  bull  was  issued  on  July  16,  1774,  and 
conceded  the  power  for  ten  years.  But  the  patent,  under 
which  Junipero  acted,  had  to  come  through  the  prefect  of 
missions;  there  were  formalities  and  delays;  and  it  conse- 
quently did  not  reach  his  hands  until  the  end  of  June,  1778. 
No  sooner  did  it  arrive,  however,  than  he  zealously  went  to 
work  and  as  rapidly  as  possible  confirmed  all  the  people  of 
his  mission  of  San  Carlos.  The  ceremonies  kept  him  until 
August  25.  He  then  embarked  for  San  Diego  and  after  a 
short  stay,  confirming  all  the  people  there,  he  proceeded 
northward  from  mission  to  mission,  repeating  the  same  cere- 


E  VENTS  OF  1779.  4 1 5 

monies  of  confirmation  at  each  until  January  5,  1779,  when 
he  again  reached  Monterey.  He  got  back  much  worn  with 
his  labors  and  the  fatigues  of  his  journey,  but  laden  with 
golden  sheaves  of  merit.1 

In  June,  1779,  news  came  from  Mexico  of  a  great  political 
change  that  had  taken  place.  The  seven  northern  provinces 
of  New  Spain  known  as  the  "  Provincias  Internas,"  including 
California,  had  been  in  1776  ordered  to  be  withdrawn,  so  to 
speak,  from  the  viceroyalty  and  erected  into  a  separate  juris- 
diction under  the  government  of  a  comandante-general,  who 
was  to  have  his  official  residence  in  Sonora.  This  change, 
though  previously  known,  had  at  length  -been  carried  into 
effect;  and  the  news,  though  the  person  appointed  to  the 
office  of  comandante-general  was  Teodoro  de  Croix,  nephew 
of  the  former  viceroy  and  an  officer  who  had  already 
expressed  himself  as  a  warm  friend  of  the  missions,  gave 
Jum'pero  and  his  associates  serious  concern.  They  had  or 
supposed  they  had  good  reason  to  believe  that  no  other  per- 
son would  take  such  interest  or  make  such  exertions  in  their 
behalf  as  the  viceroy  Bucareli  had  done.  They  felt  that 
there  could  not  be  any  change  for  the  better  and  that  there- 
fore any  change  could  not  be  but  for  .the  worse.  There  was, 
however,  no  help  for  what  had  already  taken  place;  and 
Jum'pero,  instead  of  repining,  accepted  what  could  not  be 
altered  as  the  will  of  God,  and  addressed  himself  with  more 
assiduity  than  ever  to  his  missionary  labors. 

The  summer  wore  on  and  passed  into  autumn.  Jum'pero 
had  not  as  yet  administered  the  ceremonies  of  confirmation 
either  at  Santa  Clara  or  San  Francisco.  But  he  now  resolved 
to  defer  this  duty  no  longer,  and  particularly  as  he  heard 
that  the  last  expedition  of  discovery,  that  had  been  fitted  out 
by  Bucareli,  had  arrived  at  San  Francisco  on  its  return  from 
the  north.  His,  recent  fatigues  and  the  old  trouble  of  his 
ulcerated  leg  rendered  him  very  feeble:  nevertheless  he  put 
himself  upon  the  way  and  on  October  1 1,  1779,  reached 
Santa  Clara.  At  the  same  time  the  officers  of  the  exploring 
"  Cargado  de  meritos  y  de  trabajos." — Palou,  Vida,  228. 


41 G  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

expedition,  accompanied  by  Father  Palou,  arrived  at  the  same 
place  from  San  Francisco.  While  Juni'pero  had  been  on  his 
way  northward  to  see  the  officers,  they  on  their  part  had  been 
on  their  way  southward  to  see  Juni'pero.  Neither  had  been 
aware  of  the  setting  out  of  the  other.  Their  meeting  at 
Santa  Clara  was  therefore  a  mutual  surprise  and  a  mutual 
pleasure.  But  Juni'pero  was  so  much  enfeebled  that  he  could 
hardly  stand.  It  was  a  matter  of  great  wonder  and  admira- 
tion to  his  visitors  that  under  such  circumstances  he  should 
keep  up,  and  still  more  so  that  he  should  insist  on  contin- 
uing his  labors  of  confirmation.  In  these  labors,  however,  he 
worked  with  all  the  spirit,  ardor  and  enthusiasm  of  the  time 
when  he  first  landed  in  the  New  World.  During  his  two  days' 
stay  at  Santa  Clara  and  his  subsequent  three  weeks'  stay  at 
San  Francisco,  he  confirmed  all  the  people,  who  were  ready 
for  the  ceremony,  and  among  others  all  the  unconfirmed 
sailors  of  the  exploring  expedition.  These  labors  done,  on 
November  9,  1779,  he  again  started  off  and  returned  by  the 
way  of  Santa  Clara  and  San  Jose  to  his  mission  of  San 
Carlos. 

The  expedition  of  discovery,  which  had  arrived  at  San 
Francisco  in  September,  1779,  and  to  which  reference  has  just 
been  made,  was  the  third  and  last  sent  out  by  the  viceroy 
Bucareli.  The  first,  it  will  be  recollected,  was  that  of  Juan 
Perez  in  1774,  which  examined  portions  of  the  coast  as  far 
north  as  Queen  Charlotte's  Island.  The  second  was  that  of 
Heceta  and  Bodega  y  Quadra  in  1775,  one  vessel  of  which, 
under  the  last  named  commander,  reached  the  latitude  of 
580  north,  discovered  Sitka,  observed  and  named  the  great 
opening  known  as  Paso  de  Bucareli  or  Bucareli's  Passage, 
and  on  the  way  down  the  coast  discovered  and  named  the 
port  of  Bodega  to  the  north  of  Point  Reyes.  In  this  expe- 
dition Heceta  did  himself  no  credit;  but  Bodega  y  Quadra 
proved  to  be  an  able,  active,  and  reliable  navigator;  and,  as 
will  be  seen  in  the  sequel,  he  did  not  afterwards  lack  employ- 
ment. 

When  Bucareli  learned  the  result  of  the  last  expedition  and 


EVENTS  OF  1779.  417 

particularly  when  he  heard  mention  made  of  a  great  passage 
running  inland  and  possibly  leading  from  ocean  to  ocean,  it 
only  whetted  his  appetite  for  further  exertions  in  the  way  of 
exploration  and  discovery.  He  at  once  began  to  make 
preparations  for  a  third  expedition.  With  this  object  in  view 
he  directed  the  building  of  a  new  vessel  at  San  Bias,  from 
which  place  the  late  expedition  had  sailed,  and  sent  off  to 
Callao  in  Peru  to  purchase  a  second  one,  that  was  lying  there 
and  seemed  suited  for  the  purpose.  It  took  him,  however, 
three  years  and  upwards  to  procure,  prepare,  man  and  dis- 
patch his  new  vessels.  The  one  built  at  San  Bias  was  called 
La  Princesa;  the  other,  purchased  in  South  America,  La 
Favorita.  They  were  provisioned  for  a  year.  Ignacio  Arteaga 
was  named  commander  of  the  former  and  Bodega  y  Quadra 
of  the  latter.  They  sailed  from  San  Bias  on  February  12, 
1779,  and  proceeded  directly  to  the  Paso  de  Bucareli,  enter- 
ing which  they  spent  about  two  months  in  making  surveys. 
They  found  it  to  lead  into  a  great  mediterranean  sea,  full  of 
islands.  There  were  numerous  passages;  but  whether  any  of 
them  led  into  the  Atlantic,  it  was  impossible,  in  the  time 
allotted  to  their  examination,  to  tell.  On  July  I  they  sailed 
out  into  the  open  sea  again  and,  steering  northwest,  on 
August  1  reached  latitude  60, °  where  they  found  a  spacious 
and  secure  port.  Landing  there  they  took  formal  possession 
of  the  country  and  named  the  port  Santiago.  It  formed  a 
part  of  an  arm  of  the  sea,  which  ran  far  into  the  continent 
northwardly.  In  the  region  and  upon  the  waters  round  about 
there  were  many  natives;  but  they  did  not  manifest  any  sur- 
prise at  seeing  the  Spanish  vessels.  This  was  at  first  a  won- 
der; but  it  was  soon  afterwards  explained  by  one  of  them, 
who  said  that  beyond  a  certain  high  hill,  to  which  he  pointed, 
there  were  many  ships.  Upon  hearing  this  the  Spaniards 
began  to  feel  that  they  had  met  the  Russians  and  were  prob- 
ably near  one  of  their  factories;  and  they  were  the  more 
convinced  of  it  by  the  snowy  summit  of  a  lofty  volcano, 
which  looked  down  upon  them  and  which  they  felt  satisfied 
could  be  no  other  than  the  one  discovered  by  the  Russians 

27    Vol.  I. 


418  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

and  named  by  them  Mount  St.  Elias!  Sailing  on  along  the 
coast  the  navigators  soon  found  that  the  land  trended  slightly 
towards  the  southwest;  so  that  as  they  advanced,  passing 
along  many  islands,  they  came  at  length  to  a  bay  in  latitude 
59°,  where  they  again  landed  and  again  took  formal  posses- 
sion of  the  country.  By  this  time  there  were  so  many  sick 
and  the  season  was  so  far  advanced  that  they  resolved  to  run 
rapidly  down  to  one  of  the  California  ports  to  recruit.  Turn- 
ing round  in  accordance  with  this  resolution  and  sailing  with 
both  wind  and  current  they  reached  the  bay  of  San  Francisco 
by  the  middle  of  September;  and  running  in  they  remained 
there  until  the  end  of  October. 

It  had  been  the  intention  of  Arteaga  to  stop  at  San  Diego 
and  not  at  San  Francisco.  But,  on  September  14,  upon 
approaching  the  latter  place,  the  vessels  being  then  separated, 
Bodega  y  Quadra  of  the  Favorita  determined  to  run  in  and 
look  for  the  Princesa;  and  the  next  day  Arteaga  of  the  Prin- 
cesa  followed,  apparently  with  the  object  of  looking  for  the 
Favorita.  There  was,  however,  another  object  in  stopping 
on  the  part  of  Bodega  y  Quadra.  He  carried  in  his  vessel 
an  image  of  "  Nuestra  Sehora  de  los  Remedios,"  which  he 
desired  to  present  to  the  mission  church;  and  he  therefore 
resolved  to  at  least  run  in  and,  if  he  should  not  find  the 
Princesa,  to  leave  the  image  and  then  proceed  to  San  Diego. 
But,  upon  the  arrival  of  the  latter  vessel  the  next  day,  the 
plan  of  going  to  San  Diego  was  changed;  and  it  was  resolved 
that  both  vessels  should  remain  at  San  Francisco  so  as  to 
cure  their  sick,  many  of  the  crews  being  down  with  the 
scurvy,  and  also  to  afford  an  opportunity  of  making  charts 
of  their  recent  surveys  and  writing  up  their  diaries.  On 
October  3,  the  festival  of  Nuestra  Seilora  de  los  Remedios, 
the  image  was  carried  in  procession  to  the  mission  and  with 
great  solemnities,  including  mass,  sermon,  salutes  and  fire- 
works in  which  all  the  people  participated,  placed  in  the 
church  over  the  altar.  And  the  next  day,  being  that  of  St. 
Francis,  another  grand  celebration  took  place  at  which  all 
were  likewise  present;  so  that  there  were  two  days  of  ceremony, 


EVENTS  OF  1779.  419 

feasting'  and  enjoyment.  Towards  the  end  of  October  news 
came  by  a  courier  from  Monterey  that  war  had  broken  out 
between  Spain  and  England.  This  hastened  the  return  of 
the  vessels.  The  sick  were  by  this  time  nearly  recovered  and 
the  charts  and  diaries  completed.  An  arrangement  was 
made  by  which  Father  Cambon  of  the  mission,  who  was  ill, 
exchanged  place  with  Father  Matias  Noriega,  one  of  the 
chaplains  of  the  Princesa.  On  October  30,  both  the  vessels 
shook  out  their  sails  again  and  proceeded  directly  on  their 
way  to  San  Bias.1 

Bucareli,  however,  did  not  live  to  receive  their  report. 
News  of  his  death  reached  San  Francisco  about  the  middle 
of  October,  1779,  very  shortly  after  the  arrival  there  of  the 
navigators  on  their  return  from  the  north.  The  melancholy 
intelligence,  as  soon  as  it  was  communicated,  caused  great 
sorrow  not  only  to  the  voyagers  but  to  every  one  who  was  in 
any  way  interested  in  California  and  particularly  to  Father 
Jum'pero.  He  had  lost  a  great  friend  and  coadjutor.  Almost 
from  the  first  moment  that  these  two  earnest  men  had  met, 
Bucareli  had  become  as  zealous  in  the  interests  of  California 
as  Jum'pero  was,  and  from  that  time  forward  till  his  death  had 
devoted  the  best  of  his  energies  and  the  sincerest  of  his  wishes 
to  forwarding  its  advancement.  It  was  during  his  adminis- 
tration, under  his  auspices  and  at  his  express  direction,  as  has 
been  seen,  that  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  was  sailed  into  and 
explored  and  San  Francisco,  Santa  Clara  and  San  Jose, 
among  other  important  places,  were  founded  and  settled.  He 
thus  did  eminent  service  to  the  country.  He  well  deserved 
the  general  sorrow  that  was  felt  at  his  death.  He  still  de- 
serves to  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance  by  all  Californians. 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  IV,  221-220;  Vida,  165-170. 


C  H  APTE  R    X. 

JUNfPERO'S      TROUBLES. — THE     COLORADO     MISSIONS.— LOS 
ANGELES. — SAN    BUENAVENTURA. — SANTA    BARBARA. 

IT  was  not  without  good  grounds  that  Juni'pero  apprehended 
difficulty  from  the  transfer  of  the  Californias  from  the 
government  of  the  viceroy  to  that  of  the  comandante-general; 
but  the  anticipated  trouble  did  not  come  in  the  way  or  at  the 
time  expected.  It  had  been  feared  that  Teodoro  de  Croix, 
the  comandante-general,  might  be  lukewarm  or  perhaps  ad- 
verse; but  on  the  contrary  he  proved  to  be  a  fast  friend  of  the 
spiritual  conquest  and  the  missionaries;  and  when  he  entered 
upon  his  office  he  not  only  assured  Juni'pero  of  his  good  will 
but  went  so  far  as  to  give  orders  for  the  recruiting  of  more 
soldiers  and  the  foundation  of  more  missions  in  Alta  Califor- 
nia. This  action  was  in  great  part  due  to  Bucareli,  who  upon 
the  transfer  of  the  government  had  specially  recommended 
the  northwest  coast  to  the  comandante-general;  but  at  the 
same  time  the  comandante-general  was  a  ready  and  willing 
listener.  Everything,  therefore,  bid  fair  for  the  future  of  the 
new  province  even  under  the  new  arrangement.  But  after 
the  death  of  Bucareli,  difficulties  altogether  unlooked  for  were 
started  by  Felipe  de  Neve,  the  governor  of  California.  He 
had  been  appointed  to  his  office  by  the  viceroy  and  charged 
by  him  to  cherish  the  missions;  but  no  sooner  had  his  patron 
passed  away  than  he  conceived  scruples  about  the  power  to 
administer  confirmation,  notwithstanding  that  power  had  been 
exercised  long  and  extensively  and  without  question.  He 
claimed  tha^,  as  the  jurisdiction  cf  the  Internal  Provinces 
including  California  had  been  separated  from  the  viceroyalty, 
(420) 


JUNIPERO' S  TROUBLES.  421 

the  authority  to  confirm  should  be  approved  by  the  coman- 
dancia  of  those  provinces.  Junipero  on  his  part  offered  ar- 
guments to  show  that  his  authority  was  legitimate;  but  the 
governor,  either  having  some  ulterior  purpose  in  view  or  being 
very  technical  in  his  constructions,  would  not  or  could  not 
see  their  force  and  pertinaciously  persisted  in  his  objections. 
In  view  of  this  condition  of  affairs,  his  authority  being  thus 
called  in  question,  Junipero  suspended  the  exercise  of  the 
rite;  transmitted  his  patent  and  an  account  of  the  controversy 
to  the  college  of  San  Fernando;  asked  that  the  questions 
involved  might  be  submitted  to  the  proper  tribunal,  and  in 
the  meanwhile  shut  himself  up  in  his  mission  of  San  Carlos 
and  refused  to  stir  abroad  until  the  matter  should  be  decided. 
The  subject  of  confirmation  and  the  laws  in  relation  thereto 
are  hardly  of  sufficient  general  interest  or  importance  to 
justify  even  a  recapitulation  of  the  points  in  issue.  Suffice 
it  to  say  that  the  controversy  was  laid  by  the  college  of  San 
Fernando  before  the  new  viceroy  and  comandante-general  and 
that  in  due  time  instructions  were  made  out  to  the  effect  that 
the  governor  should  throw  no  more  impediments  in  the  way 
of  the  father  president's  administration  of  the  rite  of  confirm- 
ation, and  further  that  whenever  the  father  president  desired 
to  travel  from  mission  to  mission  he  should  be  furnished  with 
an  escort  of  soldiers.  These  instructions,  having  to  pass  by 
the  way  of  Sonora  through  the  hands  of  the  comandante- 
generalj  did  not  reach  California  until  September,  1781.  But 
as  soon  as  information  of  them  arrived,  Junipero  immediately 
resumed  the  exercise  of  the  interrupted  rites  and  confirmed 
all  who  were  ready  for  the  ceremony  at  San  Carlos  and  San 
Antonio.  He  then  traveled  northward  to  San  Francisco, 
where  he  arrived  on  October  26,  and  after  a  stay  of  two 
weeks  returned  by  the  way  of  Santa  Clara,  having  in  the 
meanwhile  performed  the  necessary  ceremonies  at  each  of 
those  places;  and  he  got  back  to  his  own  mission  of  San  Carlos 
before  the  setting  in  of  the  winter  rains  and  consequent 
swelling  of  the  rivers  and  streams.1 


1  Palou,  Vida,  234-237. 


422  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

Upon  the  above  mentioned  visit  of  Junipero  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, he  was  accompanied  by  his  friend  and  coadjutor  Father 
Juan  Crespi,  the  same  who  had  been  with  Governor  Portola 
in  1769,  when  San  Francisco  was  discovered.  It  was  now 
twelve  years  since  that  time.  During  the  intervening  period 
Crespi  had  been  constantly  busy,  most  of  the  time  in  mis- 
sionary labor  at  San  Carlos  but  a  very  valuable  portion  of 
it  in  travels  and  explorations,  the  result  of  which  he  trans- 
mitted to  posterity  in  his  numerous  journals.  It  is  chiefly 
upon  his  record  that  the  history  of  the  first  years  of  the  set- 
tlement of  Alta  California,  including  the  foundation  of  San 
Diego  and  Monterey  and  the  discovery  of  San  Francisco, 
depends.  Under  these  circumstances,  having  thus  been  not 
only  one  of  the  discoverers  but  also  the  historian  of  the  dis- 
covery of  San  Francisco  and  not  having  seen  it  since  those 
days  of  its  primeval  wildness,  it  was  a  matter  of  great  interest 
to  him  to  revisit  it  and  behold  the  changes  which  a  few  years 
of  missionary  domination  had  wrought  and  which  in  part  at 
least  he  'might  contemplate  as  his  own  work.  There  was 
perhaps  a  tinge  of  melancholy  in  his  reflections.  He  could 
hardly  fail  to  see  that  there  was  a  great  future  for  the  im- 
mense bay,  which  he  had  been  one  of  the  first  to  behold  and 
of  which  he  had  spoken  in  terms  of  the  highest  admiration, 
while,  as  for  himself,  he  was  now  worn  out  with  his  manifold 
labors  and  could  not  expect  to  be  much  longer  a  participant 
or  even  a  witness  of  the  march  of  events.  However  this  may 
have  been,  his  days  were  nearly  numbered.  In  a  very  short 
time  after  getting  back  to  San  Carlos  he  sickened;  and  on 
January  1,  1782,  in  the  sixty-first  year  of  his  age  and  the 
thirty-first  of  his  ministry  among  the  savages  of  the  New 
World,  he  rendered  up  his  final  account.  During  his  sickness 
Father  Junipero  attended  almost  constantly  at  his  bedside 
and  administered  the  last  rites  of  the  church.  After  his 
death,  Junipero  called  together  all  the  people  of  the  mission 
and  the  neighboring  presidio  of  Monterey  and  in  their  pres- 
ence gave  the  body  sepulture  under  the  altar  in  the  mission 
church  of  San  Carlos.     As  was  to  have  been  expected,  every 


THE  COLORADO  MISSIONS.  423 

one  present  was  loud  in  praise  of  the  virtues  and  merits  of 
the  deceased;  and,  as  the  sad  information  of  his  death  spread 
further  and  further  among  those  who  had  known  him,  newer 
and  newer  tributes  of  respect  were  paid  to  his  memory.  But 
the  greatest  honor  paid  him,  that  with  which  he  would  have 
himself  been  most  affected,  was  the  touching  request  made  by 
Father  Juni'pero  a  few  years  afterwards,  when,  feeling  his  own 
end  approaching,  he  begged  that  he  might  be  laid  by  the  side 
of  his  beloved  disciple  and  companion  Juan  Crespi,  who  had 
thus  gone  before  him.1 

In  the  meanwhile  Teodoro  de  Croix,  the  comandante- 
general  of  the  Internal  Provinces  in  response  to  the  previous 
recommendations  of  Bucareli  and  in  fulfillment  of  his  pledges 
to  Juni'pero,  had  projected  the  foundation  of  a  presidio  and 
three  new  missions  on  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel  and  the 
settlement  of  a  new  pueblo  near  San  Gabriel.  For  this  pur- 
pose he  had  ordered  Captain  Fernando  Rivera  y  Moncada, 
who  had  formerly  been  comandante  at  Monterey  and  was 
then  comandante  at  Loreto,  to  recruit  seventy-five  soldiers 
and  the  necessary  settlers  in  Sonora  and  Sinaloa.  About 
the  same  time,  but  as  an  entirely  independent  movement,  he 
recommended  to  the  Franciscan  college  of  Santa  Cruz  at 
Queretaro  the  foundation  of  two  missions  on  the  Colorado 
river  at  or  about  the  point  where  the  road  from  Sonora  to 
California  crossed  it.  This  locality  had  for  years  been  re- 
garded as  very  important;  and  the  comandante-general 
thought  it  should  be  occupied  and  settled,  as  well  for  the 
sake  of  Sonora  as  for  that  of  California. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  Father  Kino,  in  the  prosecution 
of  his  magnificent  project  of  connecting  the  Jesuit  missions  of 
Sonora  with  those  of  Lower  California  by  carrying-  them 
around  the  head  of  the  gulf,  had  several  times  visited  the  re- 
gion of  the  junction  of  the  Colorado  and  Gila  rivers.  From  his 
days  down  to  the  time  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits,  efforts 
were  made  to  accomplish  the  same  object  by  extending  the 
missions  northward  on  both  sides  of  the  gulf;  but  there  was  a 

1  Palou,  Vida,  237-239. 


424  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

long  space  still  unoccupied.  After  the  Franciscans  took  pos- 
session of  Lower  California  and  while  they  were  preparing  to 
occupy  San  Diego  and  Monterey,  Anza  proposed  his  project 
of  opening  a  road  from  the  frontier  of  Sonora  to  the  proposed 
new  settlements.  His  offer  was  at  first  declined;  but  after- 
wards in  1774,  under  the  orders  of  the  viceroy  Bucareli,  he 
made  the  trip  and,  so  to  speak,  opened  the  road.  On  that 
occasion  he  took  along  with  him  two  missionaries  of  the  col- 
lege of  Santa  Cruz,  one  of  whom  was  Father  Francisco 
Garces.  These  stopped  and  spent  some  time  at  the  crossing 
of  the  Colorado  river,  which  was  just  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Gila,  and  had  an  opportunity  to  make  friendships  with  the 
Indians  and  inspect  the  rich  river  bottoms  inhabited  and  cul- 
tivated by  them.  Though  the  countries  generally  on  each 
side  of  the  rivers  were  arid  and  desert,  these  bottoms  were 
luxuriant;  and  the  reports  of  the  travelers  pictured  them  as 
extensive  and  extremely  favorable  for  settlement. 

On  Anza's  second  expedition  in  the  latter  part  of  1775 
with  the  soldiers  and  settlers  intended  for  San  Francisco, 
Father  Garces  again  accompanied  him  and  also  two  other 
missionaries  from  the  college  at  Queretaro,  one  of  whom  was 
Father  Pedro  Font.  But  while  Father  Font  continued  on 
with  Anza  to  Monterey,  Father  Garces  and  his  companion 
stopped  at  the  Colorado  and  undertook  to  make  surveys  of 
the  region  and  prepare  the  minds  of  the  natives  for  missions. 
Among  these  Indians,  known  generally  as  the  Yumas,  the 
chief  man  was  one  Palma.  He  had  on  their  first  visit  mani- 
fested great  friendship  for  the  whites;  and  on  this  second  visit 
he  was  flattered  by  Anza,  who  in  the  name  of  the  viceroy 
presented  him  with  a  suit  of  clothes  and  a  silver- mounted 
cane.  An  arrangement  was  easily  made  with  Palma  for  the 
protection  of  Garces  and  his  companion;  and,  while  Anza 
and  the  rest  of  the  people  went  on,  they  remained  and  com- 
menced their  labors. 

Father  Garces  appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  extraordi- 
nary aptitude  for  traveling  alone  among  the  Indians.  His 
first  undertaking  was  to  examine  the  country  along  the  west 


THE  COLORADO  MISSIONS.  425 

bank  of  the  Colorado.  This  he  did  in  company  with  Palma, 
several  other  Yumas  and  the  Lower  California  Indian  Sebas- 
tian Tarabal,  who,  as  will  be  recollected,  had  crossed  the  des- 
ert as  a  fugitive  from  San  Gabriel  in  1773  and  afterwards 
guided  Anza  on  his  first  expedition.  Father  Garces,  being  a 
missionary  as  well  as  an  explorer,  carried  along  with  him  a 
banner,  having  on  one  side  a  picture  of  the  virgin  beaming 
with  celestial  radiance  and  on  the  other  a  devil  or  lost  soul 
writhing  in  the  flames  of  hell.  As  he  traveled  about  among 
the  natives,  he  unfurled  his  banner  and  was  pleased  to  notice 
that  they  expressed  approval  of  the  pretty  picture  while  they 
turned  with  apparent  loathing  from  the  other.  Thus  he 
passed  to  the  mouth  of  the  Colorado  and  back  again.  Upon 
his  return,  leaving  his  companion  with  Palma  and  taking  only 
Tarabal  and  another  Indian  or  two,  he  traveled  across  the 
desert  to  San  Gabriel.  He  there  expressed  a  desire  to  open 
a  new  road,  in  addition  to  the  one  by  San  Gabriel,  to  San  Luis 
Obispo;  and,  as  Anza  had  by  that  time  gone  to  Monterey,  he 
applied  to  Rivera  y  Moncada  for  supplies  and  a  couple  of 
soldiers  to  assist  him.  But  Rivera  y  Moncada,  who  was  busy 
with  his  investigations  of  the  then  recent  outbreak  at  San 
Diego  and  had  satisfied  himself  that  the  Colorado  Indians 
were  implicated  in  it,  expressed  himself  as  opposed  to  every- 
thing that  could  tend  to  render  the  communication  with  the 
Colorado  any  easier  and  to  everything  that  Garces  sought  or 
was  attempting  to  effect.  He  accordingly  refused  his  request. 
Father  Garces,  nothing  daunted,  renewed  his  request  for  sup- 
plies to  the  missionaries  of  San  Gabriel;  and,  being  provided 
by  them,  he  started  off  again  with  his  Indians;  traveled  north- 
westward; then  ciossed  over  the  _  southern  end  of  the  Coast 
Range  into  the  upper  part  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  and 
thence,  crossing  the  southern  end  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  pro- 
ceeded southeastward  over  the  deserts  again  to  the  Co'orado 
and  down  to  his  starting  point  opposite  the  mouth  of  the 
Gila.  He  was,  however,  too  late  to  meet  Anza,  who  had 
already  passed  that  point  on  his  way  back  to  Sonora;  and 
Garces  after  continuing  his  travels  for  some    time    (urthcr, 


426  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

examining  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Colorado,  made  his  way 
back  to  the  Sonorian  settlements.1 

Upon  the  return,  in  1776,  of  Anza  and  Garces  from  their 
expeditions  and  hearing  their  reports  of  the  great  number  of 
Indians  at  and  about  the  junction  of  the  Colorado  and  Gila 
rivers,  said  by  Garces  to  amount  to  some  twenty-five  thou- 
sand, and  of  the  luxuriance  of  the  river  bottoms  and  the 
adaptability  of  the  region  for  settlement,  the  college  of  Santa 
Cruz  manifested  a  desire  to  plant  missions  there.  Anza  had 
said  that,  to  safely  accomplish  the  purpose,  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  found  a  strong  presidio  and  keep  on  hand  a  sufficient 
number  of  troops  to  withstand  the  savages.  But  there  were 
others  who  thought  it  could  be  done,  or  at  least  that  missions 
could  be  started  among  Indians  so  apparently  friendly  with- 
out so  much  expense  as  the  establishment  and  maintenance 
of  a  presidio  would  involve.  Among  these  latter  was  Teo- 
doro  de  Croix,  the  comandante-general.  He  either  persuaded 
himself,  or  allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded  by  the  others, 
that  a  few  missionaries,  a  few  settlers  and  a  few  soldiers 
would  be  sufficient  to  commence  the  enterprise;  and  he 
accordingly  authorized  the  foundations  of  the  proposed  mis- 
sions to  proceed. 

While  Rivera  y  Moncada  was  going  on  with  his  recruiting 
for  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel  in  Sonora  and  Sinaloa  in  the 
autumn  of  1780,  De  Croix  in  connection  with  the  college  of 
Santa  Cruz  sent  sixteen  soldiers  with  their  officers  and  six- 
teen settlers  with  their  families  and  established  two  mis- 
sions upon  the  Colorado.  The  first  of  these,  which  was 
located  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river  nearly  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Gila,  was  named  Purisima  Concepcion  de  Maria 
Santisima;  the  other,  which  was  on  the  same  bank  but  three 
leagues  down  the  river,  received  the  name  of  San  Pedro  y 
San  Pablo  The  missionaries  of  the  former  were  Fathers 
Francisco  Garces  and  Juan  Barranechc;  those  of  the  latter 
Fathers  Juan  Diaz  and  Matias  Moreno.  The  system  adopted 
in  the  foundation  of  these  establishments  was,  however,   so 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  IV,  130-139;  Vida,  251;  Forbes,    156-162. 


THE  COLORADO  MISSIONS.  427 

entirely  different  from  that  employed  in  the  other  California 
missions,  that  Father  Palou  called  it  "el  spiritual  nuevo  modo 
de  conquistar — the  new  method  of  spiritual  conquest."  The 
missionaries  were  to  pay  no  attention  to  anything  but  relig- 
ious teaching.  The  Indians  were  not  to  be  collected  into 
communities;  nor  was  any  government  to  be  established  over 
them.  There  was  not  even  to  be  any  distribution  of  food  or 
in  fact  anything  done  which  would  powerfully  attract  them 
or  make  it  their  special  interest  to  be  peaceable  and  submis- 
sive. The  converts,  instead  of  being  maintained  or  taught  to 
maintain  themselves,  were  to  be  left  among  their  wild  neigh- 
bors and  to  support  themselves  as  best  they  could.  The 
underlying  spirit  of  the  new  establishments  seems  to  have 
been  economy,  and  economy  not  only  of  means  and  labor 
but  also  even  of  interest  in  the  natives.  With  a  system  so 
defective  and  with  Indians  of  a  character  so  intractable  as 
these  ought  to  have  been  known  to  be.  it  is  no  wonder  that 
difficulties  sprang  up.  There  wanted  but  an  occasion,  and 
this  soon  presented  itself  in  the  occupation  by  the  Spanish 
settlers  of  the  narrow  spaces  of  ground,  fit  for  cultivation, 
along  the  sides  of  the  river  and  the  consequent  crowding  out 
of  the  Indians.  This  led  first  to  disagreement;  then  to  quar- 
rel, and  finally  to  bloodshed  and  massacre.  Soldiers,  settlers 
and  missionaries  were  all  involved  in  one  common  ruin. 

The  new  missions  had  scarcely  been  established  when  want 
began  to  be  felt.  The  limited  supply  of  provisions  soon  ran 
out.  The  Indians,  who  had  expected  to  be  kept  in  good 
humor  with  presents,  became  dissatisfied  and  most  of  those 
who  had  accepted  baptism  apostatized.  Affairs  began  to 
look  very  bad.  The  missionaries  sent  over  to  San  Gabriel,  as 
the  nearest  source  of  relief,  and  gave  notice  that  they  were  in 
great  straits;  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  obtain  succor 
from  Sonora  in  time  to  do  any  good,  and  that  unless  supplies 
could  be  furnished  them  at  once,  they  would  be  compelled  to 
abandon  the  establishments.  The  missionaries  of  San  Gabriel 
furnished  such  articles  as  they  could  spare,  consisting  chiefly 
of  clothing;  but  these  did  not  go  far,  and  in  the  meanwhile 


428  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

the  difficulties  about  the  occupation  of  the  cultivable  lands 
grew  more  and  more  frequent  and  more  and  more  aggravated 
There  were  no  open  struggles;  but  the  Indians,  seeing  how 
the  lands  were  being  occupied  and  their  own  harvests,  most 
of  which  were  wild,  were  being  interfered  with,  compared 
their  grievances  and  whetted  up  their  dissatisfactions.  As 
they  could  see  no  advantages  either  present  or  prospective  in 
the  missions,  but  on  the  contrary  could  only  look  forward  to 
being  eventually  driven  out  from  their  fields  and  heritage, 
and  as,  with  the  inadequate  forces  of  the  whites,  there  would 
be  no  great  danger  in  making  a  combined  attack,  they  resolved 
to  rise;  kill  the  missionaries  as  well  as  the  soldiers  and  settlers? 
and  destroy  the  missions. 

In  the  summer  of  1781,  while  affairs  at  the  new  missions 
were  in  this  condition  and  the  missionaries  on  account  of  the 
threatening  aspect  were,  according  to  Palou,  more  than  ordi- 
narily active  with  religious  sacraments  and  exercises  appro- 
priate to  anticipated  martyrdom,  Rivera  y  Moncada  arrived 
with  a  large  party  of  recruits  and  a  long  train  of  horses  and 
mules  on  his  way  from  Sonora  to  Santa  Barbara.  The  sol- 
diers and  settlers,  whom  he  had  recruited  in  Sinaloa,  he  had 
sent  directly  across  the  gulf  to  Loreto  with  instructions  to 
proceed  thence  up  the  gulf  to  the  bay  of  San  Luis  and  thence 
overland  to  San  Gabriel,  where  he  agreed  to  meet  them  as 
soon  as  he  could  collect  the  necessary  people  and  animals  to 
make  up  the  required  complement  and  get  through  with  them 
by  the  way  of  the  Colorado.  He  thus  had  with  him  the 
remainder  of  the  soldiers,  not  sent  off  through  Lower  Cali- 
fornia, whom  he  had  been  directed  to  recruit,  being  some 
forty  in  number  with  their  families,  and  all  the  horses  and 
mules  amounting  to  not  less  than  a  thousand  bead.  There 
also  marched  with  him,  as  an  additional  guard  and  escort, 
Ensign  Cayetano  Limon  and  nine  soldiers  belonging  to  one 
of  the  frontier  presidios  of  Sonora.  Meanwhile,  as  the  recruits 
from  Sinaloa  who  came  up  through  Lower  California  had 
already  reached  San  Gabriel,  Governor  Felipe  de  Neve  had 
gone  thither  from  Monterey  to  meet  them  and  be  on  hand 


THE  COLORADO  MISSIO XS.  429 

when  Rivera  y  Moncada  should  arrive;  and,  as  t-he  latter  was 
known  to  be  approaching  the  Colorado  with  a  long  train  and 
could  not  well  have  too  large  a  guard,  De  Neve  sent  off  Ser- 
geant Juan  Jose  Robles  with  six  soldiers  from  Monterey  and 
San  Diego  to  meet  him,  increase  his  escort,  and  assist  him  in 
conducting  the  new-comers  and  the  large  train  of  animals  to 
their  destination. 

When  Rivera  y  Moncada  reached  the  Colorado,  he  found 
many  of  his  animals  so  weakened  and  exhausted  with  the 
journey  that  they  could  not  go  forward;  and  he  thereupon 
determined,  while  the  people  and  all  the  animals  that  were  in 
good  condition  should  go  on  in  charge  of  Ensign  Limon  and 
his  nine  Sonora  soldiers,  he  himself,  with  Sergeant  Robles 
and  his  six  California  soldiers,  wrould  lie  over  at  the  Colorado 
until  such  time  as  the  exhausted  animals  should  recuperate 
and  might  be  able  to  proceed.  But  scarcely  had  Limon  and 
the  others  departed,  leaving  Rivera  y  Moncada  and  his  seven 
soldiers  in  charge  of  the  horses  and  mules  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  river,  when  the  Indians,  having  been  for  some  time 
meditating  their  treachery,  carried  it  into  execution.  Collect- 
ing together  in  great  numbers,  they  fell  upon  the  missions 
and  massacred  all  the  whites  with  the  exception  of  the 
women 'and  children,  whom  they  made  prisoners,  and  a  few 
men,  who  escaped.  At  both  the  missions  the  slaughter  was 
complete.  It  is  said  that  the  missionaries,  who  were  the  last 
to  suffer,  exercised  their  apostolic  duties  during  the  massacre, 
confessing  some  and  encouraging  others  with  fervent  exhor- 
tations until  they  were  themselves  struck  down.  The  Indians 
then  set  fire  to  and  destroyed  the  missions  and  all  the  build- 
ings that  had  been  erected,  so  that  only  the  smouldering 
ruins  and  the  dead  bodies  that  lay  scattered  about  remained. 
They  also  crossed  the  river;  fell  upon  Rivera  y  Moncada  and 
his  seven  soldiers,  and  slew  them  likewise.  But  Rivera  y 
Moncada,  Robles  and  their  companions  sold  their  lives  much 
more  dearly  than  the  mission  soldiers  and  killed  many  of 
their  assailants  before  they  were  finally  overpowered. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Ensign  Limon,  having  safely  conducted 


430  THE  FRANC/SCANS. 

the  people  and  animals  he  had  in  charge  to  San  Gabriel, 
turned  around  with  his  nine  Sonora  soldiers  on  his  return. 
Upon  approaching  the  Colorado  again,  he  was  informed  of 
what  had  occurred  but  was  unwilling  to  believe  the  report 
until  he  arrived  at  Concepcion  and  saw  the  ruins.  He  had 
little  time,  however,  to  make  investigations;  for  the  Indians, 
as  soon  as  they  were  aware  of  his  presence,  attacked  him 
with  great  fury.  One  of  them  wore  the  uniform  of  Rivera  y 
Moncada.  Limon  and  his  men  immediately  turned  back 
towards  San  Gabriel  and,  by  a  masterly  retreat,  bravely  repel- 
ling the  hordes  which  for  several  days  followed,  managed  to 
get  back  to  that  point,  losing  only  two  men.  Upon  reaching 
San  Gabriel  and  imparting  his  melancholy  intelligence,  Limon 
proposed  to  Governor  De  Neve,  if  furnished  with  twenty  sol- 
diers, to  go  back,  chastise  the  Yumas  and  avenge  the  mas- 
sacre. But  the  governor,  judiciously  declining  so  great  a  risk, 
ordered  him  and  his  men  to  return  to  Sonora  by  way  of 
Loreto;  and  at  the  same  time  he  forwarded  by  them  to  De 
Croix,  the  comandante-general  at  Arispe,  an  account  of  the 
sad  occurrences  and  suggestions  as  to  the  proper  measures  to 
be  taken  in  reference  thereto.  But  before  Limon's  arrival  the 
comandante-general  had  already  learned  all  and  had  ordered 
Pedro  Fages,  who  still  remained  in  Sonora,  to  proceed  with  a 
large  number  of  soldiers  to  the  Colorado;  ransom  or  rescue 
the  captives;  ascertain  and  seize  the  ringleaders  of  the  out- 
break, and  inflict  the  necessary  punishments. 

Pedro  Fages  with  a  large  company  of  soldiers,  consisting 
partly  of  Catalonian  volunteers  and  partly  of  presidial  sol- 
diers of  Sonora,  proceeded,  as  soon  as  the  necessary  prepara- 
tions could  be  made,  to  the  scene  of  destruction.  Upon 
reaching  the  Colorado  he  found  that  the  Indians  generally 
had  abandoned  the  neighborhood.  Crossing  over  to  the  ruins 
of  the  missions  everything  appeared  as  if  undisturbed  since 
the  massacre.  The  bodies  of  the  dead  still  lay  exposed,  all 
except  those  of  Fathers  Garces  and  Barraneche.  As  these 
were  not  found  among  the  rest,  it  was  hoped  they  still  lived. 
It  was  thought  possible  and  not  improbable,  as  Garces  had 


THE  COLORADO  MISSIONS.  431 

always  been  exceedingly  popular  among  the  Indians,  by 
whom  on  account  of  his  usual  salutation  he  was  familiarly 
known  as  "  El  Viva  Jesus,"  that  they  had  spared  him  and  his 
companion.  But  upon  further  search  an  extraordinary  spot 
of  ground  was  discovered.  It  was  green  while  everything 
around  it  was  burned  and  blackened.  It  was  not  only  cov-  • 
ered  with  growing  grass,  but  was  also  adorned  with  blooming 
flowers,  among  which  were  marigolds  and  others  that  were 
not  known,  but  all  bright  and  beautiful.  Upon  digging  in 
the  marvelous  place,  the  bodies  of  the  martyred  missionaries 
were  found,  still  clothed  in  their  sacerdotal  robes.  These 
circumstances  produced  their  natural  effect — natural  among  a 
people  so  superstitious;  it  was  at  once  believed  there  was 
something  miraculous  about  them.  But,  unfortunately  for 
the  credit  of  the  miracle,  it  appeared  upon  subsequent  inves- 
tigation that  an  old  Indian  woman,  to  whom  the  missionaries 
had  been  kind,  had  had  the  charity  to  cover  their  bodies 
with  earth  and  plant  grass  and  flowers  upon  their  graves. 

After  the  dead  were  gathered  up  and  properly  buried,  Fages 
proceeded  in  search  of  the  captives.  The  Indians  had  moved 
some  eight  leagues  down  the  river  and  carried  them  along. 
There  they  had  taken  up  their  quarters  in  dense  thickets, 
whither  Fages  deemed  it  unadvisable  to  follow.  But  he  suc- 
ceeded in  opening  communication  with  the  savages  and  in 
ransoming  the  captives;  and,  taking  them  with  him  and 
carrying  along  the  bodies  of  the  dead  missionaries  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  them  sepulture  in  the  nearest  mission,  he 
returned  to  the  settlements  of  Sonora.  In  the  investigations, 
which  were  subsequently  made,  as  usual  upon  such  occasions, 
in  reference  to  the  circumstances  of  the  outbreak,  a  very 
strange  story  was  related.  It  was  said  that,  on  the  night 
after  the  murder  of  the  missionaries  and  the  burning  of  the 
missions,  a  procession  of  figures  dressed  in  white  robes,  bear- 
ing a  cross,  with  long  candlesticks  and  lighted  tapers  in  their 
hands,  was  seen  to  issue  from  the  ruins  and,  after  marching 
around  them  several  times,  chanting  in  an  unknown  tongue, 
to  disappear  as  mysteriously  as  it  had  issued  forth.     It  was 


432  THE  FRANCISCANS 

not  once  only  that  this  ghostly  throng  u  but  it  reap- 

peared   night  after  night    until,  as    was  ited    by  the 

ransomed  captives,  though  they  themv  ted  upon  the 

apparition  with  joy,  the  Indians  were  1  and   ter- 

rified that  they  abandoned  the  regior.   and   n  1  down  the 

river.     Thus  the  destruction  of  the  C  iions  had  its 

miracle  after  all;  and  it  was  accepted  not  r v  the  common 
people  only  but  also  by  the  officers  a  the  first  men   of 

the  time.     It  was  certified  to  as  the  judicial  pro- 

ceedings.    Fagcs  repeated  it  to  had  previously 

transmitted  it  to  the  president  o(  t  e  of  Queretaro; 

and  Palou,  in  the  utmost  good  faitl  it  in  his  histories 

as  a  perfectly  well-authenticated  fact 

As  there  had  as  yet  been  no  pu  of  the  Yumas,  De 

Croix,  in  the  early  part  of  l?pi  Fages  and  his  sol- 

diers to  return  to  the  Colora  did  as  directed  and 

then,  in  further  obedience  to  •  :d,  leaving  the  larger 

portion  of  the  forces,  which  i  soldiers  under  Pedro 

Fueros,  at  that  place,  proceeded  on  v  ith  the  remainder  to 
San  Gabriel  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  with  De  Neve  and 
concerting  measures  for  a  regular  campaign  against  the 
Yumas.  He  arrived  at  San  Gabriel  on  March  26;  but  by 
that  time  De  Neve  had  gone  to  Santa  Barbara.  Upon  his 
return  in  response  to  a  message  from  Fages,  and  after  a  full 
consultation,  it  was  decided  that  the  proposed  campaign 
should  be  deferred  until  September  when  the  river  would  be 
low  and  easily  fordable.  This  being  determined  on,  Fages 
marched  back  to  the  Colorado;  sent  Fueros  and  his  soldiers 
to  their  presidio  in  Sonora  to  wait  until  August,  and  then 
himself,  with  his  own  soldiers,  returned  to  San  Gabriel  for 
the  same  purpose.  About  the  middle  of  August  the  Sonora 
troops  intended  for  the  campaign,  about  a  hundred  in  number, 
started  on  their  march  for  the  Colorado  under  the  command 
of  Jose  Antonio  Romeu.  A  little  later  De  Neve  and  Fages, 
with  about  sixty  soldiers,  started  from  San  Gabriel;  but  upon 
approaching  the  Colorado  they  were  met  by  couriers  with 
dispatches  to  the  effect  that  De  Neve  had  been  promoted  to 


LOS  ANGELES.  433 

the  inspectorship  of  the  presidios  of  the  Provincias  Internas 
and  wotld  required  to  reside  at  Arispe,  and  that  Fages 
had  been  appointed  governor  of  the  Californias.  This  infor- 
mation n  I  a  change  of  plan  necessary.  Fages  returned 
to  San  G  1  for  the  purpose  of  taking  possession  of  his 
new  govc  i.ile  De  Neve  continued  on  to  the  Colo- 
rado and  j  lomeu  and  the  Sonora  troops.  They  prose- 
cuted the  ca  1  while,  but  very  languidly.  De  Neve 
was  exec  5;  and,  doubtless,  very  properly  so. 
He  was  unvviilin  to  risk  the  lives  of  his  comparatively  small 
number  of  m  the  savage  multitudes  who  were  op- 
posed to  him  later  experience  abundantly  showed, 
were  not  to  be  few  skirmishes  took  place;  and 
a  number  of  In*  s  were  killed;  but  the  Yumas  as  a  people 
and  particularly  Palma  and  the  other  ringleaders,  who  had 
destroyed  the  mi  i  never  punished.  On  the  con- 
trary they  defied  I  Spanish  arms  and  remained  independ- 
ent and  unsubdued. 

The  attack  upon  and  destruction  of  the  Colorado  missions, 
on  account  of  the  supposed  necessity  they  occasioned  of  keep- 
ing all  the  newly-recruited  soldiers  together  at  or  near  the 
mission  of  San  Gabriel,  so  as  to  be  able  to  resist  any  attempt 
that  might  be  made  upon  that  place,  retarded  the  foundation 
of  the  projected  new  presidio  and  missions  on  the  Santa 
Barbara  Channel.  But  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  the 
speedy  establishment  of  the  proposed  new  pueblo  in  the 
neighborhood  of  San  Gabriel.  On  September  i,  178 1,  ac- 
cordingly, having  already  issued  various  instructions  in  refer- 
ence to  the  subject,  Governor  Felipe  de  Neve  collected 
together  the  pobladores  or  settlers  and  their  families,  who  had 
been  recruited  by  Rivera  y  Moncada  in  Sinaloa  and  sent  up 
by  the  way  of  Lower  California  for  the  express  purpose,  and 
conducting  them  to  the  spot  selected,  four  leagues  west  of 
San  Gabriel,  laid  out  and  founded  the  new  pueblo.  The 
location  was  a  choice  and  beautiful  one  on  the  west  bank  of 
a  little  river,  running  there  in  a  southerly  direction  through  a 

1  Palou,  Vida,  240,  241;  247-254;  Noticias,  IV,  228-234;  246-248. 
28    Vol.  I. 


434  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

delightful  valley  among  hills,  and  about  twenty  miles  north  of 
San  Pedro  bay.  This  river  had  been  first  seen  by  white  men 
on  the  first  expedition  of  Governor  Portola  and  his  compan- 
ions in  search  of  Monterey  in  1769.  They  had  reached  it 
on  August  2  and,  on  account  of  the  festival  of  the  day  pre- 
vious, known  in  the  Catholic  calendar  as  that  of  Nuestra 
Sehorade  los  Angeles  de  Porciuncula,  had  given  it  that  name.1 
And  it  was  for  this  reason  that  the  settlement,  founded  on  its 
bank,  received  the  name  of  El  Pueblo  de  La  Reina  de  Los 
Angeles  or,  more  commonly,  that  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  Los 
Angeles  de  Porciuncula.  The  river,  for  a  long  time  called  the 
Porciuncula,  was  afterwards  and  is  now  generally  known  as 
the  Los  Angeles. 

The  original  settlers  appear  to  have  consisted  of  twelve 
men,  eleven  women,  eleven  boys  and  twelve  girls.  The  men 
were  two  Spainards,  four  Indians,  one  half-breed,  two  negroes 
one  mulatto  and  one  called  a  chino.  The  women  were  five 
Indians  and  six  mulattoes.  They  appear  to  have  gone  to 
work  under  the  directions  of  the  governor  and  in  charge  of 
a  corporal  and  three  soldiers;  lots  were  assigned  for  cultiva- 
tion as  well  as  for  building;  houses  of  palisades  plastered 
with  mud  in  the  usual  style  of  the  day  were  put  up,  and  an 
irrigating  canal  or  ditch  projected  and  constructed.2  As  the 
same  governor,  who  had  laid  out  and  superintended  the  set- 
tlement of  San  Jose,  also  laid  out  and  superintended  the  set- 
tlement of  Los  Angeles,  and  as  the  objects  and  circumstances 
of  both  were  about  the  same,  the  establishments  were  similar 
in  general  character.  In  both  cases  the  spots  chosen  were 
selected  with  a  view  to  agricultural  purposes.  Both  had  ex- 
tensive arable  and  irrigable  grounds  around  them,  in  which 
almost  everything  in  the  way  of  grain,  fruit  or  vegetables 
could  be  produced  and  with  a  luxuriance  elsewhere  unsur- 
passed. San  Jose,  being  further  north,  was  better  calculated 
for  the  hardier  fruits,  while  Los  Angeles,  whose  sun  was 
warmer,    would    also    ripen    the    productions    of    subtropical 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  II,  123. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  M.  &  C.   I,  420,421;  Palou,  Vida,  243;  Noticias,  VI,  237. 


SAN  B  UENA  VENTURA.  435 

climes.  For  grain  the  extensive  plains  about  San  Jose  were 
more  favorable  than  those  near  Los  Angeles;  while  for 
oranges,  figs  and  pomegranates  the  fields  at  Los  Angeles 
were  best;  but  both  were  good  for  vines  and  for  almost  all 
the  grains,  fruits  and  vegetables  of  the  temperate  zones  that 
could  be  named.  In  equability  of  temperature  and  moisture, 
causing  freshness  of  verdure,  San  Jose  excelled;  but  in  topo- 
graphical beauty  and  variety  of  landscape  Los  Angeles  had 
the  advantage.  It  is  not  intended  to  say  that  the  Spaniards 
or  Mexicans  in  either  case  ever  turned  these  capabilities  to 
full  account.  But  that  the  pueblo  grounds  possessed  these 
advantages  was  plain  to  everyone  who  examined  them.  The 
slightest  trials  showed  that  with  anything  like  skilled  treat- 
ment the  fields  would  overflow  with  plenty  and  abundance; 
and  all  the  labor  ever  bestowed  upon  planting  and  cultivation 
was  many  and  many  times  over  again  repaid  by  the  returns. 
In  February,  1782,  Governor  Felipe  de  Neve,  finding  at 
length  that  there  was  no  trouble  to  be  anticipated  at  San 
Gabriel  from  the  Indians  of  the  Colorado,  wrote  to  Father 
Juni'pero  that  he  proposed  going  on  with  the  foundation  of 
the  new  missions  on  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel.  He  also 
stated  that,  until  the  arrival  of  the  new  missionaries  expected 
from  Mexico,  he  desired  to  be  furnished  with  two  padres  from 
the  other  missions,  one  for  San  Buenaventura  and  the  other 
for  Santa  Barbara.  Junipero  forthwith  wrote  to  Father 
Pedro  Benito  Cambon,  former  missionary  of  San  Francisco, 
who  was  then  at  San  Diego,  having  just  returned  from  a 
health-seeking  trip  to  the  Philippine  Islands,  to  meet  him  at 
San  Gabriel;  and  then  himself  set  out,  by  the  way  of  San 
Antonio  and  San  Luis  Obispo,  for  the  same  place.  He  was 
so  anxious  for  the  new  foundations  that  he  determined  in  his 
own  person,  in  conjunction  with  Cambon,  to  supply  the  places 
of  the  regular  missionaries  until  they  should  come  from 
Mexico.  On  March  18  he  arrived  at  the  new  pueblo  of  Los 
Angeles  and  the  next  day  proceeded  to  San  Gabriel.  There 
he  found  Cambon  and  Governor  De  Neve,  with  whom  he 
immediately  made  arrangements  for  the  new  missions.     On 


436  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

March  26,  everything  being  prepared,  the  expedition  of 
founders  started  off,  consisting  of  Juni'pero  and  Cambon, 
seventy  soldiers  with  their  officers,  the  wives  and  families  of 
those  who  were  married,  and  a  number  of  muleteers,  servants 
and  Indian  neophytes  with  a  long  train  of  animals,  utensils 
and  provisions.  Felipe  de  Neve,  with  ten  soldiers  belonging 
to  Monterey,  accompanied  them;  but  being  overtaken  at  the 
end  of  the  first  day's  journey  by  a  courier  from  San  Gabriel, 
announcing  the  arrival  there  from  the  Colorado  of  Pedro 
Fagcs  and  his  desire  to  consult  the  governor  upon  the  meas- 
ures to  be  taken  in  reference  to  the  recent  outbreak,  he  di- 
rected the  expedition  to  go  on  while  he  himself  and  his  ten 
soldiers  turned  back  to  San  Gabriel. 

Junipero  and  his  companions  meanwhile  proceeded  to  the 
site  which  had  been  chosen  for  the  first  mission.  It  was  a 
rich  and  beautiful  spot,  well  watered  by  a  perennial  stream 
and  lying  near  the  sea-beach  at  the  southeastern  extremity 
of  the  Channel.  It  was  occupied  by  an  Indian  rancheria, 
consisting  of  some  thirty  comparatively  large  habitations, 
hemispherical  in  form,  built  of  coarse  wicker-work  and 
thatched  with  grass,  and  containing  about  four  hundred 
inhabitants,  who  made  excellent  canoes  and  lived  principally 
upon  fish.  Portola's  expedition  of  1769  had  named  the  place 
Assumpta  or  Asuncion  de  Nucstra  Senora  and  provisionally 
selected  it  as  the  location  of  a  future  establishment.  This 
choice,  being  subsequently  approveeh  it  was  fixed  upon  as  the 
site  of  San  Buenaventura,  that  one  of  the  three  missions, 
originally  projected  for  Alta  California,  which  was  to  lie  mid- 
way between  San  Diego  and  Monterey  and  which  Jose  de 
Galvez,  the  visitador-general,  on  account  of  the  special  interest 
he  took  in  it,  was  accustomed  to  call  his  own.  Juni'pero,  on 
account  of  its  important  position  as  well  as  on  account  of  his 
great  respect  for  Galvez,  had  always  been  anxious  to  estab- 
lish this  mission.  But  various  obstacles  had  retarded  the 
fulfillment  of  his  wishes.  On  this  auspicious  occasion,  how- 
ever, having  reached  the  site  on  March  29,  he  and  the  people 
with  him  spent  the  next  day  in  forming  a  great  cross  and 


SANTA  BARBARA.  437 

/  erecting  a  chapel  and  altar.  On  March  31  the  cross  was 
elevated,  fixed  and  adored.     Junipero  next  took  possession, 

\;  blessed  and  consecrated  the  place,  and  in  the  presence  of  all 
the  company  and  a  large  congregation  of  wondering  natives 
celebrated  the  first  mass  and  preached.  He  and  his  people 
then  proceeded  more  at  leisure  to  erect  houses,  barracks  and 
stockades  and  afterwards  to  lay  out  gardens  and  fields  and 
then  to  divert  the  waters  of  the  running  stream  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  afford  constant  irrigation.1 

The  mission  of  San  Buenaventura  had  hardly  been  founded 
when  Governor  De  Neve  and  his  ten  soldiers  again  made 
their  appearance.  They  had  gone  to  San  Gabriel  and  met 
Pedro  Fages  and  his  soldiers;  but  in  the  consultation  that 
had  taken  place  between  the  two  leaders  it  was  thought  best, 
as  has  already  been  stated,  instead  of  proceeding  at  once  to 
the  chastisement  of  the  Indians  on  the  Colorado,  to  defer 
their  expedition  until  autumn,  when  the  waters  of  the  rivers 
would  be  at  a  lower  and  more  favorable  stage  for  military 
operations.  This  delay  having  been  resolved  upon,  Fages 
returned  to  Sonora  while  De  Neve  and  his  soldiers  made 
their  way  back  to  the  northward,  reaching  San  Buenaventura 
by  the  middle  of  April.  From  there,  leaving  Father  Cam- 
bon  and  fifteen  soldiers  in  charge  of  San  Buenaventura,  De 
Neve  with  all  the  other  soldiers  and  people,  and  accompanied 
also  by  Father  Junipero,  proceeded  northwestward  along  the 
coast  to  the  neighborhood  of  what  is  now  Santa  Barbara. 
Stopping  at  a  point,  which  they  supposed  to  be  opposite  the 
center  of  the  Channel,  they  made  a  survey;  and,  finding  a 
large  plain  of  rich  land,  gradually  sloping  to  the  sea,  directly 
in  front  of  an  extensive  roadstead  where  vessels  could  safely 
anchor,  having  also  an  eminence  suitable  for  a  fort  and 
flanked  at  some  distance  by  high  mountains,  they  pitched 
upon  it  as  a  favorable  place  for  the  proposed  presidio.  It 
was  ten  leagues  a  little  north  of  west  from  Sa-n  Buenaventura. 
There  was  a  lagoon  next  the  beach.  The  expedition  of  1769 
had  named  the  place  Laguna  de  la  Concepcion,  but  it  seems 

1  Palou,  Vida,  243-247;  Noticias,  IV,  238-241. 


438  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

also  to  have  been  known  as  San  Joaquin  de  la  Laguna. 
There  was  a  large  rancheria  near  it  and,  at  the  time  of  the 
first  expedition,  several  ruined  rancherias  not  far  distant,  the 
inhabitants  of  which  had  been  exterminated  in  recent  wars. 
On  both  sides  east  and  west,  a  few  leagues  apart  from  one 
another,  were  various  other  large  rancherias;  so  that  the 
place  was  a  center  of  population  as  well  as  of  position  on  the 
Channel.  As  soon  as  the  selection  had  thus  been  made,  a 
great  cross  and  altar  were  prepared;  and  on  April  21,  1782, 
Junipero  performed  the  usual  ceremonies  of  consecration  and 
preached  a  fervid  sermon,  after  which  the  governor  carried 
out  his  part  of  the  programme  by  taking  formal  military  pos- 
session. The  next  day  they  began  to  cut  wood  and  to  build  a 
chapel,  dwellings,  barracks,  warehouses  and  stockades;  and  by 
degrees  the  presidio  was  final'y  established.1 

It  had  also  been  the  intention  to  found  a  mission  at  the 
same  place  immediately  after  the  presidio;  but  when  Juni- 
pero urged  the  foundation  the  governor  found  excuses  to 
delay  it.  The  principal  of  his  reasons  was  the  fact  that  the 
six  missionaries,  who  were  to  serve  at  the  three  new  missions 
on  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel  and  who  had  been-,  sent  for 
and  were  expected  from  Mexico,  had  not  yet  arrived.  Juni- 
pero, in  the  eagerness  of  his  apostolic  zeal,  thought  the  new 
mission  might  be  established  in  anticipation  of  their  arrival. 
But  the  governor  was  of  a  different  opinion.  As  it  soon 
become  plain  that  no  other  mission  was  to  be  founded  and 
that  there  was  therefore  no  further  work  for  Junipero  at 
Santa  Barbara,  which  could  not  just  as  well  be  performed  by 
a  subordfnate  and  leave  himself  free  for  more  important 
duties,  he  wrote  to  Father  Cambon  of  San  Buenaventura  to 
take  his  place  at  Santa  Barbara  and  to  Father  Fuster  of  San 
Juan  Capistrano  to  temporarily  supply  Cambon's  place  at 
San  Buenaventura.  These  changes  having  been  made,  Juni- 
pero administered  the  rite  of  confirmation  to  all  prepared  for 
it  and  then  set  out,  by  the  way  of  San  Luis  Obispo  and  San 
Antonio,  for  Monterey,  where  he  arrived  about  the  middle  of 

1  Palou  Vida,  254,  255;  Noticias,  IV,  241. 


SANTA  BARBARA.  439 

June,  1782.  On  the  road  he  was  met  by  a  courier  from  San 
Francisco,  who  announced  the  arrival  there  of  the  ships  from 
Mexico.  But,  alas  for  his  hopes,  they  had  not  brought  the 
expected  six  new  missionaries;  and,  upon  examining  the  dis- 
patches and  letters  which  were  placed  in  his  hands,  he  found 
other  subjects  of  disappointment.  Serious  difficulties  had 
arisen  in  Mexico,  which  would  delay  the  intended  new  estab- 
lishments for  the  present  and  might  even  occasion  the  de- 
struction of  San  Buenaventura.  It  appeared  that  the  college 
of  San  Fernando  had  duly  appointed  the  six  new  mission- 
aries; but  when  they  came  to  ask  for  the  usual  governmental 
supplies  for  ornaments,  vestments,  salaries,  expenses  of  the 
journey  and  to  enable  them  to  collect  and  keep  together  the 
Indians  at  the  respective  new  missions  until  those  establish- 
ments could  be  made  self-supporting,  Martin  de  Mayorga.  the 
new  viceroy  of  Mexico,  declined  to  furnish  them,  and  gave  as 
a  reason  that  both  the  comandante-general  and  governor  of 
California  had  informed  him  they  were  unnecessary.  From 
this  it  seemed  plain,  as  was  thought,  that  the  intention  of  the 
government  was  to  establish  the  new  missions  much  on  the 
same  plan  as  that  on  which  the  Colorado  missions  had  been 
founded.  In  view  of  the  indication  that  such  was  to  be  the 
policy  and  also,  probably,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  that 
any  innovation  of  the  kind  would  be  sure  to  occasion  in  the 
other  establishments,  the  missionaries  refused  to  proceed 
unless  their  demands  were  complied  with;  and  the  college  of 
San  Fernando,  in  support  of  the  same  view  of  the  situation, 
wrote  Junipero  to  suspend  the  foundation  of  the  new  missions 
until  such  time  as  they  might  be  founded  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  old  ones. 

Upon  the  reception  of  these  orders  Junipero  was  greatly 
afflicted,  believing  that  the  suspension  of  the  intended  work 
had  been  brought  about  by  the  wiles  of  the  arch  enemy.  But 
like  a  true  son  of  the  church,  he  submitted  without  a  murmur 
and  even  contemplated  withdrawing  the  missionary  from  San 
Buenaventura  upon  the  ground  that  it  was  one  of  the  mis- 
sions referred  to.      Having,  however,  some  doubt  as  to  whether 


440  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

the  destruction  of  a  mission  already  established  and  in  suc- 
cessful operation  could  have  been  intended  by  the  letters  he 
had  received,  he  called  together  a  convocation  of  the  ecclesias- 
ties  of  the  four  missions  nearest  San  Carlos  and  laid  the 
matter  before  them  for  their  consideration  and  advice.  The 
convocation,  in  view  of  all  the  circumstances,  and  especially 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  San  Buenaventura  was  one  of  the 
three  missions  originally  contemplated  and  had  been  estab- 
lished on  the  same  principles  as  the  other  missions  of  Alta 
California,  decided  that  it  should  be  upheld,  at  least  until  pos- 
itive orders  to  the  contrary  should  be  received.  In  accordance 
with  this  decision,  Juni'pero  resolved  to  retain  it  and  appointed 
Fathers  Francisco  Dumetz  and  Vicente  de  Santa  Maria  its 
regular  missionaries.  Fuster  was  sent  back  to  his  own  mission 
of  San  Juan  Capistrano.  As  the  appointment  of  Dumetz  and 
Santa  Maria  left  Juni'pero  without  assistance  at  San  Carlos, 
he  called  Father  Matias  Noriega  from  San  Francisco  and 
directed  Father  Cambon  to  resume  his  old  place  there.  The 
result  of  the  new  arrangement  was  that,  though  Santa  Barbara 
presidio  was  left  without  a  missionary,  each  of  the  nine  mis- 
sions had  two.  But  there  were  no  supernumeraries;  and,  as 
the  regular  ordinary  duties  at  San  Carlos  required  the  con- 
stant attention  of  both  its  missionaries,  Juni'pero  felt  obliged  to 
forego  his  usual  visitations  to  the  other  missions.  This  was 
hard  to  do;  but  he  submitted  to  necessity,  merely  asking  to 
have  what  he  had  done  approved  and  a  few  supernumerary 
missionaries  furnished  as  soon  as  might  be.  The  college  of 
San  Fernando,  upon  being  informed  of  all  that  had  taken 
place,  not  only  approved,  ratified  and  confirmed  everything 
he  had  done;  but  the  next  year  sent  him  two  new  mission- 
aries.1 

1  Palou,  Vida,  256-260. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

LAST   DAYS,   DEATH   AND    BURIAL   OF   JUNlPERO. 

THE  labors  of  Father  Junipero  now  approached  their  close. 
Notwithstanding  his  accumulating  bodily  ills,  originating 
from  the  injury  to  his  leg  in  1749,  he  had  still  kept  unremit- 
tingly at  work.  At  various  times  he  had  suffered  more  or 
less  from  the  ulceration  thereby  produced  and  never  seemed 
willing  to  take  the  rest  or  subject  himself  to  the  treatment, 
involving  cessation  from  labor,  which  his  condition  required. 
On  the  contrary  his  apostolic  zeal  had  drawn  him  repeatedly 
from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other,  increasing  his  cares 
and  aggravating  his  ailments.  Of  late  years,  in  addition  to 
the  old  trouble  of  his  leg,  he  had  also  suffered  from  an 
affection  of  the  chest,  which  had  been  seriously  increased, 
if  not  altogether  brought  on,  by  the  extravagance  of  his 
religious  fervor.  Besides  the  chain  with  which  he  was  accus- 
tomed, in  imitation  of  St.  Francis,  to  scourge  himself,  he  had 
more  recently  provided  a  huge  stone,  which  he  carried  with 
him  into  the  pulpit.  Often  at  the  end  of  the  sermon,  in  what 
was  known  as  the  act  of  contrition,  he  would  elevate  the 
image  of  the  crucified  Christ  in  his  left  hand  and  with  his 
right,  seizing  this  stone,  strike  himself  repeatedly  in  the 
breast;  and  he  did  so  with  such  earnest  violence  that  many  of 
the  spectators  were  afraid  he  would  give  himself  a  fatal  blow 
and  fall  dead  before  their  eyes.  On  some  special  occasions, 
and  particularly  when  preaching  upon  the  subject  of  purga- 
tory and  perdition,  he  made  use  of  another  invention  still 
more  dangerous  and  painful.  This  was  to  inflame  a  large 
taper  having  four  wicks;  open  the  bosom  of  his  habit,  and 

(441) 


442  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

place  the  burning  mass  next  his  flesh.  In  these  days  such 
actions  would  be  regarded  as  the  outbreaks  of  a  distempered 
brain;  but  in  those  they  were  the  most  forcible  manner  of 
reaching  and  affecting  an  audience;  and,  with  this  object  in 
constant  view,  there  was  hardly  anything  which  Junipero 
would  not  have  been  willing  to  undertake  or  endure.1 

It  may  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  a  man  so  merciless  to 
himself  should  have  lasted  so  long.  It  was  only  his  great 
spirit  that  kept  him  up  and  enabled  him  to  triumph  over  the 
weaknesses  of  the  flesh.  But  now  his  vital  forces  were  fast 
wearing  away;  and  in  proportion  as  they  declined,  the  trouble 
with  his  breast,  beaten  and  bruised  and  burnt  as  it  had  been, 
occasioned  him  great  suffering.  In  June,  1783,  he  had  a  very 
grievous  attack  and  felt  as  if  his  end  were  near  at  hand. 
His  labors,  however,  as  it  proved,  were  not  yet  completed. 
He  grew*  better;  and,  as  he  grew  better,  he  resumed  work. 
Fathers  Juan  Rioboo  and  Diego  Noboa,  the  new  missionaries 
forwarded  by  the  college  of  San  Fernando,  arriving  about  this 
time  and  furnishing  substitutes  to  leave  in  his  stead  at  San 
Carlos,  he  prepared,  though  still  very  feeble,  to  make  a  final 
visit  to  the  various  other  missions  and  administer  the  rite  of 
confirmation  in  all  cases  where  not  already  done.  This 
seemed  to  him  the  more  indispensable  for  the  reason  that  the 
bull  of  Pope  Clement  XIV.,  under  which  he  derived  his 
authority  to  administer  the  rite,  granted  the  power  for  ten  years 
only;  and,  as  the  bull  was  issued  on  July  16,  1774,  all  authority 
under  it  would  expire  on  July  16,  1784.  Not  only,  therefore, 
was  Junipero  unwilling,  on  account  of  the  uncertainty  of  his 
health,  to  defer  these  visits;  but  he  also  felt  that,  if  he  was  to 
get  around  to  all  the  missions  before  the  expiration  of  his 
power,  he  must  commence  soon.  He  consequently  took  the 
opportunity  of  the  return  of  the  vessel,  that  had  brought  the 
two  new  missionaries,  and  embarked  for  San  Diego,  where  he 
arrived  without  accident  in  the  early  part  of  September. 
Commencing  at  that  point  and  traveling  northward  he  passed 
from  mission  to  mission,  stopping  at  each  only  long  enough 

1  Palou,  Vida,  261,  262. 


LAST  DA  YS  OF  JUNIPERO.  443 

to  look  into  its  administration  and  to  confirm  all  the  recently- 
baptized  neophytes  who  were  ready  for  the  ceremony.  At 
San  Gabriel  he  had  a  new  attack  of  his  disease;  and  this  time 
it  seemed  certain  it  would  carry  him  off;  but  he  again  recuper- 
ated and  put  himself  upon  the  road  for  the  next  mission  of 
San  Buenaventura.  At  this  establishment,  the  last  that  he 
had  founded,  finding  that  a  much  larger  number  of  conver- 
sions had  taken  place  during  the  single  year  of  its  existence 
than  he  had  anticipated  and  that  he  would  therefore  be  kept 
early  and  late  in  confirming  them,  he  was  so  delighted  that 
he  could  scarcely  contain  himself  for  joy;  and,  his  thoughts 
being  thus  diverted  into  a  channel  which  engrossed  all  his 
attention  and  interest,  his  condition  improved.  By  the  time 
he  had  finished  his  labors  there,  he  was  so  much  stronger  that 
he  was  able  to  travel  again,  without  fear  every  moment  of 
sinking  down  upon  the  way.1 

In  January,  1784,  having  thus  visited  each  of  the  missions 
south  of  Monterey  and  since  the  previous  September  trav- 
eled a  distance  of  a  hundred  and  seventy  leagues  and  up- 
wards, Junipero  arrived  at  San  Carlos.  Those,  who  had  seen 
him  depart  from  the  same  place  four  months  before  and  who 
had  been  doubtful  whether  they  should  ever  see  him  again, 
were  astonished  to  find  that,  notwithstanding  his  constant 
labor  and  fatigues,  he  was  apparently  much  better  than  when 
he  had  started  on  his  journey.  He  was,  however,  still  very 
weak  and  very  ill;  and  it  was  hoped  he  would  now  take  the 
necessary  rest.  But,  instead  of  doing  so,  he  applied  himself 
with  his  accustomed  zeal  to  missionary  labors  and  through 
rain  and  shine  kept  continually  at  work.  He  had  still  his  last 
visits  to  make  to  the  northern  missions;  and,  as  soon  as  the 
weather  settled,  towards  the  end  of  April,  1784,  he  again  set 
out.  Passing  by  the  way  of  Santa  Clara,  but  without  tarry- 
ing there,  he  hurried  on  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  arrived 
on  May  4,  and  threw  himself  into  the  arms  of  his  old  friend 
and  disciple  Father  Palou.  The  two  expected,  for  a  few  days 
at  least,  to  enjoy  each  other's  society  undisturbed;  but  in  this 

1  Palou,  Vida,  263-265. 


444  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

they  were  disappointed;  for  they  had  scarcely  met  when  Palou 
was  suddenly  called  away  to  attend  the  death-bed  of  a  brother 
missionary  at  Santa  Clara. 

Father  Jose  Antonio  Murguia,  after  serving  as  missionary 
for  twenty  years  in  the  Sierra  Gorda  of  Mexico  and  five  in 
Lower  California,  arrived  in  Alta  California  in  1773.  On 
January  12,  1777,  he  assisted  in  the  foundation  of  the  mis- 
sion of  Santa  Clara  and  became  the  principal  missionary 
there.  During  his  service  in  the  Sierra  Gorda  he  had  become 
noted  for  building  a  sumptuous  church  of  stone  and  lime,  the 
first  of  the  kind  in  those  mountains;  and,  very  soon  after  he 
took  charge  at  Santa  Clara,  he  commenced  the  erection  of  a 
somewhat  similar  structure  at  that  place,  using  adobes,  how- 
ever, instead  of  stone.  It  took  a  comparatively  long  time  to 
build  for  the  reason  that  Murguia  was  compelled  to  act  as 
both  architect  and  builder.  But  he  had  finally  brought  it  to 
completion  and  all  that  remained  to  be  done  was  its  formal 
dedication,  which  was  fixed  to  take  place  on  May  16,  1764. 
On  May  6,  however,  news  reached  San  Francisco  that  Mur- 
guia had  suddenly  fallen  seriously  ill;  and  Palou  was  obliged 
to  hasten  to  his  bedside.  When  he  arrived,  the  sick  man 
was  so  far  gone  that  all  that  could  be  done  was  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  last  sacrament;  and  on  May  1 1,  five  days  before 
his  new  church  was  to  be  dedicated,  he  died.  Jum'pero,  as 
soon  as  he  was  informed  of  the  melancholy  event,  was  very 
sensibly  affected,  not  only  on  account  of  being  reminded  of 
his  own  approaching  dissolution,  but  also  on  account  of  los- 
ing another  of  his  old  comrades  whom  he  loved.  Neverthe- 
less, it  being  resolved  that  the  dedication  of  the  new  church 
should  proceed  notwithstanding  Murguia's  death,  Junipero, 
after  seeing  that  all  the  neophytes  at  San  Francisco  were 
confirmed,  took  his  last  departure  from  the  Mission  Dolores 
and,  in  company  with  Governor  Pedro  Fagej,  who  was  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  ceremonies,  proceeded  to  Santa  Clara.  They 
arrived  there  on  the  morning  of  May  15;  and  the  next  day, 
in  the  presence  of  all  the  people  of  the  mission  and  the 
adjoining    pueblo   of  San   Jose   and    all  the  natives  of  the 


LAST  DAYS  OF  JUMPERO.  445 

neighborhood,  Murguia's  church,  which  was  the  largest  and 
finest  in  all  California,  was  formally  dedicated;  and  it  was 
observed  that  Junipero  performed  the  mass,  preached  to  the 
people  and  administered  the  rite  of  confirmation  with  as 
great  spirit  and  fervor  as  ever. 

Notwithstanding  his  activity,  however,  Junipero  felt  that 
his  days  were  about  numbered;  and  before  parting  with  Palou 
he  made  his  last  dispositions,  as  if  it  were  likely  they  would 
never  meet  on  earth  again.  He  then,  while  Palou  returned 
to  San  Francisco,  proceeded  to  Monterey,  whence  he  sent  a 
new  priest  to  take  the  place  of  the  deceased  Murguia  at  Santa 
Clara,  and  himself  retired  to  his  mission  of  San  Carlos.  It 
was  now  the  beginning  of  June.  By  the  middle  of  July  his 
power  of  confirmation  would  expire.  He  therefore  immedi- 
ately set  to  work  and  confirmed  all  the  neophytes  of  San 
Carlos;  and  on  July  16,  1784,  the  day  on  which  his  commis- 
sion ran  out,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  there 
was  not  one  left  unprovided  for,  and  that  he  had  in  all  con- 
firmed the  large  number  of  five  thousand  three  hundred  and 
seven  persons,  whom  he  sincerely  regarded  as  so  many  souls 
saved  from  the  unquenchable  fire.  Well  might  he  exclaim 
with  the  first  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  "  I  have  fought  a  good 
fight;  I  have  finished  my  course;  I  have  kept  the  faith." 

It  happened  on  the  very  day,  upon  which  Junipero's  power 
to  confirm  expired,  that  a  ship  arrived  at  San  Francisco  from 
San  Bias,  bringing  letters  to  the  effect  that  the  college  of  San 
Fernando,  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  missionaries  in  the 
New  World,  could  furnish  no  more  for  Alta  California  and 
that  therefore  the  foundation  of  the  projected  two  new  mis- 
sions on  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel,  which  it  was  hoped  had 
merely  been  suspended,  would  have  to  be  deferred  for  an 
indefinite  time.  When  this  information  reached  Junipero,  it 
seemed  as  if  his  course  was  indeed  finished.  If  new  mission- 
aries had  come  and  new  missions  were  to  have  been  estab- 
lished, it  is  likely  the  dying  spark  would  have  again  flamed 
forth  and  the  fervent  spirit  rallied  for  further  efforts.  But  as 
it  was,  Junipero  could  not  bear  up  under  the  great  disappoint- 


446  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

ment.  On  the  contrary,  feeling  that  every  day  might  be 
his  last,  he  sat  down  and  wrote  to  each  of  his  fellow  labor- 
ers, inviting  those  who  were  nearest  to  visit  him  and  bidding 
those  who  were  further  distant  an  eternal  farewell.  These 
letters  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  couriers;  but  the  only  per- 
son thus  addressed  that  reached  him  in  time  was  Father 
Palou  of  San  Francisco,  who,  immediately  upon  receiving  the 
message,  started  off  and  arrived  at  San  Carlos  on  August  18.1 

Palou  found  the  venerable  president  very  weak  and  failing 
rapidly,  though  he  still  managed  in  the  afternoons  to  crawl 
to  the  church  and  conduct  religious  ceremonies.  His  sleep- 
ing apartment  was  a  small  chamber  or  cell,  constructed  of 
adobes,  near  the  church;  and  it  was  there  he  lay  most  of  the 
time.  But  it  now  seemed  to  him  even  more  narrow  and  con- 
tracted than  it  really  was.  He  felt  oppressed  and  found 
difficulty  in  breathing.  Still  he  uttered  no  complaint.  Five 
days  after  Palou's  arrival,  the  ship  which  had  landed  at  San. 
Francisco  touched  at  Monterey  on  its  return  voyage;  and  its 
surgeon  passed  over  to  the  mission  to  visit  the  sufferer.  Find- 
ing him  grievously  afflicted  with  pains  in  the  breast,  the 
surgeon  proposed  the  application  of  the  cautery,  apparently 
with  the  idea,  by  counter  irritation,  of  drawing  off  the  oppress- 
ive humors  to  some  other  part  of  the  body;  and  Junipero, 
though  he  himself  despaired  of  finding  any  relief,  resignedly 
consented  to  the  excruciating  treatment.  But  the  only  effect 
was  to  consume  the  flesh  and  cause  unnecessary  pain,  all  of 
which,  however,  the  patient  bore  without  a  murmur. 

On  August  26,  having  passed  a  very  bad  night,  Junipero 
spent  the  day  in  prayer  and  in  the  evening  with  many  tears 
confessed  himself  to  Father  Palou.  The  next  day,  desiring 
to  receive  the  communion,  he  insisted,  sick  and  feeble  as  he 
was,  upon  going  to  the  church  for  that  purpose  and  was 
accompanied  thither  by  the  comandante  and  a  large  number 
of  the  soldiers  of  the  neighboring  presidio,  who  knowing  that 
the  end  was  not  far  distant  had  come  over  to  pay  their  last 
respects.     Upon   reaching    the  altar  he   threw  himself  upon 

1  Palou,  Vida,  265-269. 


LAST  DA  YS  OF  JUN1PER0.  447 

his  knees  and  so  remained  during  the  ceremony;  and  all 
present  were  affected  to  tears,  some  at  beholding  the  extra- 
ordinary scene  before  them  and  others  reflecting  upon  the  loss 
they  were  so  soon  to  sustain.  From  the  church  the  sufferer 
returned  to  his  cell  and  passed  the  remainder  of  the  day  in 
prayer.  That  evening,  feeling  much  worse,  he  desired  Palou 
to  administer  extreme  unction,  which  was  accordingly  done. 
That  night,  being  unable  to  sleep,  he  spent  either  upon  his 
knees  or  in  the  arms  of  his  devoted  neophytes,  who  were  now 
allowed  to  be  present  and  crowded  around  in  great  numbers 

The  next  morning,  being  visited  by  Captain  Jose  Cailizares 
and  Chaplain  Cristobal  Diaz  of  the  vessel  then  in  port,  he 
received  them  with  an  embrace  and  ordered  a  peal  of  the 
mission  bells  to  be  rung  in  their  honor.  Both  these  persons 
had  been  in  California  before;  and  in  addressing  them  Juni- 
pero  referred  to  their  old  acquaintance  and. took  occasion  to 
thank  them  for  coming  to  attend  his  funeral.  They  were 
greatly  surprised  and  shocked  to  hear  him  speak  in  this  man- 
ner and  answered  that  they  trusted  in  God  he  would  recover 
and  go  on  with  the  conquest.  But  he  replied  in  all  serious- 
ness that  there  was  no  hope  and  he  begged  them  for  charity's 
sake  and  as  a  favor  to  him  to  scatter  a  little  earth  upon  his 
remains.  Then  turning  to  Father  Palou  he  desired  to  be 
buried  by  the  side  of  Father  Juan  Crespi  and  to  remain  there 
until  such  time  as  they  should  come  to  rebuild  the  church, 
when  they  might  dispose  of  his  body  as  they  pleased.  Palou, 
as  soon  as  his  tears  allowed  him  to  speak,  assured  the  dying 
man  that  everything  should  be  done  as  he  desired;  but  he 
begged  Junipero,  when  he  came  to  be  ushered  into  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Blessed  Trinity,  to  intercede  for  all  he  left  behind 
and  especially  those  then  present.  All  of  this  Junipero  prom- 
ised, if  the  Lord  in  his  infinite  mercy  vouchsafed  him  such 
felicity,  faithfully  to  do.1 

Ih  the  afternoon  early,  having  shortly  before  joyfully  ex- 
claimed that  God  had  entirely  taken  away  his  fears,  Junipero 
expressed  a  desire  to  go  to  rest  and  lay  down  upon  his  bed. 

1  Palou,  Vida,  269-275. 


448  THE  ERANCISCANS. 

All  supposed  he  meant  sleep,  as  he  had  slept  none  the  night 
before;  and  they  went  out  of  the  apartment  so  that  he  might 
not  be  disturbed.  But  soon  afterwards,  upon  returning,  Palou 
found  him  in  exactly  the  same  position,  in  which  he  had  left 
him,  and  motionless.  Junipero  had  indeed  gone  to  rest;  but  it 
was  the  rest  which  knows  no  waking.  He  seemed  to  be  in  a 
calm  slumber;  but  he  had  ceased  to  breathe.  He  had  passed 
away  peaceably,  without  a  struggle,  without  a  sign  of  agony. 
So  died,  on  August  28,  1784,  in  the  seventy-first  year  of  his 
age  and  the  thirty-fourth  of  his  ministry  as  a  missionary/ this 
remarkable  and  in  some  respects  great  man.  He  was  not  a 
man  of  commanding  intellect;  he  was  not  a  man  of  liberal 
views;  he  was  superstitious;  but  at  the  same  time  he  was  a 
sincere  man;  and  probably  none  was  ever  more  ready  or 
anxious  to  perform  his  duty  and  his  whole  duty,  according  to 
his  light.  He  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree  all  that  the 
church  teaches  as  the  Christian  virtues;  and  few  or  none  can 
be  found,  even  among  the  saints,  who  were  more  perfect  in 
their  faith  and  devotion.  Few  or  none  ever  accomplished 
more  under  such  untoward  circumstances  or  labored  with 
more  assiduous  and  undivided  zeal  for  so  long  a  period.  At 
the  time  of  his  death  he  had  baptized  in  Alta  California  alone 
five  thousand  eight  hundred  persons,  nearly  all  of  whom  he 
also  confirmed,  and  left  fifteen  establishments,  two  of  them 
pueblos,  four  presidios  and  nine  missions.  If  any  man  were 
ever  deserving  canonization,  it  seems  Junipero  was.  But  his 
memory  will  live  longer  and  be  preserved  greener  as  the 
Founder  and  First  of  Pioneers  of  Alta  California  than  either 
as  a  missionary  or  a  priest  or  even  as  a  saint. 

As  soon  as  it  was  ascertained  beyond  question  that  Juni- 
pero was  dead,  the  mission  bells  were  tolled  and  the  whole 
population  burst  into  tears.  It  was  but  a  short  time  until  the 
sad  news  passed  over  to  the  presidio;  and  the  people  from 
that  place,  including  soldiers  and  sailors,  soon  increased" the 
number  of  the  mourners.  These  became  so  many  and  were 
so  anxious  to  see  and  touch  the  remains  that  it  was  found 
necessary  to  close  the  door  and  exclude  them,  so  as  to  give 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL   OF  JUNIPER O.  449 

an  opportunity  for  properly  laying  out  the  body  and  placing 
it  in  the  coffin,  which  at  Juni'pero's  own  request  had  already 
been  prepared  by  the  carpenter  of  the  presidio.  This,  how- 
ever, took  but  a  short  time.  The  devout  sufferer,  some  days 
before  his  death,  had  expressed  a  desire  to  be  buried  in  the 
habit  of  his  order  and  had  removed  an  under  garment,  which 
he  sometimes  wore,  leaving  only  his  long  robe  with  its  cowl 
and  the  cord  about  his  waist.  All  that  had  to  be  done  in 
fact  was  to  remove  his  sandals,  which  were  given  to  the  cap- 
tain and  chaplain  of  the  vessel,  who  were  present  as  before 
stated.  This  being  arranged  and  the  body  placed  in  the  coffin, 
six  lighted  tapers  were  placed  around  it.  The  door  of  the  cell 
being  then  again  thrown  open,  the  Indian  neophytes  crowded 
in  and  adorned  the  bier  with  flowers;  while  the  Spaniards 
pressed  around  and  reached  out  their  rosaries  and  medals  that 
they  might  be  sanctified  by  contact  with  the  hands  of  their 
now  blessed  father.  At  nightfall  a  procession  was  formed  and 
the  body  conveyed  to  the  church,  where  it  was  placed  before 
the  altar  and  soldiers  stationed  to  protect  it  from  the  pious 
violence  of  those  who  sought  memorials  and  relics.  Nor  was 
it  possible,  with  all  the  watching  of  the  guards,  to  prevent 
pieces  of  the  robe  and  locks  left  by  the  tonsure  from  being  cut 
off  and  carried  away.1 

On  Sunday,  August  29,  the  burial  took  place.  There  were 
present  the  comandante  and  nearly  all  the  soldiers  of  the 
presidio,  the  captain,  chaplain,  inferior  officers  and  nearly  all 
the  sailors  of  the  ship  then  in  port,  all  the  settlers  of  Monte- 
rey, four  priests,  and  all  the  neophytes  of  San  Carlos.  The 
people  having  gathered,  appropriate  religious  services  were 
performed;  and  after  every  one  had  been  afforded  an  oppor- 
tunity to  see  and  touch  the  body  for  the  last  time,  a  solemn 
procession  was  formed  and  the  remains  carried  with  cross  and 
candles  and  deposited  in  their^final  resting  place  by  the  side 
of  those  of  Father  Crespi  under  the  altar  of  the  church. 
During  the  ceremonies  the  bells  were  tolled  from  time  to  time ; 
and  every  half  hour  during  the  entire  day  the  distant  boom 

1  Palou,  Vida,  276-278. 
29     Vol.  1. 


450  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

of  a  cannon  from  the  presidio  was  heard,  answered  by  another 
from  the  vessel  in  the  habor.  Palou  evidently  impressed 
with  these  military  noises,  boasted  that^Junipero  was  honored 
as  if  he  had  been  some  general1,1  apparently  forgetting  for  the 
moment  that  he  was  much  more  honored  by  the  tears  of  his 
neophytes,  the  love  and  devotion  of  his  comrades,  the  crowd- 
ing of  the  people  to  touch  his  body,  and  even  by  the  fact 
that  his  remains  had  to  be  guarded  to  protect  them  from 
injury  by  those  who  wanted  relics  and  memorials,  than  he 
would  have  been  by  all  the  guns  that  could  have  been  fired 
and  all  the  requiems  that  could  have  been  rung. 

On  the  seventh  day  afterwards,  Sunday,  September  4,  the 
ceremonies,  with  some  variations  suiting  the  difference  of  cir- 
cumstances, were  repeated.  The  same  soldiers,  sailors  and 
settlers  and  a  few  more  missionaries,  who  had  arrived  in  the 
meanwhile,  were  present.  The  same  kind  of  vigils  were  kept 
and  masses  celebrated;  and  the  bells  were  rung  and  the  guns 
fired  as  before;  nor  were  there  wanting  renewed  tears  from 
the  neophytes  as  well  as  from  the  old  companions  of  the 
dead  leader.  These  honors,  however,  were  but  the  earnest  of 
others  yet  to  come.  His  memory  was  cherished;  and  his 
name,  especially  among  those  who  had  known  him,  was  never 
mentioned  without  awakening  a  feeling  of  veneration.  But 
the  greatest  honor  paid  him  was  by  his  devoted  admirer  and 
disciple,  Father  Francisco  Palou,  who  upon  returning  to  San 
Francisco  wrote  his  biography.  This  work,  which  forms  a 
very  interesting  volume,  was  printed  at  Mexico  in  1787  under 
the  title  of  "Relacion  Historica  de  la  Vida  y  Apostolicas 
Tareas  del  Venerable  Padre  Fray  Junipero  Serra,  y  de  las 
misiones  que  fundo  en  la  California  Septentrional,  y  nuevos 
establecimientos  de  Monterey — Historical  Narrative  of  the 
Life  and  Apostolic  Labors  of  the  Venerable  Father  Friar 
Junipero  Serra  and  of  the  missions,  which  he  founded  in 
Northern  California,  and  the  new  establishments  of  Monte- 
rey." With  the  exception  of  the  "Noticias  de  la  Nueva  Cali- 
fornia," a  compilation  of  historical  notes,  diaries  and  journals 

1  "Como  si  fuera  algun  General." — Palou,  Vida,  279. 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL  OF  JUNIPERO.  451 

written  or  collected  by  the  same  author,  covering  most  of  the 
same  ground  and  constituting  the  ground-work  of  the  latter 
volume,  it  was  the  first  book  written  in  what  is  now  California; 
but  as  has  been  well"  remarked,  it  is  by  no  means  the  worst 
one.  In  speaking  of  it  himself,  Palou  complained  that  he 
had  to  write  among  a  barbarous  people  and  without  books  or 
companions  to  consult;  and  he  expressed  a  fear  lest  he  had 
not  done  his  subject  justice;  but  when  it  is  considered  that  he 
not  only  called  Junipero  "  the  servant  of  God,"  but  showed  by 
the  narrative  of  his  life  and  labors  that  he  was  well  worthy  of 
the  appellation,  no  one  will  feel  that  he  has  fallen  below  his 
mark  or  that  either  neglect  or  oversight  or  want  of  skill  can 
be  imputed  to  him.  He  may  have  been  too  much  of  the 
priest,  too  ready  to  believe  in  miracles,  too  superstitious;  but 
he  was  consciencious,  indefatigable  and  often  eloquent;  and 
he  produced  a  work  which  for  literary  merit  is  eminently  fit 
to  lead  the  long  line  of  its  successors. 

Palou,  though  he  protested  that  no  further  credit  was  to  be 
given  his  book  than  was  due  to  purely  human  testimony, 
clearly  considered  Junipero  a  saint  and  believed  him  entitled 
to  canonization.  He  seems  to  have  had  this  idea  in  his  mind, 
without  venturing  directly  to  say  so.  He  represented  Juni- 
pero as  possessed  of  all  the  virtues,  and  compared  him  to  an 
august  temple,  the  foundation  of  which  consisted  of  humility, 
the  columns  of  prudence,  justice,  fortitude  and  temperance, 
and  the  principal  structure  or  sanctuary  of  faith,  hope  and 
charity.1  But  whatever  may  have  been  Palou's  idea,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  church  has  hitherto  taken  no  action  in  reference 
to  Junipero's  memory  and  that,  so  far  as  it  is  concerned,  one 
of  the  best  of  its  servants,  and  one  of  the  purest  in  his  great 
office,  has  been  allowed  to  rust  in  obscurity.  Nor  has  it  been 
until  now,  when  a  new  people  have  occupied  the  country  he 
first  planted,  that  his  services  as  the  Founder  of  Alta  Cali- 
fornia rescue  his  name  and  commend  it  as  one  to  be -long 
remembered  and  greatly  honored. 

1  Palou,  Vida,  287-327. 


CHAPTER     XII. 

PRESIDENT   LASUEN. — SANTA    BARBARA,   PURlSIMA,  SANTA 
CRUZ   AND    SOLEDAD. 

AMONG  the  missionaries  in  California  at  the  end  of  Au- 
gust, 1784,  there  was  no  one  equal  to  Juni'pero;  no  one 
of  his  extraordinary  energy,  his  unflagging  zeal,  his  untiring 
patience;  no  one  who  could  do  what  he  had  done;  no  one, 
whp,  like  him,  could  conquer  and  add  a  new  province  not  only 
to  the  church  but  to  the  crown.  The  only  person  who  might, 
perhaps,  have  attempted  something  of  the  kind,  was  his  bosom 
friend,  Father  Palou.  For  many  years,  as  has  been  stated, 
he  had  been  the  sympathizing  companion  of  his  labors  and 
his  struggles.  It  was  to  him  that  Juni'pero  had  confided  his 
last  instructions.  And  it  is  possible  that,  having  sat  so  long 
a  disciple  at  the  feet  of  such  a  master,  he  would  have  pursued 
to  a  much  greater  length  than  any  other  the  path  that  had 
been  entered  upon  and  perhaps  have  extended  the  missions 
throughout  the  northwestern  coast  as  far  as  the  Spanish  flag 
had  been  carried  by  the  Spanish  discoverers.  But  Palou, 
though  he  assumed  and  for  a  couple  of  years  exercised  the 
functions  of  the  dead  president,1  was  reserved  for  the  less 
glorious  but  more  prominent  position  of  father  guardian  of 
the  college  of  San  Fernando  in  Mexico.  Thither  he  pro- 
ceeded in  1786,"  after  he  had  written  the  Life  of  Juni'pero, 
and  there,  after  eight  or  nine  years  of  further  labors,  and 
most  of  them  in  the  interests  of  California,  he  died  in  the 
year  1794.3 

1  I  a  I.  Archives,  P.  R.  I,  4^5- 
«  Cal.  Archives,  M.  &  C.  I,  361. 
5  Cal.  Archives,  M.  &  C.  I,  362. 
(452) 


PRESIDENT  LASUEN.  453 

Meanwhile,  and  even  before  the  death  of  Jum'pero,  a  new 
project  in  reference  to  the  government  of  the  missions, had  been 
started,  which  caused  Palou,  during  the  two  years  he  admin- 
istered the  presidency,  great  apprehension  and  trouble.  This 
was  the  erection  of  Sonora  and  the  Californias  into  a  bishopric 
and  the  proposed  division  of  the  diocese  into  two  "  custodias; " 
one,  to  be  known  as  that  of  San  Carlos,  to  embrace  the  estab- 
lishments of  Sonora,  and  the  other,  to  be  known  as  that  of 
San  Gabriel,  to  embrace  those  of  the  Californias.  The  object 
was  to  withdraw  the  missions  from  the  control  of  the  colleges 
and  their  appointees  and  place  them  under  subordinates  of 
the  bishopric.  In  pursuance  of  this  plan  Father  Antonio  de 
los  Reyes  was  appointed  bishop  of  the  new  jurisdiction.  In 
September,  1782,  he  was  consecrated  at  Tacubaya  in  Mexico. 
Thence  he  proceeded  to  Sonora  for  the  purpose  of  entering 
upon  his  office  and  effecting  the  contemplated  changes.  But, 
on  account  of  the  radical  alterations  thus  projected,  there  was 
very  determined  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  colleges;  and 
the  consequence  was  a  quarrel  which,  even  for  an  ecclesias- 
tical squabble,  was  exceptionally  bitter.  So  far  as  Sonora  was 
concerned,  however,  the  bishop  carried  his  point;  in  1783  the 
custodia  of  San  Carlos  was  erected,  and  the  college  of  Santa 
Cruz  was  obliged  to  submit.  It  had  been  the  bishop's  inten- 
tion, after  thus  carrying  out  the  first  part  of  the  plan,  to  pro- 
ceed to  Loretoand  complete  the  project  by  the  erection  of  the 
custodia  of  San  Gabriel.  But  the  opposition  of  the  college  of 
San  Fernando  succeeded  in  occasioning  a  respite;  further  de- 
velopments showed  the  plan  to  be  impracticable;  the  custodia 
of  San  Gabriel  never  was  in  fact  erected;  and  the  missions  of 
the  Californias  remained  under  the  same  control  as  before.1 

On  account  of  these  troubles,  the  refusal  of  the  govern- 
ment to  furnish  supplies  and  the  want  of  missionaries,  no 
new  missions  were  founded  during  Palou's  administration  of 
the  presidency.  But  those  already  established  progressed 
rapidly.  At  the  end  of  1783  they  had  altogether  four  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  forty-four  neophytes.     Of  these  San 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  IV,  243,  244,  250-252. 


454  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

Diego  had  seven  hundred  and  forty;  San  Carlos,  six  hundred 
and  fourteen;  San  Antonio,  five  hundred  and  eighty-two; 
San  Gabriel,  six  hundred  and  thirty-eight;  San  Luis  Obispo, 
four  hundred  and  ninety-two;  San  Juan  Capistrano,  three 
hundred  and  eighty-three;  San  Francisco,  two  hundred  and 
fifteen;  Santa  Clara,  five  hundred  and  fifty-eight,  and  San 
Buenaventura  twenty-two.1  Each  one  had  advanced  regularly 
and  very  nearly  in  proportion  to  the  length  of  time  it  had 
been  established  with  the  exception  of  San  Francisco,  where, 
as  will  be  recollected,  there  had  been  an  onslaught  by  hostile 
rancherias  and  the  Indians  driven  away,  The  same  kind  of 
regular  progress  continued  for  year  after  year,  though  in  some 
of  the  missions,  on  account  of  the  larger  numbers  or  more 
tractable  disposition  of  the  natives  or  of  the  superior  activity 
and  success  of  particular  missionaries,  it  was  greater  than  in 
others.  According  to  the  census,  taken  at  the  end  of  1796, 
there  were  in  the  same  nine  missions  eight  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  neophytes;  and  as  many  more  had 
died.  Of  those  remaining  San  Diego  had  nine  hundred  and 
eight;  San  Carlos,  eight  hundred  and  thirty-five;  San  Anto- 
nio, eleven  hundred  and  sixty-eight;  San  Gabriel,  thirteen 
hundred  and  thirty-one;  San  Luis  Obispo,  eight  hundred  and 
fourteen;  San  Juan  Capistrano,  nine  hundred  and  ninety-four; 
San  Francisco,  seven  hundred  and  twenty;  Santa  Clara,  four- 
teen hundred  and  thirty-three,  and  San  Buenaventura  seven 
hundred  and  twenty-five."  At  the  same  time  there  had  been 
numerous  improvements  in  buildings,  many  of  the  old  pali- 
sade structures  being  replaced  by  adobe  erections  with  tiled 
roofs;  the  fields  and  gardens  had  been  enlarged,  and  the 
herds  and  flocks  had  greatly  increased. 

The  next  president  of  the  missions  of  Alta  California, 
after  the  withdrawal  of  Palou  in  1786,  was  Father  Fermin 
Francisco  de  Lasuen,  a  native  of  Viscaya  in  Spain,3  born 
about  the  year  1720.     He  was  one  of  the  Franciscan  mission- 

'Cal.  Archives;  M.  I,  44-46. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,   544. 
3  Cal.  Archives,  M.I,  427. 


SANTA  BARBARA.  455 

aries,  connected  with  the  college  of  San  Fernando,  who  had 
been  engaged  at  the  same  time  with  Junipero  in  the  Siena 
Gorda  in  Mexico,  and  was  among  the  little  band  of  sixteen 
who  had  crossed  over  to  Lower  California  in  1768.1  There 
he  was  assigned  to  the  charge  of  the  mission  of  San  Francisco 
de  Borja,2  where  he  remained  until  the  transfer  of  the  mis- 
sions of  the  peninsula  to  the  Dominicans.  He  then  passed 
to  Alta  California  and  in  1775,  under  the  orders  and  direc- 
tion of  Junipero,  founded  the  mission  of  San  Juan  Capistrano. 
In  1786  he  was  appointed  by  the  college  of  San  Fernando  to 
the  office  of  president  and  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  his 
duties  as  such  towards  the  end  of  that  year.  In  a  letter 
directed  to  him  by  Governor  Fages  on  September  30,  refer- 
ring to  his  recent  appointment,  he  was  directed  to  assume 
without  delay  the  responsibilities  of  his  new  position;  and, 
besides  being  furnished  with  a  copy  of  the  reglamento  or  plan 
of  government  and  reminded  of  his  obligations  to  conform 
strictly  with  its  requirements,  he  was  informed  that  a  new 
mission  was  ready  to  be  founded;  and  he  was  urged  to  pro- 
ceed at  once  in  making  the  necessary  dispositions  for  its  im- 
mediate establishment.3 

The  new  mission  referred  to  was  that  of  Santa  Barbara. 
Its  foundation,  as  will  be  recollected,  had  been  contemplated 
by  Junipero  immediately  after  the  establishment  of  the  pre- 
sidio of  the  same  name  in  1782;  but  various  untoward  cir- 
cumstances had  intervened  to  prevent  its  establishment. 
Now,  however,  as  Fages  further  wrote  to  Lasucn,  all  difficul- 
ties had  been  obviated;  the  priests  and  soldiers  were  ready; 
even  the  site  for  the  new  building,  which  had  been  chosen  by 
Junipero,  had  been  resurveyed  by  himself  and  Father  Vicente 
de  Santa  Maria  of  San  Buenaventura  and  found  in  every 
respect  suitable;  and  nothing  remained  but  to  proceed.  This, 
the  new  president  almost  immediately  did,  taking  with  him 
Father  Antonio  Paterna,4  who  was  to  have  charge  of  the  new 


1  Palou,  Noticias,  I,  176. 

2  Talou,  Noticias,  I,  21. 

a  Cal.  Archives.  P.  R.  Ill,  89,  90. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  M.  I,  4S8. 


456  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

establishment  as  missionary,  a  corporal,  and  five  soldiers  who 
were  to  constitute  the  guard  and  had  been  detached  for  that 
purpose  from  the  little  garrison  at  the  neighboring  presidio,1 
and  being  accompanied  by  Governor  Pedro  Pages,  Felipe  de 
Goycoechea,  comandante  of  the  presidio,  and  many  others. 
The  ceremonies,  which  consisted  of  little  more  than  the  erec- 
tion of  a  cross  and  the  celebration  of  mass,  took  place  on 
December  4,  1786.  Father  Paterna  was  succeeded  in  a  few 
years  by  Fathers  Esteban  Tapis  and  Jose  de  Miguel,  who  were 
younger  and  more  active.  In  a  short  time  after  the  founda- 
tion, the  construction  of  an  adobe  church  and  other  buildings 
was  began  and  diligently  continued,  so  that  in  July  of  the 
next  year  Comandante  Goycoechea  was  enabled  to  write  to 
Governor  Fages  that  the  walls  of  the  church  were  up,2  and  in 
1794  that  it  was  completed  and  was  a  handsome  and  con- 
venient structure.3  It  was  beautifully  located  on  rising 
ground,  three-quarters  of  a  league  back  towards  the  mount- 
ains from  the  presidio  and  overlooking  the  valley,  in  which 
sits  the  present  city  of  Santa  Barbara,  and  the  glancing 
waters  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel,  with  the  hazy  outlines 
of  the  islands  Santa  Cruz  and  Santa  Rosa  in  the  dim  distance. 
The  conversions  proceeded  rapidly.  In  1795,  the  year  after 
the  completion  of  the  church,  the  neophytes  numbered  five 
hundred  and  forty-nine.*  At  the  end  of  1796,  the  number 
was  six  hundred  and  forty-six.5  In  August,  1797,  an  entire 
rancheria  of  three  hundred  inhabitants  was  added  to  the  con- 
gregation, 6  and  was  received  in  the  presence  of  the  father 
president  himself,  but  only  on  condition  that,  though  they 
should  contribute  to  the  labors  of  the  mission,  they  might 
continue  to  live  as  before  in  their  huts  on  the  sea  beach  and 
not  be  obliged  to  remove,  as  was  the  case  with  the  Indians  in 
general,  to  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  church.7     At 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  II,  475. 

2  Cal-.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  VII,    I. 

3  "  Aunque  es  de  adove,  est;i  may  decente." — Cal.  Archives,   M.  II,  319. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,   136.     ' 

5  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  544. 

0  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  192. 
»  Cal.   Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XV,  274. 


PURISJMA.  457 

the  end  of  1805,  the  number  of  neophytes,  then  living,  was 
seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-six,  larger  than  that  of  any  other 
mission  in  the  country  at  that  time.1  The  old  adobe  church, 
in  which  they  worshiped  was  injured  by  an  earthquake  in 
March,  1806,"  and  again  in  December,  1812;3  after  which  it 
had  to  be  rebuilt,1  and  the  new  structure  was  not  completed 
until  1820:' 

At  the  same  time  that  preparations  were  being  made  for  the 
foundation  of  Santa  Barbara,  it  was  also  in  contemplation  to 
found  another  mission,  to  be  called  Purisima  Concepcion,  near 
the  western  extremity  of  the  Channel,  and  thus  complete  the 
occupation  of  the  country  in  that  direction.  In  June,  1785, 
accordingly,  Sergeant  Pablo  Cota  was  dispatched  from  the 
presidio  of  Santa  Barbara  to  look  out  for  a  site;  and  he  chose 
a  spot,  called  by  the  natives  Alsacupi,6  on  the  south  bank  of 
the  river  then  known  as  the  Santa  Rosa,  where  there  was 
much  land  adapted  to  cultivation,  easy  of  irrigation  from  the 
river  and  with  abundant  pasture  and  timber  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. The  road  to  it  and  thence  northward  was  more  direct 
and  better  than  along  the  immediate  coast;  and  it  had  the 
advantage  of  being  within  convenient  reach  to  the  Indians  of 
the  mountains  and  along  the  river  as  well  as  to  those  of  the 
coast.'  It  was  some  fifteen  miles  almost  due  north  from  Point 
Concepcion  and  forty  a  little  north  of  west  from  Santa  Bar- 
bara. The  Santa  Rosa  river  or  as  it  is  now  generally  known 
the  Santa  Inez,  upon  which,  about  twelve  miles  from  the 
ocean,  it  was  situated,  rises  in  the  mountains  northeast  of 
Santa  Barbara;  flows  some  seventy  miles  in  a  nearly  westerly 
direction  between  mountain  and  hill  ranges,  parallel  to  and 
from  ten  to  fifteen  miles  north  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel, 
and  empties  into  the  ocean  about  twenty  miles  northwest  of 
Point  Concepcion. 

1  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  592. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XIX,  327. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  213. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  302. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  616. 

6  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  264. 

7  Cal.  Archives,  I'.  R.  I,  526. 


458  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

The  mission  of  La  Purisima  Concepcion,  usually  known 
\  simply  as  that  of  Purisima,  was  founded  by  the  Father  Presi- 
dent Lasuen,  on  the  spot  thus  selected  by  Sergeant  Pablo 
Cota,  on  December  8,  1787.  The  ceremonies  of  foundation 
consisted  of  the  same  simple  formula  pursued  in  other  cases. 
The  first  missionaries  appear  to  have  been  Fathers  Jose  de 
Arroita  and  Cristobal  Orames.  Sergeant  Pablo  Cota,  with 
the  soldiers  and  servants  destined  for  the  new  foundation, 
proceeded  thither  from  the  presidio  of  Santa  Barbara;  felled 
timber  in  the  neighboring  wood,  and  began  a  stockade  and 
habitations.1  On  April  7,  1788,  Governor  Fages  issued  his 
instructions  for  the  government  of  the  guard."  In  the  early 
part  of  1794,  all  the  Indians  of  the  place  seemed  to  be  seized 
with  a  panic  and  fled;  but  in  the  course  of  a  month  or  two 
they  were  all  brought  back  by  the  soldiers,  when  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  the  flight  had  been  occasioned  by  two  boys,  who 
had  acted  as  pages  of  the  missionaries.  These  were  punished, 
and  the  Indians  induced  to  return  to  their  obedience  and 
labors.3  But  the  church  was  of  slow  construction.  In  the 
early  part  of  1795  materials  had  been  collected,  but  the 
church  proper  had  not  been  commenced.4  In  1797  ornaments 
and  sacred  vessels  had  been  provided,'  and  new  houses  were 
built  for  the  missionaries;6  but  still  the  church  itself  was 
hardly  begun;7  nor  was  it  completed  until  1803.  It  then  con- 
sisted of  an  adobe  structure  seventy-five  feet  long,  twenty- 
seven  and  a  half  feet  wide  and  upwards  of  thirty  high,  with 
out-buildings  and  a  garden  two  hundred  varas  square.8  The 
neophytes  at  the  end  of  1796  numbered  seven  hundred  and 
sixty;9  at  the  end  of  1799  nine  hundred  and  twenty-three,10 


1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  VIII,  293. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  VIII,  71. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  I,  614. 
■>  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  45. 

h  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  724. 

6  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  624. 

7  Cal.   Archives,  M.  II,  724. 

8  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  421. 

9  Cal.   Archives.  M.  II,  544. 
11  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  179. 


PURIS1MA.  439 

and  at  the  end  of  1805  thirteen  hundred  and  eighty-five.1  In 
December,  18 12,  this  church  and  the  buildings  connected  with 
it  were  almost  totally  destroyed  by  the  same  earthquake  that 
temporarily  ruined  the  mission  of  Santa  Barbara.'2  In  the 
spring  of  1813,  Fathers  Mariano  Payeras  and  Antonio  Ripoll, 
the  then  missionaries,  instead  of  rebuilding  on  the  old  spot, 
removed  the  mission  to  a  more  desirable  location  ;  t  a  place, 
called  by  the  natives  Amun,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river 
a  few  miles  distant  from  the  old  site  and  alongside  of  what 
had  then  become  the  mainly  traveled  road  from  Santa  Bar- 
bara to  San  Luis  Obispo.  There  a  new  establishment  was 
immediately  commenced.  By  the  end  of  the  year  various 
buildings  had  been  erected;  a  new  stockade  constructed;  a 
new  garden  planted;  and  a  new  church  started.  It  had  been 
found,  by  this  time,  that  the  river  was  liable  to  run  very  low 
in  the  summer  season  and  could  not  always  be  depended  on 
for  the  necessary  irrigation;  but  to  supply  the  defect  several 
springs  in  the  neighborhood  were  brought  together  and  led 
down  to  the  new  mission;  and  a  sufficiency  of  pure  and  crys- 
talline water,  even  in  the  driest  years,  was  thereby  provided. i 
While  the  missions  of  Santa  Barbara  and  Purisima  were 
thus  being  founded  and  the  spiritual  conquest  extended, 
there  was  no  one  in  California  that  could  administer  the  rite 
of  confirmation.  It  will  be  recollected  that  the  power  to 
administer  this  rite,  which  had  been  granted  for  ten  years  to 
Junipero,  the  only  person  who  possessed  it  in  the  country, 
expired  on  Jul)-  16,  1784;  and  as  yet  it  had  been  conferred 
on  no  one  else.  But  on  March  13.  1787,  the  father  prefect  of 
the  apostolic  colleges  of  Mexico,  under  authority  of  a  decree 
of  convocation  issued  at  Rome  in  1785,  granted  his  patent, 
giving  the  same  power  as  had  been  possessed  by  Junipero 
and  for  an  equal  length  of  time,  to  the  Father  President 
Lasuen  and  in  case  of  his  death  to  Father  .Pablo  Mugar- 
tegui,  and  in  default  of  both  of  them  to  Father  Pedro  Benito 
Cambon.4     It  required  some  time,  on  account  of  the  circui- 

1  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  592. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  210. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  266. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  IX,  629. 


460  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

tous  course  which  the  documents  had  to  take  by  the  way  of 
Chihuahua,  the  capital  of  the  Internal  Provinces  of  the  West 
which  had  been  carved  out  of  the  old  Provincias  Internas,  and 
various  other  delays,  for  the  necessary  authority  to  reach 
Monterey;  but  reach  it  at  last  it  did;  and  in  March,  1790, 
Governor  Fages  was  directed  by  Jacobo  Ugarte  y  Loyola,  the 
comandante-general  of  those  provinces  and  his  immediate 
superior,  to  throw  no  obstacles  in  the  way  of  its  execution. 

Being  in  this  manner  armed  with  all  the  powers  deemed 
requisite  not  only  to  convert  souls  but  also  to  save  and  secure 
them  from  perdition,  Lasuen  addressed  himself  with  renewed 
energy  to  the  great  work.  It  was  six  years  since  the  rite  of 
confirmation  had  been  exercised;  and  there  was  consequently 
an  accumulation  of  labor  on  hand  both  in  the  southern  mis- 
sions and  in  the  northern.  He  commenced  with  the  latter  as 
the  nearest  home.  But  he  had  not  progressed  far  before  he 
was  again  called  upon,  this  time  by  Jose  Antonio  Romeu  who 
had  succeeded  Fages  in  the  office  of  governor,  and  also  by  the 
Conde  de  Revillagigedo  the  new  viceroy,  to  found  and  put 
in  working  order  two  new  missions;  and  he  at  once  turned  his 
attention  to  the  proposed  new  establishments.1 

Hitherto  all  the  missions  had  been  founded  or  may  be  said 
to  have  been  founded,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  by  Juni- 
pero.  Even  Santa  Barbara  and  Purisima,  though  not  actu- 
ally organized  until  after  his  death,  had  been  so  prepared 
and  arranged  for  by  him,  that  they  may  not  improperly  be 
called  his  work.  But  the  new  establishments,  notwithstand- 
ing they  were  in  the  line  of  the  influences  he  set  in  operation 
and  in  that  regard  results  of  his  labors,  were  the  work  of 
others  and  particularly  of  the  college  of  San  Fernando  and 
the  new  viceroy.  It  was  by  them,  and  without  any  very 
urgent  call  from  any  one  in  California,  that  the  new  projects 
were  started  and  all  the  necessary  arrangements  made.  The 
orders  reached  their  destination  in  the  latter  part  of  1790  and 
four  new  missionaries,  the  principal  of  whom  were  Fathers 
Esteban  Tapis  and  Antonio  Danti,  were  sent  along. 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  VII,  49. 


SANTA   CRUZ.  461 

The  first  of  the  two  new  missions  thus  directed  to  be 
founded,  that  of  Santa  Cruz,  was  to  be  located  on  the  ocean 
shore  at  the  northern  end  of  the  great  indentation  known  as 
Monterey  bay.  The  place  had  been  named  by  Portola's  ex- 
pedition in  1769.  It  was  about  twenty-five  miles  in  a  direct 
line  across  the  b.ay  from  Monterey  and  thirty  miles  a  little 
west  of  south  from  Santa  Clara.  Though  nearer  to  Monterey 
it  was  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  presidio  of  San  Francisco- 
For  the  purpose  of  making  a  reconnoissance  and  survey, 
Lasuen  proceeded  thither  in  company  with  Corporal  Luis 
Peralta  and  five  soldiers  of  the  latter  presidio;  and  on  August 
28,  1 79 1,  he  fixed  upon  the  site  and  gave  the  initiation  to  the 
new  mission.1  Peralta,  who  a  few  days  afterwards  returned 
to  San  Francisco,  pronounced  the  spot,  on  account  of  the 
many  advantages  it  presented,  one  of  the  very  best  for  a  new 
establishment  in  the  entire  province."  But,  though  there  was 
thus  a  commencement  made  in  August,  it  was  not  until  Sep- 
tember 25  that  the  ceremonies  of  foundation  were  performed; 
and  at  these  Lasuen  was  not  present.  He  had  proceeded  to 
Santa  Clara  and  from  that  place  gave  the  necessary  direc- 
tions to  Ensign  Hermenegildo  Sal,  who  was  acting  comand- 
ante  of  the  troops  at  San  Francisco,3  and  then  proceeded  to 
Monterey  to  attend  to  other  duties,  which  required  his  im- 
mediate personal  superintendence  elsewhere. 

Hermenegildo  Sal,  in  accordance  with  the,  directions  of 
Lasuen  but  acting  more  directly  under  the  orders  of  Governor 
Romeu,  as  soon  as  he  could  make  the  proper  dispositions, 
took  with  him  Corporal  Peralta  and  two  soldiers,  leaving  the 
other  three  belonging  to  the  guard  to  follow  with  the  spare 
horses  and  baggage,  and  proceeded. to  Santa  Clara.  He  was 
there  joined  by  Fathers  Alonzo  Salazar  and  Baldomero 
Lopez,  the  missionaries  destined  for  the  new  establishment, 
and  some  soldiers  and  Indians,  who  were  employed  to  drive 
a  band  of  thirty  cattle,  and  thence  marched  direct  to  Santa 

1  Cal.  Archives,  M.   IT,  544. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  VII,  42. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  VII,  48. 


462  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

Cruz.  He  found  the  spot  chosen  by  Lasuen  a  beautiful  loca- 
tion near  the  ocean,  not  more  than  a  musket  shot  from  the 
San  Lorenzo  river,  with  considerable  level  land  of  great  fer- 
tility and  capable  of  easy  and  plentiful  irrigation,  and  within 
a  mile  or  two  of  the  mountains  which  were  densely  covered 
with  redwood  and  pine  trees.  Within  a  league  there  was 
timber  enough  to  build  many  large  towns.  Springs  abounded, 
and  there  was  limestone  near  by.  Throughout  the  whole 
length  of  the  country  from  San  Diego  to  San  Francisco,  as 
Sal  reported  to  Governor  Romeu,  there  was  no  other  place  so 
well  supplied  with  natural  advantages,  though  the  ground  for 
cultivation  was  comparatively  small.  Almost  the  only  objec- 
tion to  it  was  that  the  spot  was  off  the  main  road  from  Mon- 
terey to  Santa  Clara,  and  communication  to  and  from  it 
might  in  times  of  flood  be  difficult. 

On  Sunday,  September  25,  1791,  although  the  mission  was 
regarded  as  already  founded  and  some  slight  structures  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  missionaries  had  already  been  built, 
the  formal  ceremonies  of  foundation  took  place.  On  that 
day  the  missionaries  robed  themselves  and  the  soldiers  bur- 
nished up  their  arms  and  the  Indians  of  the  neighborhood 
collected.  The  "  capitanejo  "  or  principal  man  of  these  was 
called  Sugert.  Being  invited  to  attend  the  celebration,  he 
came  with  his  wife  and  two  daughters.  These  young  women, 
one  of  whom  was  called  Lucenza  and  the  other  Clara,  had 
already  become  Christians  and  were  instrumental  in  render- 
ing not  only  their  father  but  all  the  Indians  under  his  influ- 
ence well  disposed  to  the  new-comers.  They  accordingly  one 
and  all  looked  upon  the  ceremonies,  including  the  mass,  the 
act  of  possession,  the  salutes  and  the  Te  Deum  Laudamus, 
with  great  interest  and  favor  and  promised  cheerfully  to  assist 
in  building  up  and  sustaining  the  mission.1  On  the  same 
day  Hermenegildo  Sal  made  out  a  formal  certificate,  sub- 
scribed by  himself,  the  missionaries,  Corporal  Luis  Peralta 
and  citizen  Salvador  Higuera,  that  upon  that  date  at  8  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  in  the  presence  of  the  witnesses  mentioned 

1  Cal:  Archives,  S.   I'.  II,  818  824. 


SANTA  CRUZ.  463 

and  in  the  name  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity,  he  had  taken 
possession  of  the  place  for  his  Catholic  majesty,  King  Charles 
IV.1 

Upon  his  return  a  few  days  afterwards  to  his  head-quarters 
at  San  Francisco,  Sal  issued  a  series  of  instructions  to  Cor- 
poral Peralta  for  the  government  of  the  guard  at  Santa 
Cruz  and  also  prepared  a  report  of  all  his  proceedings  for 
Governor  Romeu.  This  report,  with  accompanying  docu- 
ments, constitutes  the  most  minute  account,  perhaps,  that 
has  been  preserved  of  the  foundation  of  a  mission.  In  one 
of  his  papers  he  says  that  he  had  been  obliged,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  making  up  the  guard,  to  withdraw  a  soldier  from 
Santa  Clara  and  two  from  San  Francisco,  so  that  at  the  latter 
place  there  were  left  only  a  corporal  and  seven  soldiers  not- 
withstanding it  was  the  frontier."  In  another  paper,  he  says 
that  on  account  of  the  remoteness  of  Santa  Cruz  he  had  sent 
thither  a  small  piece  of  ordnance,  which  he  had  found  at 
San  Francisco.3  In  a  third,  he  gives  a  list  of  the  supplies 
furnished,  among  which  are  mentioned,  as  the  food  upon 
which  the  founders  were  to  live,  maize,  beans,  tallow,  choco- 
late, tobacco  and  salt.  There  were  four  cooking  pots  and  pans, 
one  of  iron,  three  of  copper,  and  one  metate  or  stone  slab 
upon  which  to  crush  and  knead  maize  for  tortillas.  That 
there  might  be  no  waste,  a  pair  of  scales  and  a  wooden  meas- 
ure for  gauging  rations  were  added.  The  ammunition  sup- 
plied consisted  of  twelve  hundred  musket  cartridges,  and 
about  forty  pounds  of  powder  and  five  hundred  grape-shot 
for  the  field-piece.  There  was  also  some  soap,  a  crowbar,  a 
few  axes,  hoes  and  cutlasses.  These,  with  a  few  blankets 
and  mats,  arms  and  clothing,  in  addition  to  the  domestic 
animals  driven  over  from  Santa  Clara,  constituted  all  the  prop- 
erty with  which  the  pioneers  of  Santa  Cruz  commenced  their 
settlement.4  In  his  instructions  Sal  was  very  particular  in 
designating  the  exact  amount  of  maize,  beans,  tallow,  cigars, 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  II,  813. 

a  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  II,  832. 

:!  "Un  pedrero  de  campafia. " — Cal.   Archives,  S.  P.  II,  834. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  II,  837. 


464  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

soap  and  chocolate  to  be  given  weekly  to  each  of  the  sol- 
diers and  the  six  servants  of  the  mission,  the  married  soldiers 
to  have  a  little  more  than  the  others;  and  the  corporal  was 
cautioned  not  to  allow  any  excess  of  the  rations  thus  pre- 
scribed. When  meat  was  required  and  an  animal  slaughtered, 
none  was  to  be  given  to  the  Indians  for  fear  of  the  evil  con- 
sequences that  might  result  from  teaching  them  the  taste  of 
beef.  The  soldiers  were  to  obey  the  orders,  either  written 
or  oral,  of  the  missionaries.  A  sentinel,  armed  with  musket 
and  sword,  was  to  be  maintained  day  and  night;  and  the  In- 
dians were  not  to  be  permitted  to  associate  with  the  guard. 
If  an  Indian  approached  he  was  to  be  met  and  disarmed 
before  being  allowed  to  enter  the  mission;  and  the  strictest 
precautions  were  to  be  observed  against  surprises  or  uprisings. 
The  horses  and  cattle  were  to  be  constantly  under  observation; 
and,  for  the  purpose  of  promptly  meeting  contingencies,  two 
horses  ready  saddled  during  the  day  and  four  during  the 
night  were  to  be  kept  picketed  near  at  hand.  In  case  an 
animal  strayed,  it  was  to  be  sought  for;  if  stolen  and  the  thief 
captured,  he  was  to  be  informed  of  the  magnitude  of  his 
offense  and  punished  with  fifteen  stripes;  and  in  case  of  repe- 
tition or  of  his  killing  the  animal,  word  was  to  be  sent  at  once 
to  the  presidio  for  further  orders.  Care  was  to  be  taken  that 
no  damage  should  be  done  by  the  fires  which  the  Indians 
were  accustomed  to  set  to  the  dry  grass  in  the  autumn. 
When  a  missionary  should  leave  the  mission,  if  on  foot  and 
for  only  a  short  distance,  he  was  to  be  accompanied  by  a  sol- 
dier with  his  musket;  if  on  horseback,  he  was  to  be  asked  his 
destination:  if  for  a  short  distance,  two  soldiers  were  to  ac- 
company him;  if  for  a  long  distance,  three.  Gambling  was 
not  to  be  permitted  among  the  soldiers,  nor  between  soldiers 
and  servants.  Nor  were  contracts  or  communications  to  be 
allowed  with  the  Indians  and  especially  not  with  the  Indian 
women,  on  pain  of  severe  punishment.  Prayers  were  to  be 
punctually  attended.  On  the  last  week  of  every  month  a  re- 
port on  the  condition  of  affairs  was  to  be  made  out  and  trans- 
mitted to  Santa  Clara  and  thence,  with  a  like  report  in  refer- 


SOLEDAD.  465 

ence  to  Santa  Clara,  to  head-quarters  at  San  Francisco.  In 
conclusion  it  was  provided  that,  in  consideration  of  the  late- 
ness of  the  season  and  the  approach  of  the  rains,  the  Indians 
should  be  invited  to  assist  in  constructing  the  buildings 
necessary  for  immediate  use  and  paid  for  their  labors  with 
blankets  and  maize.1 

Corporal  Peralta  was  a  man  to  follow  his  instructions 
strictly;  and  in  a  short  time  the  buildings,  including  a  church, 
were  up;  and  the  work  of  conversion  commenced.  But  it  was 
soon  found  that  the  new  establishment  was  too  near  the  river.'2 
A  few  years  afterwards  the  church  was  destroyed  by  an  inun- 
dation,3 and  had  to  be  rebuilt  on  higher  ground.  The  new 
church,  however,  was  no  more  fortunate  than  the  old  one;  for 
in  January,  1799,  it  too,  with  other  structures  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, was  destroyed  by  a  violent  storm  which  did  great 
damage  throughout  all  that  portion  of  the  country;  and  the 
Indians  had  to  be  called  upon  to  do  the  work  over  again  for  the 
third  time.4  It  consisted,  like  most  of  the  other  churches  of 
the  time,  of  an  adobe  structure  roofed  with  tiles;  and  con- 
nected with  it  were  numerous  adjuncts  in  the  way  of  priests' 
houses,  barracks,  warehouses  and  shops.  There  was  also  near 
by  a  rude  water-mill  for  grinding  grain,  which  was  destroyed 
by  the  same  storm.  The  conversions,  owing  no  doubt  in 
great  part  to  the  mediation  of  Lucenza  and  Clara,  the  Chris- 
tianized daughters  of  the  Indian  capitanejo,  were  rapid.  At 
the  end  of  December,  1796,  the  neophytes  numbered  five  hun- 
dred and  twenty-three,5  nearly  as  large  a  number  as  the  mis- 
sion ever  at  any  time  had. 

Contemporaneous  with  the  preparations  for  the  foundation 
of  Santa  Cruz  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  presidio  of  San 
Francisco,  went  on  those  for  Soledad  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  Monterey.  The  latter  was  the  second  of  the  two  new  mis- 
sions,   which    the  viceroy  Revillagigedo  had    ordered   to  be 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  II,  826-831. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  II,  562. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  742. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  741. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  544. 

30     Vol.  I. 


466  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

founded.  As  early  as  January  he  had  written  to  Governor 
Romeu  that  he  had  provided  the  necessary  ornaments  and 
sacred  vessels  for  the  new  establishments  and  directed  their 
transmission  to  California,  and  urging  him  to  see  that  the 
foundations  were  proceeded  with  without  delay.1  He  also 
wrote  directly  to  Father  Lasuen  upon  the  same  subject;  and 
as  Romeu  likewise  wrote,2  Lasuen  could  not  hold  back  for  the 
want  of  prompting  to  go  forward.  Forward  he  did  go  with 
Santa  Cruz,  as  has  been  seen;  and  at  the  same  time  he  was 
pushing  forward  Soledad.  It  was  the  necessity  of  his  pres- 
ence at  Monterey  on  account  of  the  latter  that  prevented  his 
participation  in  the  formal  ceremonies  of  foundation  at  Santa 
Cruz. 

The  mission  of  Soledad,  or,  to  give  the  full  title,  Mision  de 
Maria  Santisima  de  la  Soledad,  was  founded  on  October  9, 
1 79 1.  It  was  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  Salinas  river, 
near  the  head  of  the  great  level  valley,  known  as  the  Salinas 
Plains,  and  about  thirty  miles  in  a  direct  line  southeast  of 
Monterey.  It  was  of  slow  progress.  In  1793  its  missionaries, 
Fathers  Garcia  Diego  and  Francisco  Miguel  Sanchez  reported 
the  number  of  baptisms  up  to  that  time  as  one  hundred  and 
ninety-eight.  An  adobe  church  was  in  progress,3  which 
appears  to  have  been  finished  before  the  end  of  1797.4  At 
the  end  of  1796  the  neophytes  numbered  only  two  hundred 
and  eighty-nine,  little  more  than  half  the  number  at  Santa 
Cruz;5  but  at  the  end  of  1799  the  two  missions  were  about 
equal,  each  having  nearly  five  hundred;6  and  in  181 1  Soledad 
had  six  hundred  while  Santa  Cruz  had  only  five  hundred  and 
nine7  The  building  was  a  long  and  comparatively  narrow 
one  thatched  with  straw,  never  a  place  of  any  great  beauty, 
and  in  its  decay  some  thirty  or  forty  years  after  its  erection 


1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  X,  471. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  VII,  49. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  M.  I,  S20. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  736. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  544. 

6  Cal.  Archives.  M.  Ill,  11S,  270. 

7  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  192. 


PRESIDENT  LASUEN.  4G7 

described  as  the  gloomiest,  bleakest,  most  abject  looking  spot 
in  all  California.1 

It  was  in  the  early  part  of  Lasuen's  administration,  and 
near  the  time  of  the  foundation  of  the  missions  last  described, 
that  two  famous  navigators  visited  California,  each  of  whom 
has  left  a  very  intelligent  and  valuable  account  of  what  he 
saw  and  of  the  condition  of  the  Indians  at  the  missions  at 
that  period.  The  first  of  these  was  Jean  Francois  Galaup  de 
la  Perouse,  commander  of  the  French  frigates  Boussole  and 
Astrolabe.  He  was  the  first  foreigner  of  distinction  that 
landed  on  the  soil  in  a  spirit  of  friendship.  He  came  by  the 
way  of  Cape  Horn,  Chili,  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  the 
extreme  northwest  coast,  and  anchored  in  Monterey  bay  on 
September  14,  1786.  A  few  days  after  his  arrival,  he  and  his 
officers  rode  over  in  company  with  Governor  Fages  to  the 
mission  of  San  Carlos,  where  they  were  received  with  dis- 
tinguished honors.  Their  approach  had  been  announced  by 
a  horseman,  sent  on  in  advance  by  the  governor.  As  soon  as 
they  appeared  in  sight,  the  bells  were  set  to  ringing  a  peal  of 
welcome;  and  all  the  lamps  and  tapers  of  the  mission  were 
set  ablaze.  At  the  gate  of  the  church  they  were  met  by  the 
father  president,  dressed  in  his  ceremonial  habiliments  and 
with  aspergillus  in  hand,  who  sprinkled  over  them  the  holy 
water  of  purification  and  then,  after  conducting  them  to  the 
foot  of  the  high  altar,  chanted  the  Te  Deum  in  thanksgiving 
for  the  happy  success  of  their  voyage.  A  large  number  of 
.stolid  Indians  of  both  sexes  were  collected  and  ranged  in 
line  in  front  of  the  church;  and  there  they  remained  during 
the  ceremonies,  taking  no  interest  in  what  was  going  on — too 
stupid  in  fact  even  to  exhibit  surprise,  as  the  strangers  from 
another  hemisphere  passed  before  them. 

The  Indian  population  of  San  Carlos  at  that  time  con- 
sisted of  seven  hundred  and  forty  persons  of  both  sexes, 
including  children.  They  lived  in  some  fifty  miserable  huts 
near  the  church,  composed  of  stakes  stuck  in  the  ground  a 
few  inches  apart  and  bent  over  at  the  top  so  as  to  form  oven- 

1  Robinson,  Life  in  California,  New  York,  1846,  78. 


4G8  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

shaped  structures,  about  six  feet  in  diameter  and  the  same  in 
height,  and  illy  thatched  with  trusses  of  straw.  In  such 
habitations  as  these,  closely  packed  together  at  night,  they 
preferred  to  live  rather  than  in  houses  such  as  the  Spaniards 
built,  alleging  that  they  loved  the  open  air  which  had  free 
access  to  them,  and  that,  when  their  huts  became  uncomfor- 
table on  account  of  fleas  and  vermin,  they  could  easily  burn 
them  down  and  in  a  few  hours  build  new  ones.  The  condi- 
tion of  the  neophytes  was  that  of  abject  slavery.  The 
moment  an  Indian  allowed  himself  to  be  baptized,  as  La 
Perouse  observed,  that  moment'he  relinquished  every  particle 
of  liberty  and  subjected  himself,  body  and  soul,  to  a  tyranny 
from  which  there  was  no  escape.  The  church  then  claimed, 
as  its  own,  himself,  his  labor,  his  creed  and  his  obedience,  and 
enforced  its  claim  with  the  strong  hand  of  power.  His  going 
forth  and  his  returning  were  prescribed;  the  hours  of  his  toil 
and  of  his  prayers  fixed;  the  time  of  his  meals  and  of  his 
sleep  pre-arranged.  If  he  ran  away  or  attemped  to  regain 
his  native  independence,  he  was  hunted  down  by  the  soldiers, 
brought  back  and  lashed  into  submission.  His  spirit,  if  he 
ever  had  any,  was  entirely  broken — -so  much  so  that  in  a  short 
while  after  the  establishment  of  a  mission  anything  like  re- 
sistance was  almost  unknown;  and  its  three  or  four  hundred 
or  a  thousand  neophytes  were  driven  to  their  labors,  by  three 
or  four  soldiers,  like  so  many  cattle. 

At  the  mission  of  San  Carlos,  and  the  case  was  substan- 
tially the  same  at  the  other  missions,  the  Indians  were  roused 
with  the  sun  and  collected  in  the  church  for  prayers  and  mass. 
These  lasted  an  hour.  During  this  time  three  large  boilers 
were  set  on  the  fire  for  cooking  a  kind  of  porridge  called 
"atole,"  consisting  of  a  mixture  of  barley,  which  had  been 
first  roasted  and  then  pounded  or  ground  with  great  labor  by 
the  Indian  women  into  a  sort  of  meal,  and  water.  As  soon 
as  prayers  were  over,  a  representative  of  each  hut  came  with 
a  vessel,  made  out  of  the  bark  of  a  tree,  and  received  its 
allowance  of  atole,  which  was  carried  off  and  eaten ;  and 
after  all  were  supplied  the  remnants  and  thicker  portions  at 


PRESIDENT  LASUEN.  469 

the  bottom  of  the  boilers  were  distributed  as  rewards  to  those 
children  who  had  said  their  catechism  the  best.  Three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  were  allowed  for  breakfast.  Immediately- 
after  it  was  over,  all  the  neophytes,  both  men  and  women, 
were  obliged  to  go  to  work,  either  tilling  the  ground,  laboring 
in  the  shops  or  gathering  or  preparing  food,  as  might  be 
ordered  by  the  missionaries,  under  whose  eyes,  or  the  eyes  of 
other  taskmasters  appointed  by  them,  all  the  operations  were 
performed.  At  noon  the  church  bells  announced  the  time  for 
dinner,  when  the  Indians  stopped  work,  returned  to  their  huts 
and  sent  for  their  midday  allowance,  which  was  served  in  the 
same  vessels  as  their  breakfast  and  consisted  of  a  porridge, 
somewhat  thicker  than  theatole,  made  of  a  mixture  of  ground 
wheat,  maize,  peas  and  beans  and  water.  This  constituted 
their  "pozoli."  About  2  o'clock  they  were  compelled  to  re- 
turn to  their  labors  again  and  continue  until  about  5;  when 
they  were  again  collected  in  the  church  for  an  hour  of  evening 
prayers,  after  which  there  was  a  distribution  of  atole,  the  same 
as  at  breakfast.  Day  after  day,  week  after  week  and  month 
after  month,  it  was  the  same,  with  the  exception  that  on  Sun- 
days and  festival  days  there  was  no  labor  but  three  or  four 
hours  more  of  prayers.  Sometimes  the  weather  would  inter- 
fere with  outdoor  labor;  but  then  indoor  labor  was  increased. 
If  particularly  good  and  obedient,  they  were  sometimes  re- 
warded with  small  distributions  of  grain,  of  which  they  made 
cakes  baked  in  ashes;  and  on  rare  occasions  an  allowance  of 
beef  was  given  them.  This  was  eaten  raw  and  particularly 
the  fat,  which  was  regarded  as  the  greatest  delicacy.  When 
a  cow  was  slaughtered,  the  poor  wretches,  who  were  not  at 
work,  would  gather  around  like  hungry  ravens,  devouring 
with  their  eyes  what  they  dared  not  touch  with  their  hands 
and  keeping  up  a  croaking  of  desire,  as  the  parts  for  which 
they  had  -the  greatest  avidity  were  exposed  in  the  process  of 
dressing. 

In  summing  up  the  impressions  produced  upon  his  mind 
by  the  Indians,  their  black  color,  their  subjection  to  the  mis- 
sionaries, the  tasks  and    taskmasters,  the  relations    between 


470  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

governors  and  governed,  the  manner  in  which  they  lived 
respectively,  and  in  fact  by  all  he  saw  and  heard,  La  Perouse 
was  reminded  of  nothing  so  forcibly  as  of  a  West  India  slave 
plantation;  and  the  resemblance  was  considered  perfect  when 
he  saw  both  men  and  women  in  irons  and  heard  the  sound  of 
the  lash  as  it  descended  upon  the  bare  backs  of  those  who 
were  undergoing  punishment.  It  was,  however,  only  men 
that  he  saw  flogged.  They  were  whipped  in  public.  When 
it  came  to  the  punishment  of  women,  they  were  taken  to  an 
enclosure  removed  to  such  a  distance  that  their  cries  might 
not  be  heard  or  the  sight  of  their  sufferings  excite  too  lively 
a  compassion  in  the  breasts  of  spectators.  The  main  differ- 
ences between  the  mission  and  the  slave  plantation  were  that 
the  tyranny  of  the  church  was  more  extensive  than  that  of 
the  planter,  overshadowing,  as  it  did,  with  its  baneful  influ- 
ences the  souls  as  well  as  the  bodies  of  its  victims,  and  that 
the  missionaries  really  believed,  what  could  certainly  not  be 
claimed  for  the  planters,  that  their  tyranny  was  the  greatest 
service  they  could  do  to  God  as  well  as  to  the  slaves  them- 
selves. 

La  Perouse  remained  but  ten  days  in  California  and  saw  no 
other  porcion  of  it  except  the  neighborhood  of  Monterey; 
but  the  most  cordial  relations  existed  between  him  and  the 
missionaries,  from  whose  statements,  as  well  as  from  his  own 
observations,  he  derived  his  information.  On  September  24, 
1786,  he  sailed  for  the  East  Indies,  whence  he  sent  his  jour- 
nals, and  thence  to  the  waters  of  the  South  Pacific,  where  his 
ships  were  wrecked  and  he  and  all  his  people  lost.  But  before 
leaving  California  he  conferred  upon  the  country  several  great 
boons  by  introducing  the  cultivation  of  potatoes,  which  he  had 
brought  with  him  in  good  condition  from  Chili;  by  supplying 
the  missionaries  with  different  kinds  of  seed  from  France,  and 
by  furnishing  a*  hand-mill  for  the  grinding  of  barley,  which 
not  only  saved  labor  and  did  better  work  than  either  mortar 
or  metate  but  suggested  the  need  and  opened  the  way  for 
other  mills  in  the  country.1 


1  I, a  IVrouse,  Voyage,  London,  1799,  I,  437-456. 


PRESIDENT  LAS UEN.  171 

The  next  distinguished  foreigner,  who  visited  California 
and  has  left  an  account  of  the  condition  of  the  Indians  at  the 
missions,  was  Captain  George  Vancouver  of  the  British  sloop- 
of-vvar  Discovery.  He  arrived  at  San  Francisco  upon  his 
first  visit  on  November  14,  1792,  and  after  a  stay  of  eleven 
days  sailed  to  Monterey,  where  he  remained  until  January  14, 
1793.  Upon  his  second  visit  he  arrived  at  San  Francisco  on 
October  19,  1793,  where  he  stayed  on  this  occasion  five  days. 
From  there  he  sailed  to  Monterey,  stopped  five  days  and  then 
sailed  down  the  coast,  stopping  at  Santa  Barbara,  San  Buena- 
ventura and  San  Diego,  which  last  place  he  left  on  Decem- 
ber 9,  1793.  Upon  his  third  visit  he  arrived  at  Monterey  on 
November  6,  1794,  and  finally  left  the  country  on  December 
2.  Having  thus  visited  all  the  four  presidios,  on  which  occa- 
sions he  carefully  examined  the  neighboring  missions,  and 
having  in  addition  made  special  visits  to  Santa  Clara  and 
San  Buenaventura,  Vancouver  might,  perhaps,  be  supposed 
to  have  been  better  qualified  to  speak  of  the  condition  of  the 
Indians  and  the  results  at  that  time  accomplished  by  the  mis- 
sion system  than  La  Perouse,  who  had  seen  but  Monterey 
alone.  On  the  other  hand  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  La 
Perouse  was  of  the  same  faith  as  the  missionaries,  who  freely 
communicated  to  him  all  the  facts  in  relation  to  the  subject; 
while  Vancouver,  though  received  and  treated  by  the  ecclesi- 
astics with  distinguished  respect,  being  of  a  different  and  in 
their  opinion  heretical  religion,  was  not  so  unreservedly 
admitted  into  their  confidences;  and  many  things  "against 
which  reason  so  strongly  exclaims"  which  La  Perouse  saw 
and  heard,  were  concealed  from  the  protestant  visitor. 

Vancouver  did  not  mention  the  word  slavery,  did  not,  like 
La  Perouse,  compare  the  condition  of  the  Indians  to  that  of 
the  negroes  on  a  West  India  plantation,  did  not  speak  of  the 
tasks  the  neophytes  were  compelled  to  perform  or  the  irons 
or  stripes  with  which  their  neglect  or  disobedience  was  pun- 
ished; yet  in  what  he  did  say,  his  account  substantially  agreed 
with  that  of  La  Perouse  and  showed  that  the  mission  system 
had  not  only  failed  to  accomplish  any  improvement  but  was 


472  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

not  calculated  to  advance  the  neophytes  in  civilization. 
They  were,  perhaps,  more  regularly  fed  and  a  little  better 
clothed  than  in  their  aboriginal  state;  but  many  of  them,  and 
especially  the  young  women,  were  kept  confined  within  the 
mission  buildings  as  none  but  slaves  could  be.  He  spoke  of 
the  little  huts  outside  the  mission  enclosure,  each  one  the  res- 
idence of  a  neophyte  family;  but  he  described  them  as  the 
most  miserable  of  human  habitations,  infested  with  every  kind 
of  filth  and  nastiness.  In  contemplating  the  neophytes  them- 
selves, it  was  with  a  sentiment  of  compassion  at  the  sight  of 
their  wretchedness.  He  could  observe  scarcely  a  sign  of  their 
having  been  in  any  respect  benefited  or  having  gained  a 
single  ray  of  comfort  by  their  change  of  condition  from  the 
wild  state  to  that  of  children  of  the  church;  and  he  expressed 
astonishment,  which  doubtless  would  not  have  been  so  lively 
if  he  had  known  all  the  facts,  that  so  little  advantage  had 
attended  their  conversion.1 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  however,  that  with  few  exceptions, 
the  missionaries  were  kind  masters  and  according  to  their 
light  benevolent  and  well-meaning  men.  Both  La  Perouse 
and  Vancouver,  who  met  Father  Lasuen  and  various  of  his 
associates,  spoke  of  them  in  this  respect  in  terms  of  the  high- 
est praise.  La  Perouse  pronounced  Lasuen  one  of  the  most 
worthy  and  respectable  men  he  had  ever  met  and  said  that 
his  mildness,  charity  and  affection  for  the  Indians  were  be- 
yond expression.2  But  the  most  interesting  account,  illus- 
trating the  kindness  of  the  missionaries  to  the  neophytes  by 
the  reciprocal  affection  produced  in  them,  was  furnished  by 
Vancouver.  Father  Vicente  de  Santa  Maria  of  San  Buena- 
ventura, being  on  a  visit  to  Santa  Barbara  at  the  time  the 
navigator  touched  there  on  his  way  southward  in  November, 
1793,  was  offered  a  passage  back  to  his  mission  in  the  ship. 
He  expressed  his  satisfaction  at  the  proposal  of  this  easy  and 
pleasant  mode  of  traveling  and  ordered  the  four  or  five  In- 
dian servants,  who  had  accompanied  him,  to  return  home  with 

1  Vancouver,  Voyage  of  Discovery,  London,  1801,  III,  8-400. 
'l  La  IV'rouse,  I,  450. 


PRESIDENT  LASUEN.  473 

the  horses  and  mules  by  themselves,  as  he  should  go  thither 
by  sea.  But  the  Indians,  fearful  for  his  safety  and  thoroughly 
convinced  if  he  went  with  the  strangers  that  they  should 
never  see  him  again,  instantly  cried  out  as  with  one  voice  and 
prayed  him  for  God's  sake  not  to  persist  in  his  determination. 
Nor  was  it  in  the  power  of  language,  either  by  argument  or 
assurances,  to  remove  their  ill-founded  anxieties.  To  the  last 
moment  they  remained  with  him  on  the  beach,  supplicating 
in  the  most  earnest  manner  that  he  should  pay  attention  to 
their  advice  and  repeating  that  though  they  had  hitherto  con- 
fided in  everything  he  had  told  them,  yet  in  this  instance,  if 
they  trusted,  they  were  sure  they  should  be  deceived.  After- 
wards, when  the  vessel  anchored  at  the  roadstead  of  San 
Buenaventura  and  a  landing  was  effected,  Father  Santa  Maria 
led  the  way  to  the  mission,  distant  about  three-quarters  of  a 
mile.  He  had  advanced  a  very  little  distance,  however, 
before  the  road  became  crowded  with  Indians  of  both  sexes 
and  of  all  ages,  running  towards  the  advancing  party.  Van- 
couver at  first  attributed  the  great  assemblage  to  curiosity 
and  a  desire  on  their  part  of  seeing  the  strangers;  but  he  was 
soon  undeceived  and  convinced  that  it  was  not  to  see  stran- 
gers that  they  crowded  around  but  to  welcome  the,  return  of 
their  pastor.  Although  it  was  yet  early  in  the  morning,  the 
tidings  of  his  return  had  reached  the  mission,  whence  the 
Indians  had  eagerly  and  tumultuously  issued,  each  pressing 
through  the  crowd,  unmindful  of  the  feeble  or  the  young,  to 
kiss  the  hand  of  their  paternal  guardian  and  receive  his  bene- 
diction.1, 

1  Vancouver,  III,  338-345. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

•  SAN  JOSE,  SAN  JUAN  BAUTISTA,  SAN  MIGUEL,  SAN  FERNANDO 
AND  SAN  LUIS  REY. 

THE  four  missions  last  founded  filled  up  a  few  of  the  gaps 
that  had  been  left  by  the  early  establishments;  but  still 
there  were  a  number  of  places  remaining  in  the  great  distance 
between  San  Diego  and  San  Francisco,  where  the  Indians 
continued  in  their  native  state  of  independence.  It  was 
thought  desirable  by  the  government  as. well  as  by  the  mis- 
sionaries to  reach  these  yet  unsubjugated  tribes  and  fill  up 
with  new  missions  the  long  intervals  between  those  already 
founded.  The  object,  as  had  been  likewise  the  plan  of  the 
Jesuits  in  Lower  California,  was  not  only  to  gather  all  the 
Indians  within  the  spiritual  fold  and  thus  render  them  obe- 
dient subjects  of  the  state  as  well  as  of  the  church;  but  also 
to  plant  posts  or  stations  at  such  convenient  distances  from 
one  another  that  the  missionaries  might  be,  for  the  purposes 
of,  mutual  aid  and  assistance  as  well  as  of  companionship  and 
society,  within  easy  communication,  in  no  case  exceeding 
more  than  a  day's  journey,  of  their  next  neighbors. 

To  accomplish  this  object  it  was  necessary  to  found  five 
new  missions,  one  between  San  Francisco  and  Santa  Clara, 
so  as  to  reach  the  Indians  on  the  east  side  of  the  bay  of  San 
Francisco;  one  between  Santa  Clara  and  Monterey,  more  on 
the  direct  line  of  travel- between  those  places  than  Santa 
Cruz;  one  between  San  Antonio  and  San  Luis  Obispo;  one 
between  San  Buenaventura  and  San  Gabriel,  and  one  be- 
tween San  Juan  Capistrano  and  San  Diego.  It  might  be 
difficult  to  name  with  certainty  the  first  mover  of  these  pro- 
(474) 


SAN  JOSE.  475 

jects,  which  were  but  a  continuation  of  the  plan  of  spiritual 
conquest  adopted  from  the  beginning;  but  it  seems  to  have 
been  Diego  de  Borica,  who,  after  the  death  of  Romeu  in  1792, 
became  the  next  regular  governor  of  California.  It  was  he. 
at  least,  among  whose  papers  are  found  the  first  suggestions 
of  these  new  missions;  and  it  was  he  under  whose  energetic 
and  skillful  administration  their  successful  foundation  was 
accomplished.  In  1795,  the  next  year  after  he  assumed  the 
functions  of  his  office,  recognizing  the  need  of  the  new  es- 
tablishments, he  directed  the  necessary  surveys  to  be  made; 
and  before  the  end  of  that  year  the  returns  were  all  in  and 
submitted  for  consideration  to  the  father  president,  who  in 
January,  1796,  wrote  to  the  governor  the  result  of  his  delib- 
erations and  choice  of  sites.1  In  February  Borica  addressed 
the  Marques  de  Branciforte,  then  viceroy  at  Mexico,  urging 
the  necessity  of  the  new  foundations,  giving  an  account  of 
what  had  been  done,  and  describing  the  advantages  of  the 
different  sites  that  had  been  examined.  He  hoped,  when 
the  new  reductions  should  all  be  completed,  that  the  neo- 
phytes would  no  longer  be  required  to  gather  acorns,  pine  nuts 
and  wild  seeds  to  help  out  the  supplies  of  the  missions,  as 
they  were  still  obliged  to  do  at  most  of  the  establishments; 
and  that,  when  the  entire  country  should  be  thus  reduced  to  a 
state  of  quietude  and  fidelity ;  the  fifteen  thousand  and  sixty 
dollars  of  annual  expenses,  required  by  the  existing  thirteen 
missions  for  military  guards,  might  be  saved.  At  the  same 
time  he  hinted  that  though  he  could  manage,  with  the  troops 
already  in  the  country,  to  provide  a  corporal  and  five  soldiers 
for  each  of  the  five  new  foundations,  the  means  at  his  disposal 
were  very  limited  and  would  not  admit  of  extending  the 
boundaries  of  actual  occupation  either  to  the  north  beyond 
San  Francisco  or  to  the  east  beyond  the  coast  range  of 
mountains.  And  in  conclusion  he  reminded  the  viceroy  that, 
if  he  concurred  in  his  views  as  to  the  advisability  of  the  new 
foundations,  it  was  indispensable  to  provide  and  pay  over  to 
the  college  of  San  Fernando  in  Mexico  a  fund  of  a  thousand 
1  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  269. 


476  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

dollars  for  each,  and  cause  the  college  to  provide  and  forward 
additional  missionaries.1 

Branciforte  was  no  less  ready  than  Borica — both  seemed 
animated  with  the  same  zeal  for  the  advancement  and  pros- 
perity of  California.  Upon  a  reference  of  the  subject  with 
their  conjoined  recommendations  to  the  fiscal  officers  of  the 
government,  the  latter  reported  favorably;  and  in  August, 
1796,  the  viceroy  wrote  that  the  funds  had  been  provided; 
that  the  father  guardian  of  the  college  of  San  Fernando  had 
been  notified;  that  the  proper  orders  had  been  issued  to  the 
naval  department  at  San  Bias  for  the  transportation  of  mis- 
sionaries, and  that  the  new  foundations  should  proceed.'2  In 
December  Borica  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  Branciforte's 
letter;  transmitted  copies  of  the  surveys  and  of  the  diaries  of 
the  missionaries  and  soldiers  who  had  made  them,  and  then 
turned  his  attention  to  the  arrangements  and  preparations 
necessary  for  carrying  out  the  improvements  thus  projected, 
recommended,  approved  and  authorized.3 

The  first  founded  of  the  five  new  missions  was  that  of  San 
Jose  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  and 
about  twelve  miles  north  of  the  pueblo  of  San  Jose.  In  the 
old  documents  it  was  spoken  of  as  lying  between  San  Fran- 
cisco and  Santa  Clara  and  filling  up  the  interval  between 
those  two  missions;  and  in  one  sense  this  was  correct;  but  as 
San  Jose  mission  and  San  Francisco  lay  on  opposite  sides 
of  the  bay,  which  ordinarily  there  was  no  convenient  means 
of  crossing,  the  usually  traveled  road  from  one  to  the  other 
was  around  the  bay  and  through  Santa  Clara,  which  lay  near 
its  head.  The  original  reconnoissance  and  survey  had  been 
made  in  November,  1795,  by  Ensign  Hermenegildo  Sal  and 
Father  Antonio  Danti  of  San  Francisco.4  The  site  selected 
was  on  slightly  elevated  ground  about  four  miles  south  of  the 
mouth  of  the  deep  canon  through  which  Alameda  creek  empties 
its  waters,  having  the  steep  mountains  a  few  miles  off  on  the 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  64-67. 

•>■  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  VII,  4S3-488;  P.  S.  P.  XIV,  438-441. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  IV,  728-730. 

*  Cal.   Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  559. 


SAN  JOSE.  +77 

east  and  the  head  of  the  bay  about  seven  miles  off  to  the  south- 
west. Looking  northwestward  the  view  is  down  the  bay  with 
its  wide  margins,  skirted  on  the  right  by  the  Contra  Costa 
mountains  and  on  the  left  by  the  redwood  covered  heights  of 
San  Mateo.  In  the  far  northwest  looms  up  the  short  but 
high  San  Bruno  ridge  and  to  the  right  of  that,  barely  seen 
above  the  horizon,  the  San  Francisco  hills.  Father  Lasuen, 
in  his  report  of  January,  1796,  pronounced  it  an  excellent 
place  for  a  mission  but  somewhat  scarce  of  wood  and  timber,1 
though  there  was  plenty  not  far  off."  It  appears  to  have  been 
originally  called  by  the  Indians  Oroyson;3  Sal  and  Danti 
called  it  San  Francisco  Solano;4  but  it  lost  both  these  names, 
and  in  most  of  the  papers  relating  to  the  foundation  of  the 
mission  it  was  called  the  Alameda5 — a  name  which  seems, 
however,  to  have  been  applied  rather  to  the  region  than  to  the 
particular  spot.  Since  the  foundation  in  1797,  it  has  been 
known  as  the  mission  of  San  Jose. 

On  June  9,  1797,  Father  Lasuen  and  Father  Garcia  Diego, 
accompanied  by  Sergeant  Pedro  Amador  and  a  party  of 
soldiers  belonging  to  the  presidio  of  San  Francisco  started 
out  from  Santa  Clara  for  the  purpose  of  founding  the  new 
mission.  They  reached  the  site  selected  the  same  day  and 
spent  the  next  in  examining  the  neighborhood.  In  the 
course  of  their  explorations  the  soldiers  encountered  and 
killed  at  Alameda  creek  a  very  large  bear,-  which  did  not  fall 
before  receiving  eleven  musket  shots.6  On  the  next  day, 
Sunday,  June  11,  1797,  the  feast  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  in  the 
presence  of  a  number  of  Indians  who  had  collected,  they 
took  formal  possession  of  the  place,  founded  the  new  mission 
by  the  erection  and  adoration  of  a  huge  cross  and  gave  it  the 
name  of  La  Mision  del  Gloriosisimo  Patriarca  Seiior  San 
Jose.     As  usual  upon  such  occasions,  mass  was  performed, 

1  "  Hay  un  sitio    muy  del  caso  para  mision,   aunque    algo    escaso    de    leua  y 
madera." — Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  269. 
«  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVI,  52. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  376. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  269. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  V,  159;   P.  S.    P.  XV,  19. 
6 Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVI,  52. 


478  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

salutes  fired  and  the  Te  Deum  Laudamus  chanted.  But  sev- 
eral special  features  marked  this  foundation.  One  was  that  the 
mass  was  performed  in  a  booth  or  enclosure  adorned  from 
floor  to  ceiling  with  the  many  kinds  of  wild  flowers  with 
which  the  whole  neighborhood  was  at  that  season  profusely 
covered;  another  was  that  Lasuen  preached  a  sermon  to  the 
soldiers  and  the  Christianized  Indians  present;  and  the  third 
was  that  after  the  ceremonies  were  over  the  entire  party  left 
the  place  and  went  back  to  Santa  Clara.1  A  few  days  after- 
wards Sergeant  Amador  and  his  soldiers  returned  with  oxen 
and  began  cutting  timber  at  Alameda  creek  and  tule  on  the 
bay  shore,  which  they  hauled  to  the  mission,  and  commenced 
the  construction  of  the  necessary  buildings  for  missionaries, 
soldiers  and  store-house.2  On  June  28,  Amador  turned  over 
the  military  charge  of  the  place  to  Corporal  Alejo  Miranda 
and  five  soldiers,  who  on  the  order  of  Borica3  had  been  selected 
by  the  comandante  of  San  Francisco  as  the  guard  of  the  new 
mission.  Miranda  took  with  him  the  sacred  ornaments  and 
utensils  that  had  been  forwarded  by  the  viceroy  from  Mexico 
and  also  two  oxen  furnished  for  constant  use  at  the  cost  of 
the  royal  treasury.4 

The  first  regular  missionary  at  this  mission  was  Father 
Isidro  Barcer.illa.  He  had  not  been  there  long  before  he  be- 
came involved  in  a  bitter  quarrel  with  Corporal  Miranda;  and 
both  sent  recriminatory  letters  to  Comandante  Arguello  at 
San  Francisco.  Arguello  forwarded  these  letters  to  Governor 
Borica  at  Monterey  and  in  November  the  latter  replied. 
From  his  letter  it  appears  that  Barcenilla  was  dissatisfied 
with  the  rough  and  rude  condition  of  his  quarters  and  had 
required  of  Miranda  the  performance  of  various  kinds  of 
manual  labor  in  remedying  the  defects,  which  the  latter  con- 
sidered beneath  the  dignity  of  his  standing  as  a  soldier  and 
had  accordingly  refused  to  comply.  Borica,  in  deciding  be- 
tween them,  said  that  if  Father  Barcenilla  was  unwilling1  to 


1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVIII,  394. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVI,  52,  53. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  V,  159. 

J  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XV,  34. 


SAN  JUAN  BA  UTISTA .  479 

conform  to  the  inconveniences  to  which  his  ministry  and  the 
circumstances  of  the  new  mission  subjected  him,  it  would  be 
lost  time  to  attempt  to  convince  him  that  the  duties  of  the 
soldiers  were  entirely  of  a  military  nature  and  not  to  perform 
menial  offices  which  at  other  establishments  were  the  work  of 
Indians.  But  at  the  same  time  he  cautioned  Miranda  to 
treat  the  missionary  with  the  greatest  respect  and  comply 
with  all  his  wishes  so  far  as  his  superior  instructions  would 
permit.  This  decision  seems  to  have  had  a  soothing  or  at 
least  a  quieting  effect  upon  both  parties;  their  differences 
were  composed;  and  the  work  of  the  new  establishment  pro- 
ceeded. By  the  end  of  the  year  Father  Agustin  Merino  had 
become  Barcen ilia's  assistant;  and  there  were  thirty-one  neo- 
phytes,1 though  it  is  likely  that  most  of  these  had  been  bap- 
tized at  other  places."  In  1805  the  neophytes  numbered  eight 
hundred  and  twenty-one.3  In  1808  an  adobe  church,  roofed 
with  tiles,  was  completed,  forty-four  varas  long  by  eleven  wide 
and  a  sacristy  eleven  varas  long  by  eight  wide.4 

At  the  same  time  that  the  preparations  for  the  mission  of 
San  Jose  were  going  forward,  similar  preparations  were  under 
way  for  that  of  San  Juan  Bautista,  the  second  of  the  five  new 
missions  or  that  one  of  them  which  was  to  fill  up  the  interval 
on  the  road  between  Santa  Clara  and  San  Carlos.  The  re- 
connoissance  and  survey  for  this  mission  had  been  made  by 
Ensign  Hermenegildo  Sal  and  Father  Antonio  Danti  of  San 
Francisco  in  November,  1795,  about  the  same  time  they  se- 
lected the  site  for  San  Jose.0  But  in  the  case  of  San  Juan 
Bautista  they  reported  two  places,  some  three  or  four  leagues 
apart,  as  suitable  for  the  purpose.  Both  were  near  the  main 
road;  the  most  northerly  one,  which  was  eleven  or  twelve 
leagues  south  of  Santa  Clara,  was  called  San  Bernardino;  the 
other,  which  was  about  the  same  distance  from  San  Carlos, 
was  called    San    Benito.     There  were    man)-   Indians  in   the 

1  Cal.   Archives,  M.  II,  741. 

-'  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  376. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  601. 

*Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  844. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  559;   M.  II,  272-281. 


480  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

neighborhood  of  each;  and  each  had  its  peculiar  advantages, 
so  that  Lasuen  was  for  a  long  time  in  doubt  as  to  which  of  the 
two  to  select.1  He  finally  determined  that  the  second,  or  the 
one  named  by  the  Spaniards  San  Benito,  promised  the  most 
abundant  harvest  of  souls.  It  was  originally  called  by  the 
natives  Popelont2  or  Popelontchun.3  The  site  was  on  a  table- 
land overlooking  a  large  and  beautiful  valley,  well  adapted 
to  cultivation  and  with  rolling  hills  adjoining,  suitable  for 
grazing.  The  old  road  from  San  Carlos  to  Santa  Clara,  on 
account  of  the  conformation  of  the  country,  made  a  large 
detour  to  the  eastward,  so  that  the  site  chosen  was  about 
thirty  miles  northeast  of  the  fofmer  place  and  about  forty 
miles  southeast  of  the  latter  and  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  presidio  of  Monterey. 

In  May,  1797,  Governor  Borica  gave  his  instructions  to 
Hermenegildo  Sal,  who  was  then  in  command  at  the  presidio; 
and  under  his  supervision  the  necessary  preparations  were 
promptly  made.4  Not  only  were  the  corporal,  Juan  Balles- 
teros,  and  guard  of  five  soldiers  selected;  but  buildings,  in- 
cluding a  chapel,  were  erected  in  advance.3  Accordingly 
when  Father  Lasuen  had  finished  the  foundation  of  San  Jose 
and  wrote  to  Borica  that  he  was  ready  to  proceed  to  the 
foundation  of  San  Juan  Bautista,6  he  was  informed  that  every- 
thing was  waiting  for  him.  Proceeding,  therefore,  at  once  to 
the  spot,  in  company  with  Fathers  Magin  Catala  and  Jose 
Manuel  de  Martiarena,  on  St.  John's  day,  June  24,  1797,  in 
the  presence  of  a  large  assemblage  of  gentiles  and  with  sub- 
stantially the  same  ceremonies  as  had  been  observed  at  San 
Jose,  he  took  formal  possession  of  the  place;  dedicated  it 
"  al  Glorioso  Precursor  de  Jesu  Cristo,  Nuestro  Sefior,"  arid 
founded  the  new  mission  of  San  Juan   Bautista.7     The  first 


1  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  268. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  376. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVIII,  392. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVI,  S69,  870;  XVII.  258-263. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  IX,  447;  P.  K.  VII,  668. 

•Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVIII,  394. 

7  Cal.  Archives,  S.   P.  XVIII,  392,  393;  P.  R.  VII,  670,  671. 


SAN  MIGUEL.  481 

regular  missionaries  here  were  Fathers  Martiarena  and  Pedro 
Adriano  Martinez.1  The  neophytes  at  the  end  of  1799  num- 
bered three  hundred  and  forty-four,2  and  at  the  end  of  1805 
twelve  hundred  and  nineteen.' 

The  next  or  third  of  the  five  new  missions,  which  was  to 
be  located  between  San  Antonio  and  San  Luis  Obispo  and 
to  be  called  that  of  San  Miguel,  was  ready  for  the  ceremonies 
of  foundation  as  soon  after  the  natal  day  of  San  Juan  Bau- 
tista  as  Father  Lasuen  could  rest  himself,  notify  the  different 
persons  who  were  to  assist  him  to  be  present,  and  travel  to 
the  site  selected  for  it.  This  selection  had  been  made  in 
August,  1795,  by  Father  Buenaventura  Sitjar,  Sergeant  Maca- 
rio  Castro  and  Corporal  Ignacio  Vallejo.4  It  was  a  spot 
called  by  the  natives  Vahea  and  by  the  Spaniards  Los  Pozos 
or  the  wells.  It  was  on  the  west  side  of  the  Salinas  river, 
there  a  comparatively  small  stream  except  in  time  of  flood, 
and  on  the  main  road  nearly  exactly  half  way  between 
San  Antonio  and  San  Luis  Obispo  and  about  thirty-three 
miles  distant  from  each.  The  river  at  this  place,  after  pass- 
ing in  its  northwesterly  course  the  defile,  famous  for  its  medic- 
inal springs,  known  as  Paso  Robles,  widens  out  into  a  rich 
and  level  valley,  surrounded  by  hills,  some  covered  with  grass 
and  others  with  oak  trees.  Lasuen  in  1796  pronounced  it 
beautiful  and  in  every  respect  satisfactory.0 

The  instructions  that  had  been  given  in  May,  1797,  by 
Borica  to  Sal  in  reference  to  selecting  a  guard  of  soldiers  for 
San  Juan  Bautista  applied  also  to  a  guard  for  the  new  mis- 
sion of  San  Miguel;0  and  Sal  was  equally  prompt  in  the  latter 
case  as  in  the  former.  When  therefore  Father  Lasuen  and 
Father  Buenaventura  Sitjar,  who  was  to  assist  him  and  take 
charge , of  the  new  mission,  were  ready,  they  found  the  guard, 
which  had  been  placed  under  the  command  of  Corporal  Jose 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  IX,  447;  M.  II,  619. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  118. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  603. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  256. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  268. 

,;  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVI,  869. 
31     Vol.  I. 


482  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

Antonio  Rodriguez,  prepared  for  operations.  They  all  pro- 
ceeded to  the  spot  indicated  and  there,  on  July  25,  1797,  in 
the  presence  of  a  very  large  concourse  of  gentiles  of  both 
sexes  and  of  all  ages,  with  ceremonies  similar  to  those  of  San 
Jose  and  San  Juan  Bautista,  took  possession  of  the  place,  ded- 
icated it  "  al  Gloriosisimo  Principe  Arcangel  San  Miguel"  and 
founded  the  new  mission.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day, 
after  the  ceremonies,  the  Indians,  struck  with  admiration  at 
what  they  had  seen,  presented  fifteen  of  their  children  for 
baptism;  and  with  these  commenced  the  conversions  of  the 
new  establishment.1 

The  first  missionaries  of  San  Miguel  were  Fathers  Buena- 
ventura Sitjar  and  Antonio  de  la  Concepcion.  They  began, 
as  was  usual  in  the  case  of  new  missions,  the  erection  of  a 
church  and  other  necessary  buildings;  but  had  not  proceeded 
far  when  Father  Concepcion  was  noticed  to  be  acting  very 
strangely  and  it  soon  became  clearly  evident  that  he  was 
insane.  Instead  of  attending  to  his  duties  as  a  missionary  in 
keeping  the  Indians  at  work,  he  appears  to  have  conceived 
the  idea  of  making  a  grand  military  display  and  compelled 
the  soldiers  to  fire  rounds  of  blank  cartridges  and  the  Indians 
to  discharge  flights  of  arrows.  The  sound  of  fire-arms  and  the 
sight  of  mimic  warfare  fed  his  disordered  imagination;  and, 
fancying  himself  a  great  ruler,  he  assumed  despotic  authority 
and  in  a  short  time,  by  his  extravagances  and  violence, 
threw  everything  into  disturbance."  Father  Sitjar,  becoming 
frightened,  posted  off  to  Santa  Barbara  to  consult  with  Father 
Lasuen;  the  soldiers  were  perplexed;  the  neophytes  of  San 
Antonio  and  San  Luis  Obispo,  who  had  been  sent  to  assist  in 
the  labor,  ran  off  to  their  respective  missions;  and  the  gentiles 
of  the  place  looked  on  in  astonishment  and  terror.3 

Lasuen,  upon  being  notified  of  the  state  of  affairs,  adopted 
swift  measures  of  relief.  He  immediately  dispatched  Father 
Jose  de  Miguel  of  Santa  Barbara  with  instructions  to  remove 
Concepcion,  peaceably  if  he  could  but  forcibly  if  he  must,  and 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVIII,  390,  391;  P.  R.  IV,  384;  VII,  674. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  190. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  VIII,  22. 


SAN  MIGUEL.  483 

take  him  to  Monterey;  and  at  the  same  time  he  wrote  to 
Governor  Borica  that  Concepcion  was  insane  and  should,  as 
soon  as  he  arrived  at  Monterey,  be  put  on  board  a  frigate, 
which  was  about  to  sail  for  San  Bias,  and  sent  to  Mexico.1 
Father  Miguel  executed  his  commission  like  a  man  who  was 
not  to  be  trifled  with.  Calling  to  his  assistance  a  couple  of 
soldiers,  without  explanation  or  parley,  he  seized  Concepcion; 
secured  him,  and  marched  him  off.'2  At  Monterey  he  was 
taken  before  Borica,  who  pronounced  him  undoubtedly  insane 
and  approved  all  that  had  been  done.  Upon  careful  examin- 
ation it  was  discovered  that  the  lunatic  carried  concealed  in 
his  sacerdotal  robes  a  pair  of  pistols,  which  were  taken  from 
him;  and  shortly  afterwards  he  was  put  on  board  the  frigate 
and  sent  off,  by  the  way  of  San  Bias,  to  the  care  of  his  breth- 
ren of  the  college  of  San  Fernando.3  Soon  after  his  arrival 
there,  he  wrote  a  long  letter  to  the  viceroy,  setting  forth  what 
he  believed  to  be  abuses  in  the  practical  working  of  the  mis- 
sions of  California;  representing  himself  as  a  reformer;  com- 
plaining of  the  treatment  he  had  received;  charging  that 
there  had  been  a  wide-spread  conspiracy  against  him  and 
that,  on  account  of  the  machinations  of  his  enemies,  his  life 
was  not  safe  even  at  the  college  of  San  Fernando,  and  asking 
to  be  sent  to  the  province  of  Michoacan,  where  he  conceived 
there  was  more  virtue  in  the  church  and  he  could  be  of  more 
use  in  the  saving  of  souls.4  There  can  be  but  little  doubt 
that  many  of  his  statements  of  abuses  were  true  and  that 
some  of  his  complaints  were  well  founded.  But  at  the  same 
time  there  can  be  just  as  little  doubt  that  he  was  really  an 
insane  man ;  that,  as  Borica  said  in  reference  to  his  examina- 
tion, though  quiet  and  rational  upon  most  subjects,  he  was 
wild  and  even  dangerous  upon  others,  and  that  it  would  have 
been  unsafe  to  allow  him  to  remain  in  California.0  As  soon 
as  he  was  removed,  Father  Juan  Martin  was  appointed  in  his 

lCz\.  Archives,  S:  P.  VIII,  22. 
a  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVII,  93. 
3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  190,  191. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVII,  91-98. 
5  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  678-680. 


484  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

place;  and  under  him  and  Sitjar  the  work  of  the  establish- 
ment proceeded.  By  the  end  of  1797  a  church  and  other 
buildings  were  erected — not  very  extensive  ones,  it  is  true,  but 
sufficient  for  the  time.1  At  the  end  of  1799  the  neophytes 
numbered  two  hundred  and  eighty-five,'2  which  number  de- 
creased to  two  hundred  and  twenty-three  in  1805,3  but 
increased  to  nine  hundred  and  seventy-one  in  181 I.4 

The  fourth  of  the  five  new  missions  was  to  be  founded 
between  those  of  San  Buenaventura  and  San  Gabriel.  The 
site  had  been  selected  in  August,  1795,  by  Father  Vicente  de 
Santa  Maria,  Ensign  Pablo  Cota  and  Sergeant  Jose  Ortega.5 
It  was  at  first  objected  to  as  being  too  far  from  the  former 
mission  and  too  distant  from  timber;6  but  on  further  examin- 
ation these  objections  were  considered  as  more  than  out- 
weighed by  the  advantages  it  presented  of  extensive  cultiva- 
ble and-grazing  lands  and  proximity  to  multitudes  of  Indians. 
The  spot  is  on  a  slightly  elevated  divide,  with  large  val- 
leys and  rolling  hills  near  by,  about  forty -eight  miles  east 
from  San  Buenaventura  and  thirty  miles  north  from  San 
Gabriel.  It  was  called  by  the  natives  Achois  Comihabit7 
and  by  the  Spaniards  Parage  del  Encino.8  Being  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  presidio  of  Santa  Barbara,  it  became  the 
duty  of  Felipe  de  Goycoechea,  the  comandante  there,  to  pro- 
vide the  guard  for  the  new  mission;  and  he  accordingly,  at 
the  end  of  August,  1797,  immediately  after  Lasuen  started 
for  San  Buenaventura  on  his  way  to  the  new  location,  dis- 
patched Sergeant  Ignacio  Olivera  and  five  soldiers  to  overtake 
and  accompany  him.9 

From  San  Buenaventura,  as  soon  as  he  was  fully  prepared, 
Lasuen  set  out  in  company  with  Father  Francisco  Dumets, 

1  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  624. 
2Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  118. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  589. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  192. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  245-254. 

6  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  268. 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVIII,  389. 

8  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XV,  277. 

9  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XV,  273. 


SAN  LUIS  REY.  485 

whom  he  had  assigned  for  the  new  foundation,  and  the  sol- 
diers sent  after  him  by  Goycoechea.  They  proceeded  to  the 
spot  selected  and  there  on  September  8,  1797,  the  day  of  the 
nativity  of  Alary,  Most  Holy,  in  the  presence  of  multitudes 
of  gentiles  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages  and  of  the  soldiers, 
with  all  the  usual  ceremonies,  they  founded  the  new  mission 
of  San  Fernando  Rey  de  Espaiia.  The  Indians  presented 
ten  of  their  children,  five  of  each  sex,  for  baptism;  and  there 
was  of  course  great  rejoicing  and  loud  thanksgiving.1  In  a 
short  time  afterwards  Father  Juan  Cortes,  who  had  recently 
arrived  from  Mexico,2  was  sent  to  assist  Father  Dumets;  and 
under  their  joint  care  the  new  mission  prospered.  The  mis- 
sionaries took  up  their  abode  in  the  house  of  Francisco 
Reyes,3  who  had  previously  occupied  the  place  as  a  rancho.4 
By  the  end  of  the  year  a  chapel  and  other  structures  were 
built0  and  by  the  end  of*  1799  a  church,  store-houses  and  a 
new  residence.6  At  the  latter  date  there  were  about  two 
hundred  neophytes7  and  in  1805  eleven  hundred.8 

There  now  remained  but  one  of  the  five  new  missions,  or 
that  one  of  them  which  was  to  fill  up  the  interval  between 
San  Juan  Capistrano  and  San  Diego,  yet  to  be  founded;  and 
it  was  intended  to  found  it  in  November  of  the  same  year, 
1797,  in  which  the  other  four  had  been  established.9  A  recon- 
noissance  and  survey  had  been  made  by  Ensign  Juan  Pablo 
Grijalva,  Corporal  Juan  Maria  Olivera  and  Father  Juan 
Mariner  in  August,  1795;10  and  they  had  selected  a  spot  called 
Pale,  considerably  nearer  to  San  Diego  than  to  San  Juan 
Capistrano,  which  Lasuen  in  1796  pronounced  excellent.11    But 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.   P.  XVIII,  389;  P.  R.  IV,  200;  VII,  682. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  26. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVI,  941. 
*Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XV,  277. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  624,  724. 

6  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  94. 

'  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  179. 

8  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  592. 

9  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  201. 

19  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  23S-243. 
11  Cal.  Archives,  M.  $1,  268. 


486  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

upon  further  consideration  it  was  thought  that  there  might,  be 
other  places  presenting  greater  advantages;  and  Lasuen,  after 
finishing  the  foundation  of  San  Fernando,  determined  to 
make  a  new  survey  before  fixing  definitely  upon  the  site  or 
proceeding  with  the  foundation  of  the  fifth  mission.  In  the 
early  part  of  October,  accordingly,  taking  with  him  Father 
Juan  Norberto  de  Santiago,  Pedro  Lisalde, seven  soldiers  and 
five  Indians,  he  started  out  from  San  Juan  Capistrano;  spent 
four  or  five  days  in  carefully  examining  several  different  spots, 
which  seemed  adapted  for  the  purpose,  and  then  proceeded 
to  San  Diego.1  The  result  of  his  survey  was,  that  he  fixed 
upon  a  spot  called  by  the  natives  Tacayme  and  by  the  first 
Spanish  discoverers  many  years  previously  Canada  de  San 
Juan  Capistrano."  But  by  the  time  he  had  made  up  his  mind 
upon  the  subject  it  was  too  late  in  the  year  to  think  of  pro- 
ceeding with  the  foundation;  and  he  retired  to  spend  the 
rainy  season  with  Father  Santa  Maria  at  the  mission  of  San 
Buenaventura.3 

It  was  nearly  the  middle  of  the  next  year  before  all  the 
preparations  for  the  new  foundation  could  be  renewed.  But, 
as  soon  as  everything  was  ready,  Lasuen  took  with  him 
Father  Santiago  of  San  Juan  Capistrano  and  Father  Antonio 
Peyri,  whom  he  had  appointed  as  the  missionary  of  the  pro- 
posed new  establishment;  and,  having  Comandante  Antonio 
Grajera  of  San  Diego  meet  him  with  the  guard  selected  from 
that  presidio,  he,  on  June  13,  1798,  with  the  usual  ceremonies 
and  in  the  presence,  as  in  other  cases,  of  an  immense  throng 
of  gentiles,  founded  the  new  mission  and  dedicated  it  to  San 
Luis  Rey  de  Francia.*  This  was,  as  before  stated,  the  fifth 
and  la^t  of  the  five  new  establishments  suggested  by  Borica 
and  ordered  by-Branciforte.  It  was  located  on  a  little  stream 
five  or  six  miles  from  the  ocean,  about  thirty-five  in  a  direct 
line  north  of  San  Diego  and  thirty  southwest  from  San  Juan 
Capistrano.     The  cultivable  lands  in  the  immediate  neighbor- 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XV,  563,  564. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  717. 
'  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  688. 
4  Cal.  Archives,  V..  R.  VII,  717. 


SAN LUIS  REY.  487 

hood  were  limited;  but  within  a  few  leagues  there  were  rich 
fields,  and  pasture  was  plentiful.1  The  Indians  in  the  neigh- 
borhood were  numerous  and  manifested  a  great  desire  to  be 
received  into  the  bosom  of  the  church.  On  the  day  of  the 
foundation  they  presented  fifty-four  of  their  children  for  bap- 
tism;2 and  within  seventeen  days  the  conversions  numbered 
one  hundred.  Among  others  the  three  principal  capitanejos 
or  chiefs  of  the  region  offered  themselves.'' 

The  first  missionaries  were  Father  Antonio  Peyri  and 
Father  Jose  Faura.  Both  of  these  had  recently  arrived  in 
California,  Peyri  in  17964  and  Faura  only  a  month  or  two 
before  the  new  foundation.''  They  doubtless  found  it  rough 
at  first  to  be  left  comparatively  alone  with  the  Indians,  not 
understanding  them  or  being  understood  by  them  and  with 
mere  huts  instead  of  houses  to  live  in;  but  Peyri,  who  was 
the  soul  of  the  mission  and  who  proved  to  be  one  of  the 
most  active,  most  successful  and  most  respected  of  all  the 
Franciscan  friars,  was  young  and  zealous  and  devoted  him- 
self to  his  work  with  enthusiasm.  By  the  end  of  1799  he 
had  a  number  of  adobe  houses  built,  thatched  with  tules;0 
and  from  that  time  he  kept  building  and  improving  until  he 
had  one  of  the  finest  churches  and  establishments  in  the 
country,  with  overflowing  granaries  and  almost  countless 
herds  and  flocks.  The  neophytes  in  1805  numbered  nearly 
nine  hundred;7  in  181 1  there  were  fifteen  hundred;8  in  1820 
twenty-six  hundred  and  five,9  and  in  1830  twenty-seven  hun- 
dred and  seventy-six — nearly  twice- as  many  as  in  any  other 
mission  in  Alta  California.10  And  during  all  these  years 
Peyri  remained  the  principal  missionary. 

1  Cal.  Archives,  M.  V,  204,  205. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  717. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  718. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  126. 
5  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  VIII,  87. 
«  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  88. 
'  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  5S9. 

8  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  192. 

9  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  622. 
18  Cal.  Archives,  M.  V,  307. 


488  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

The  last  of  the  five  missions  having  thus  been  founded, 
Lasuen  returned  to  San  Carlos;  and  thc'e  he  remained, 
laboring  actively  but  traveling  little  and  founding  no  other 
missions.  On  his  return  from  the  south,  when  passing  from 
Santa  Barbara  to  Purisima,  he  appears  to  have  cast  longing 
eyes  upon  a  place  called  Calahuasa;  and  upon  reaching  Mon- 
terey he  spoke  to  Borica  about  the  advantages  it  presented; 
and  as  a  matter  of  fact  its  neighborhood  was  afterwards 
selected  as  the  site  of  the  next  new  mission  that  was  founded. 
But  it  was  not  for  Lasuen  to  found  it.  During  the  fourteen 
years  that  he  had  been  president  of  the  missions,  he  had 
labored  steadily.  In  1797,  when,  buoyed  up  with  enthusiasm 
and  zeal,  he  founded  four  new  establishments  within  a  few 
months,  he  displayed  such  remarkable  activity  for  a  man  of 
seventy-seven  years  of  age  that  Borica,  regarding  it  as  some- 
thing extraordinary,  complimented  him  upon  the  copious 
sweats  of  his  pious  work  and  observed  that  he  seemed  to 
have  renewed  his  youthful  vigor  by  bathing  in  the  holy 
waters  of  another  Jordan.1  A  few  years  before,  he  had  been 
unwillingly  relieved  of  a  portion  of  his  regular  labor  by  the 
expiration  of  his  authority  to  administer  the  rite  of  confir- 
mation, which  was  not  renewed.  But  in  1797  he  was  ap- 
pointed "vicario  foraneo"  or  representative  in  Alta  California 
of  Father  Francisco  Rouset  de  Jesus,  the  then  bishop  of 
Sonora;  and  his  duties,  though  they  did  not  include  the  right 
to  confirm,  were  thereby  again  increased.2  Upon  his  return 
to  San  Carlos  in  the  autumn  of  1798,  therefore,  he  not  only 
required  rest;  but,  even  if  he  had  been  as  young  and  vigorous 
as  ever,  there  was  more  than  enough  for  him  to  do  without 
stirring  abroad.  There  were  now  eighteen  missions,  the 
supervision  and  administration  of  which  were  by  no  means 
a  sinecure;  and  yet  the  old  man  devoted  himself  to  his  work  ■ 
without  pay,3  his  salary  as  a  regularly  assigned  missionary 
having  ceased  when  he  became  president.     He  lived,  as  he 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  675. 

s  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  332;  P.  S.  P.  XV,  106;  XVI,  124. 

3  "Treinta  somos  los  Franciscanos  que  nos  exercitamos  en  ella  [Nueva  Califor- 
nia], los  26  con  sinodo  y  los  4  sin  el,  y  yo  soy  uno  de  estos  ultimos." — Cal.  Ar- 
chives, S.  P.  IX,  496. 


DEATH  OF  LASUEN.  489 

said,  upon  the  alms  of  his  Franciscan  brethren1  and  was 
chiefly  anxious  for  the  welfare  of  a  poor  sister  named  Clara, 
whom  he  feared  he  must  soon  leave  unprovided  for." 

In  the  year  1798  Branciforte  retired  from  the  viceroyalty 
of  Mexico  and  in  1800  Borica  retired  from  the  government 
of  California,  both  of  which  events  affected  Lasuen  deeply 
But  he  was  still  more  poignantly  moved  the  next  year  when 
news  came  of  Borica's  death.  By  this  time  his  own  health 
had  begun  to  fail  and,  though  he  still  continued  to  work,  he 
was  fast  wearing  away.  It  was  not,  however,  until  a  year  or 
two  later  that  he  finally  took  to  his  bed;  and  twelve  days 
afterwards,  on  June  26,  1803,  ne  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
three,  worn  out  with  years  and  labor.3  His  body  was  buried 
the  next  day  with  all  possible  solemnity;  and  six  mission- 
aries from  neighboring  missions  assisted  at  the  obsequies.* 
The  records  do  not  state  the  place  of  his  sepulture;  but,  as 
he  died  at  San  Carlos,  his  remains  were  doubtless  placed 
near  those  of  his  illustrious  predecessor,  Father  Junipcro. 

There  were  many  fine  traits  in  the  character  of  Lasuen. 
He  was  a  man  of  refinement  and  scholarly  attainments. 
Though  bred  a  monk  and  devoted  to  his  profession,  he  had 
much  broader  views  and  was  much  less  tinctured  with  super- 
stition than  could  have  been  expected  from  one  in  his  situa- 
tion. His  solicitude  for  his  sister  Clara  shows  him  to  have 
been  a  man  of  kindly  feelings;  and  his  correspondence  with 
Borica,  as  well  the  letters  to  him  as  those  from  him,  exhibit 
him  in  an  agreeable  light  as  a  man  of  culture,  worthy  of 
high  respect  for  learning,  ability  and  probity.  La  Perouse, 
who,  fresh  from  the  most  polished  court  in  Europe,  visited 
him  at  San  Carlos  in  1786,  pronounced  him  one  of  the  most 
worthy  and  respectable  gentlemen  he  had  ever  met  and  tes- 
tified that  his  mildness,  charity  and  affection  for  the  Indians 
were  beyond  expression." 

1  "  Me  mantienen  absolutamente  de  limosna  los  Frailes  Franciscanos. " — Cal. 
Archives,  S.  P.  II,  452,  453. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  II,  452. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IX,  82. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVIII,  605;  P.  R.  X,  519. 
5  La  Perouse,  I,  450,  note. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

SANTA    INEZ,    SAN     RAFAEL    AND    SAN     FRANCISCO     SOLANO. 

THE  fourth  president  of  the  missions  of  Alta  California 
was  Father  Estevan  Tapis.  He  was  a  native  of  Cata- 
luna  in  Spain  and  born  about  1757.1  He  came  to  California 
about  1790,  and  was  one  of  the  first  missionaries  at  Santa 
Barbara,  where  he  remained  until  the  office  of  president 
devolved  upon  him  by  the  death  of  Lasuen  in  June,  1803. 
He  then  removed  to  San  Carlos  and  at  once  assumed  the 
duties  of  his  office."  The  next  year  he  was  appointed  vucario 
foraneo  or  representative  in  California  of  the  bishop  of 
Sonora,3  the  same  as  Lasuen  had  been.  But  before  he  re- 
ceived the  information,  he  had  left  San  Carlos  for  the  purpose 
of  founding  the  mission  of  Santa  Inez. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  Lasuen  in  1798,  when  traveling 
from  Santa  Barbara  to  Purisima,  cast  longing  eyes  upon  a 
place  called  Calahuasa  and  upon  reaching  Monterey  spoke 
with  Borica  about  the  advantages  it  presented  for  a  new  mis- 
sion. In  view  of  this  recommendation,  Borica,  in  October  of 
the  same  year,  directed  Felipe  de  Goycoechea,  the  com- 
andante  of  Santa  Barbara,  to  make  a  reconnoissance  and 
survey  of  the  place  and  report  to  him  all  the  information  he 
could  gather  in  relation  to  it  and  in  reference  to  the  Indians 
in  the  neighborhood.4  At  the  same  time  Lasuen  directed 
Father  Tapis  to  go  along  and  also  make  a  report.  In  ac- 
cordance with  these  directions,  Goycoechea  and  Tapis,  with 

1  Cal.  Archives,  M..  I,  427. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  352;  IX,  82. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVIII,  832. 
<  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  1S6,  187. 

(490) 


SANTA   INEZ.  491 

five  soldiers,  immediately  proceeded  to  the  spot  and,  after  an 
examination  of  several  days,  reported  at  large  and  in  favor  of 
the  new  establishment;  as  did  also  Ensign  Pablo  Cota,  who 
likewise  went  out  to  examine  the  place  later  in  the  same 
month  of  October.1  In  December,  1798,  Borica  addressed  a 
letter  to  the  new  viceroy  Azanza  who  had  succeeded  Branci- 
forte,  enclosing  these  reports  and  recommending  the  founda- 
tion of  the  new  mission,  but  adding  that  from  conversations 
he  had  had  with  Ignacio  Ortega,  a  man  of  excellent  judg- 
ment and  great  practical  experience  who  had  lived  for  sev- 
eral years  at  the  Rancho  del  Refugio  three  leagues  southward, 
he  was  satisfied  that  a  spot,  called  by  the  natives  Lajalupe 
and  five  or  six  miles  distant  from  Calahuasa,  was  much  bet- 
ter adapted  for  the  new  establishment.  He  described  the 
lands  capable  of  cultivation,  the  ease  with  which  they  could 
be  irrigated,  the  abundant  pasturage  and  especially  the  many 
rancherias  of  Indians  in  the  vicinity,  their  peaceable  character, 
their  friendship  for  the  Spaniards  and  their  desire  to  have  a 
mission  and  to  be  converted;  and  he  urged  the  viceroy  to 
provide  the  necessary  funds  and  order  the  work  to  proceed.'' 
The  viceroy  Azanza  continued  in  office  about  a  year  after 
receiving  Borica's  letter;  but  he  did  nothing  in  reference  to 
the  proposed  new  mission;  nor  was  anything  further  done 
until  1803,  when  Jose  de  Iturrigaray  had  become  viceroy  of 
New  Spain  and  Jose  Joaquin  de  Arrillaga  governor  of  Cali- 
fornia. One  of  the  very  first  acts  of  Iturrigaray  was  an  order 
informing  Arrillaga  that  the  necessary  funds  had  been  pro- 
vided and  directing  him  to  proceed  in  accordance  with  the 
recommendations  of  Borica.3  But  before  this  order  reached 
Arrillaga  who  still  remained  in  Lower  California,  or  before 
he  could  prepare  the  proper  instructions  for  his  subordinate 
officers  in  Alta  California,  Lasuen  had  passed  away  and 
Tapis  had  succeeded  him.  For  a  time  the  new  president 
found  enough  at  San  Carlos  to  engage  his  attention.  But  as 
soon  as  other  duties  would  permit,  he  turned  his  face  south- 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Presidios,  1780-1821,  862-872. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  474-478. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVIII,  687. 


492  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

ward  and  set  off  to  accomplish  the  orders  that  had  been 
received.  Taking  along  Father  Marcelino  Cypres  of  San 
Antonio,  he  proceeded  to  Lajalupe,  or  Lajulap  as  it  was 
sometimes  called,  and  there  on  September  17,  1804,  with  the 
usual  ceremonies  of  erecting  and  adoring  a  great  cross,  cel- 
ebrating the  mass  and  chanting  the  Te  Deum,  he  founded 
the  new  mission  of  "  Santa  Inez,  Virgen  y  Martir,"  that  is  to 
say,  of  the  virgin  and  martyr  Santa  Inez.  There  were 
present,  besides  Fathers  Tapis  and  Cypres,  Fathers  Antonio 
Calzada  and  Romualdo  Gutierrez,  who  had  been  appointed 
the  first  missionaries  of  the  place,  Raymundo  Carrillo,  then 
comandante  of  the  presidio  of  Santa  Barbara,  the  soldiers  of 
the  guard  selected  by  Carrillo  and  a  large  number  of  Indians, 
who  immediately  presented  twenty-seven  of  their  children, 
twelve  boys  and  fifteen  girls,  for  baptism.1  A  sort  of  chapel, 
composed  of  branches,  had  been  built;"  but  more  solid  build- 
ings were  soon  commenced;  and  in  1806  a  long  structure  of 
adobe,  roofed  with  tiles,  was  completed.3  This  was  badly 
shattered  and  one  corner  thrown  down  by  the  earthquake  of 
1 812.  The  mission  church,  properly  so  called,  which  con- 
sisted of  an  adobe  structure  partly  faced  with  bricks,  about 
one  hundred  and  forty  feet  in  length  by  twenty-five  in  width 
and  the  same  in  height,  was  finished  in  1816.4  In  1805,  the 
year  after  the  foundation,  the  neophytes  numbered  five  hun- 
dred and  twenty,0  and  in  181 1  6six  hundred  and  twenty-eight, 
which  was  about  as  large  a  number  as  they  ever  reached. 
The  mission  was  located  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Santa 
Inez  river,  eighteen  miles  a  little  south  of  east  from  Purisima, 
twenty-two  miles  north  of  west  from  Santa  Barbara,  and  ten 
miles  north  of  the  coast  at  the  Rancho  del  Refugio 

The  foundation  of  Santa  Inez,  which  was  the  nineteenth 
mission  of  Alta  California,  finished  the  filling  up  of  the  inter- 
vals between  the  older  missions  and  constituted  the  spiritual 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVIII,  876;  XIX,  116;  P.  R.  IV,  63;  XI,  399,  400. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  I'.  XVIII,  876. 

3  Cal.  Archives.  M.  Ill,  656. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  423. 
B  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  592. 
6  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  192. 


SANTA  INEZ.  493 

occupation  of  the  entire  territory  between  the  coast  range  of 
mountains  and  the  ocean  from  San  Diego  to  San  Francisco. 
Governors,  comandantes,  missionaries,  soldiers  and  citizens, 
such  as  were  obliged  to  travel,  could  now  ride  conveniently 
from  one  end  of  this  long  distance  of  five  hundred  miles  to 
the  other  and  enjoy  the  hospitalities  of  a  mission  every  night, 
without  being  under  the  necessity,  as  had  been  formerly  the 
case,  to  load  themselves  down  with  provisions  and  frequently 
sleep  on  the  road  side.  At  each  of  these  establishments 
domestic  animals  were,  or  soon  became,  abundant;  and  fresh 
horses  could  be  procured  without  trouble  or  expense.  In 
only  a  few  cases  did  the  distance  from  one  mission  to  the  next 
exceed  thirty  miles.  There  were  no  roads  in  the  sense  in 
which  that  term  is  now  usually  understood;  but  the  horses 
were  hardy  and  swift  and,  though  unshod,  good  travelers  and 
accustomed  to  the  work;  and  as  locomotion  on  horseback  for 
one  purpose  or  another  was  more  or  less  the  daily  business 
of  nearly  all  the  white  population,  communication  from  mis- 
sion to  mission  was  easy  and  frequent.  In  the  old  diaries  of 
corporals  of  mission  guards,  some  of  which  have  been  pre- 
served, it  appears  that  nearly  every  day  some  traveler  came 
or  some  traveler  departed;  and  sometimes  the  visitors  were 
numerous. 

With  Santa  Inez  and  the  thereby  closing  up  of  the  gaps 
or  unoccupied  spaces  in  the  territory  south  of  San  Francisco, 
the  work  of  founding  missions  in  Alta  California  for  mere 
religious  purposes  may  be  said  to  have  ceased.  No  attempt 
had  been  made  to  cross  the  Golden  Gate  or  take  possession 
of  the  vast  and  rich  regions  to  the  north.  The  bay,  which 
could  not  be  crossed  without  vessels — and  vessels  neither  the 
government  nor  the  missionaries  possessed  or  could  build — 
imposed  an  almost  insuperable  obstacle  to  further  advance; 
nor  is  it  likely,  considering  the  rapid  decay  of  the  Spanish 
power  and  the  exhaustion  of  its  resources,  that  any  attempt 
would  have  been  made  to  found  new  missions,  had  it  not  been 
for  other  reasons  entirely  different  from  those  which  induced 
the  old  foundations.      In  1812  the  Russians  established  them- 


494  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

selves  at  Bodega  with  the  ostensible  object  solely  of  hunting 
for  otter,  seal  and  beaver  skins.  But  by  degrees  they  extended 
their  occupations;  bought  cattle;  established  farms,  and  built 
a  fortified  post,  where  a  Russian  governor  took  up  his  resi- 
dence. This  fortification,  called  Fort  Ross,  was  on  the  ocean 
coast  only  sixty-five  miles  in  a  direct  line  northwest  of  San 
Francisco;  and  the  farms,  which  in  order  to  avoid  the  rough 
mountain  neighborhood  of  Ross  extended  towards  the  south- 
east into  the  Bodega  region,  were  considerably  nearer.  The 
Russians  also  took  possession  of  one  of  the  Sandwich  Islands 
and  it  began  to  look  as  if  they  intended  to  make  a  perma- 
nent stay  in  the  settlements  they  had  thus  fixed  and  were 
gradually  extending.  And  it  was  thought  that  they  might 
perhaps  claim  sovereignty  over  the  land  by  right  of  seizure 
and  prior  occupation.  Under  these  circumstances  it  did  not 
take  long  for  both  the  government  and  the  missionaries  to 
become  seriously  alarmed;  and  the  result  was  the  establish- 
ment of  two  new  missions  to  the  north  of  San  Francisco  bay- 
as  a  barrier  against  the  unwelcome  foreigners,  one  that  of 
San  Rafael  founded  in  1817  and  the  other  that  of  San  Fran- 
cisco Solano  or  Sonoma,  founded  in  1823.1 

Father  Estevan  Tapis  continued  president  of  the  missions 
until  about  1813,  when  he  retired  to  and  took  principal  charge 
as  missionary  of  Santa  Inez.2  He  was  succeeded  in  the  office 
of  president  by  Father  Jose  Seiian  of  San  Buenaventura, 
who  had  come  to  California  in  1798.3  Seiian  filled  the  office 
till  the  latter  part  of  181  5,  when  he  also  retired;  and  Father 
Mariano  Payeras  of  Purisima,  who  arrived  in  1796,4  became 
president.  It  was  Payeras  who  first  sounded  the  note  of 
public  alarm  against  the  Russians.  This  he  did  in  May,  1817, 
by  addressing  a  report  upon  the  subject  to  the  king  of  Spain 
and  by  getting  ready  to  found,  and  before  the  end  of  the 
year  founding,  a  new  mission  between  San  Francisco  and  the 
Russian  settlements,  which  he  dedicated  to  the  as  yet  unrep- 

1  Duflot  de  Mofras,  II,  3-6, 

2  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  263. 

8  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  6S5. 
4  Cal.  Archives,  S.    P.  XVII,  126, 


SAN  RAFAEL.  495 

resented  archangel  San  Rafael.  The  foundation  took  place 
on  December  18,  1817.1  The  spot  chosen  was  one  of  the 
most  picturesque,  pleasant  and  healthful  in  all  California.  It 
was  at  the  foot  of  a  high  hill  in  a  narrow  but  very  fertile  val- 
ley having  a  small  stream  running  eastwardly  through  it  and 
emptying  into  the  bay.  Looking  southward  from  the  site  of 
the  old  mission,  which  has  long  since  entirely  disappeared, 
one  saw  at  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  less  than  a  mile  dis- 
tant a  long  steep  ridge  of  moderate  height  densely  covered 
with  evergreen  trees,  the  whole  forming  a  thicket  of  dark 
green  foliage.  High  over  this,  some  five  miles  distant,  rose 
into  the  clear  air  the  deep  purplish-blue  peak  of  Mount 
Tamalpais.  To  the  right,  up  the  valley,  the  view  was  closed  in 
with  wooded  hills,  here  and  there  bearing  a  clump  of  tall  red- 
wood trees;  but  to  the  left  it  opened  out  over  several  miles  of 
tule  marsh  to  the  bay,  with  several  small  islands  in  sight; 
and  beyond  all  the  Contra  Costa  mountains  and  the  dim 
double-humped  summit  of  Monte  Diablo  upwards  of  thirty- 
miles  distant.  The  new  mission  was  about  twelve  miles  in  a 
direct  line  a  little  west  of  north  from  the  presidio  of  San 
Francisco;  but  the  difficulty,  with  such  launches  as  the  Cal- 
ifornians  possessed  of  crossing  the  channel  of  entrance  to  the 
bay,  rendered  it  practically  a  very  distant  establishment. 
The  first  missionary  was  Father  Luis  Gil  de  Taboada.2  The 
buildings,  which  were  gradually  erected,  consisted  of  an  adobe 
church,  roofed  with  tiles,  and  other  structures;  but  they  were 
not  as  large,  nor  were  there  as  many  of  them  as  at  the  other 
missions/  The  baptisms  in  five  years  amounted  to  upwards 
of  eight  hundred;  but  in  1830  they  amounted  to  over  six- 
teen hundred,  about  a  thousand  of  the  neophytes  being  then 
still  living. 

San  Rafael  offered  some,  but  a  very  weak,  barrier  to  the 
Russians.  Their  settlements  did  not  come  down  into  the 
mountainous  region  in  that  neighborhood,  but  it  -seemed 
likely  that  they  would  extend  eastward  along  the  lower  part 

1  Duflot  de  Mofras,  II,  5. 

a  Cal.  Archives,  P.    R.  IX.  584;  XII,  370,  39S,  40  ,  408. 

3  Cal.  Archives,    M.  V,   942. 


496  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

of  what  is  now  known  as  the  Russian  river  valley  and 
over  into  the  rich  agricultural  plain  of  Santa  Rosa.  Their 
advance  was  not  very  rapid ;  but  by  degrees  they  were 
improving  their  farms  and,  being  industrious  and  frugal,  their 
progress  though  slow  seemed  solid.  The  alarm,  which  had 
been  sounded  by  Payeras,  did  not  in  the  meanwhile  decrease. 
It  was,  however,  overshadowed  by  the  more  serious  alarm 
caused  by  the  progress  of  the  revolution  for  independence 
in  Mexico  and  South  America,  which  to  a  great  extent  para- 
lyzed and  finally  destroyed  the  Spanish  power  on  the  Ameri- 
can continent.  During  those  troublous  times  there  could  be 
no  thought  of  founding  new  establishments.  But  in  1823, 
after  the  revolution  was  accomplished  and  the  Mexican  sov- 
ereignty seemed  settled  and  established,  the  necessity  of 
further  barriers  against  the  Russians  again  became  the  subject 
of  prominent  consideration;  and  it  was  determined  to  found 
at  least  one  and  perhaps  two  new  missions  to  the  east  of  their 
farms.  By  this  time  Father  Seiian  appears  to  have  again 
become  president  of  the  missions,  and  Luis  Antonio  Arguello 
was  governor. 

In  order  to  proceed  understanding^  and  select  a  proper 
site  for  the  new  mission  or  missions,  it  was  necessary  to  make 
a  careful  and  complete  reconnoissance  and  examination  of 
the  country  northward  and  northeastward  from  San  Rafael. 
This  duty  was  entrusted  by  Ignacio  Martinez,  then  in  com- 
mand at  San  Francisco,  to  Ensign  Jose  Sanchez,  who  imme- 
diately started  off  with  two  corporals  and  seventeen  soldiers. 
He  was  accompanied  by  Father  Jose  Altimira  who  had 
arrived  in  California  in  18201  and  was  to  be  the  missionary 
founder  of  the  new  establishment.'2  Leaving  the  presidio  of 
San  Francisco  on  June  25,  they  crossed  over  to  San  Rafael 
and  thence  marched,  by  the  way  of  a  large  Indian  village 
called  Olompali,  to  the  neighborhood  of  what  is  now  Peta- 
luma,  where  they  camped  in  company  with  some  Petaluma 
Indians,  who  were  hiding  from  the  fury  of  a  neighboring  ran- 
cheria    called    Libantilogomi  with  which    they  were  at  war. 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVIII,  437. 
j  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XI,  216. 


SAN  FRANCISCO  SOLANO.  497 

The  next  day  Sanchez,  Altimira  and  their  party  crossed  over 
the  lower  or  southern  part  of  the  ridge  of  mountains  eastward 
of  Petaluma,  saw  and  examined  several  elevated  grassy  val- 
leys and  tule-bordered  lagoons  giving  promise  of  abundant 
pastures,  and  descended  into  a  beautiful,  oak-covered,  and 
vine-bearing  valley  called  by  the  Indians  Sonoma.  Through 
the  middle  of  the  level  land  flowed  a  little  river  or  creek  of 
remarkably  clear  and  sweet  water,  upon  the  banks  of  which, 
in  the  thick  shade  of  crowded  trees,  the  explorers  established 
their  head-quarters;  and  thence  they  made  excursions  in  dif- 
ferent directions,  thoroughly  examining  the  entire  neighbor- 
hood.1 They  remarked  the  extreme  mildness  of  the  climate 
or,  as  they  termed  it,  the  benignity  of  the  temperature,  and 
observed  the  luxuriance  of  the  vegetation  from  the  tall  red- 
wood, oak,  alder,  laurel  and  other  trees  down  to  the  wild  vines 
and  thick  grasses.  The  valley  was  well  watered — so  much 
so  that  Sanchez  pronounced  it  a  fountain  head  of  fountains.2 
For  cultivation,  as  well  as  for  pasturage,  it  seemed  unequaled 
except  perhaps  by  the  next  eastern  valley,  very  similar  to  it, 
which  was  called  by  the  Indians  Napa  and  which  they  also 
examined.3  They  then  ascended  a  high  eastern  hill  and 
looked  over  into  the  famous  plain  called  by  the  Indians 
Suisun.*  In  their  explorations  they  found  lime  and  stone 
suitable  and  plentiful  enough  to  build  many  cities.  During 
their  marches  they  met  numbers  of  Indians,  who  were  peace- 
able; and  to  those  in  Sonoma  they  made  various  presents. 
The  whole  country  was  full  of  game;  and  one  day,  while 
they  remained  at  head-quarters,  they  amused  themselves 
with  killing  ten  bears. 

1  "  Descubrimos  un  arroyo  que  tendra  unas  500  plumas  de  agua  muy  cristalino 
y  apetecible  para  beber,  bajo  entre  una  muy  frondosa  espesura  de  varios  arboles 
agradables  &  la  vista  y  utiles  para  varios  usos." — Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XI,  336. 

2  "  No  dudamos  de  que  Sonoma  es  un  manantial  de  manantiales." — Cal.  Ar- 
chives, S.  P.  XI,  350. 

3  "  Especial  sitio  por  cierto!  aunque  en  lo  que  reconocimos  no  encontramos  de 
mucho  las  aguages  que  en  Sonoma,  exceptuando  este  renglon  Napa  en  todo  es 
una  efigies  equivoca  con  Sonoma  por  su  puntual  semejanza." — Cal.  Archives, 
S.  P.  XI,  343. 

4"Vimos  cerca  nosotros  el  famoso  llano  del  Suisun  asi  nombrado  de  los 
Yndios  anterioramente  pobladores  de  aquel  parage." — Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XI, 
344. 

32    Vol.  I. 


498  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

On  July  3,  Jose  Sanchez,  the  leader  of  the  party,  and 
Father  Altimira  and  Francisco  Castro,  whose  opinion  was 
also  asked,  selected  the  site  for  the  new  mission.  In  doing 
so,  they  chose  Sonoma  not  only  on  account  of  its  own  ad- 
vantages but  bearing  in  view  also  its  position  between  the 
Petaluma  and  Napa  valleys  and  its  proximity  to  the  Santa 
Rosa  plain  some  eighteen  or  twenty  miles  to  the  northwest. 
The  spot  selected  was  the  center  of  the  present  town  of 
Sonoma,  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  valley,  about  the  middle 
of  its  length  north  and  south  and  within  three  or  four  miles 
of  navigable  tide  water  in  Sonoma  creek.  It  is  north  of  the 
center  of  San  Pablo  bay  and  in  a  direct  line  about  twenty- 
three  miles  a  little  east  of  north  from  San  Rafael.  It  had 
formerly  been  a  rancheria  or  village  of  the  Sonoma  Indians. 
There,  on  July  4,  1823,  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  the 
presence  of  the  soldiers  and  many  congregated  aborigines, 
an  altar  was  prepared  and  a  huge  redwood  cross,  nearly 
twenty  feet  high,  erected.  The  moment  it  rose,  the  soldiers 
fired  salutes;  and  Father  Altimira. and  two  neophytes,  whom 
he  had  taken  along,  raised  their  voices  in  hymns  of  praise 
and  adoration.  By  eight  o'clock  mass  was  over  and  the  cer- 
emonies of  foundation  completed;  after  which  the  whites  took 
up  their  march  and  returned  by  the  way  of  Petaluma  and 
San  Rafael  to  San  Francisco.  The  launch,  with  which  they 
had  crossed  from  San  Francisco  to  San  Rafael,  had  followed 
them  and  ran  into  Sonoma  creek;  and  when  they  returned 
it  ran  down  to  Saucelito,  whence  on  July  6  it  transported 
them  back  to  San  Francisco.1  On  August  23,  Father  Alti- 
mira set  out  a  second  time,  on  this  occasion  taking  along  ten 
soldier  colonists,  an  artilleryman  and  a  corporal,  a  two- 
pounder  field-piece  with  fifteen  charges,  shotted  and  ready 
for  action,  and  five  hundred  musket  cartridges.2  His  object 
now  was  permanent  occupation,  which  thereupon  followed; 
and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  August  25,  1823,  the  day  of 
their  settlement,  is  generally  recognized  as  the  date  of  the 
foundation.     The  new  mission   was  dedicated  to  San   Fran- 


1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XI,  332-361. 
'  I  ;il.  Archives,  S.  P.  XI,  546. 


SAN  FRANCISCO  SOLANO.  409 

cisco  Solano,1  though  it  was  quite  frequently  known  simply 
as  the  mission  of  Sonoma.  From  the  beginning  it  was 
rather  a  military  than  a  religious  establishment — a  sort  of  out- 
post or  barrier,  first  against  the  Russians  and  afterwards 
against  the  Americans;  but  still  a  large  adobe  church  was 
built  and  Indians  were  baptized.  Progress  however  was  slow. 
In  1824,  the  year  after  foundation,  the  supplies  of  food  ran 
short  and  the  soldiers  were  compelled  to  rely  upon  wild  game, 
which  they  hunted  in  the  surrounding  mountains,  for  their 
support.2  In  1830  the  neophytes  numbered  seven  hundred 
and  sixty,  considerably  more  than  half  of  whom,  however, 
appear  to  have  been  baptized  at  <5ther  missions,3  and  this 
seems  to  have  been  the  extreme  limit  at  any  one  time  of  the 
neophyte  population.* 

With  San  Francisco  Solano  or  Sonoma  in  1823  ended  the 
foundation  of  the  twenty-one  missions  of  Alta  California- 
There  appears  to  have  been  a  twenty-second  talked  of,  and  an 
attempt  was  made  to  found  one  at  Santa  Rosa  in  1827;  but  the 
project  proved  abortive.5  By  that  time,  it  was  found  that  the 
Russians  were  not  such  undesirable  neighbors  as  in  18 17  it  was 
thought  they  might  become;  for  while  on  the  one  hand  they 
were  peaceable,  quiet  and  as  it  proved  unambitious,  on  the 
other  hand  they  were  always  ready  to  purchase  the  surplus 
produce  of  the  country  and  always  met  their  engagements  and 
paid  their  debts  with  scrupulous  good  faith.  As  a  matter  of 
public  politics  there  continued  to  be  a  feeling  of  jealousy 
against  them,  as  against  all  foreigners;  but  as  a  matter  of 
private  interest  the  most  friendly  and  amicable  relations 
existed.  Though  there  may  have  been  the  same  reasons  for 
new  missions  as  at  any  previous  time,  the  Russian  scare,  for 
the  time  being  at  least,  was  over;  and  as  for  the  old  enthusi- 
asm for  new  spiritual  conquests,  there  was  none  left.  The 
spirit  of  Junipero  was  dead,  and  for  it  there  was  no  resurrec- 
tion. 


Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  269. 

Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XIV,  1,  16. 

Cal.  Archives,  M.  V,  307. 

Cal.  Archives,  M.  V,  307;  VI,  599. 

Duflot  de  Mofras,  II,  6. 


500  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

In  the  meanwhile  all  the  old  missions,  or  those  south  of 
San  Francisco  bay,  were,  so  to  speak,  finished  and  in  flourish- 
ing condition  so  far  at  least  as  their  temporalities  were  con- 
cerned. Each  had  its  large  church,  usually  with  a  tower  and 
chime  of  bells,  and  every  one  was  a  picturesque-looking 
structure,  which  it  had  taken  from  ten  to  fifteen  years  to 
build.  Each  had  its  houses  for  the  residence  of  the  mission- 
aries, its  apartments  for  guests,  its  workshops,  its  dormitories 
for  unmarried  female  neophytes,  its  guard-house  and  prison, 
its  store-houses  and  granaries.  The  buildings  were  generally 
arranged  in  the  form  of  a  square,  with  a  court-yard  in  the 
center,  the  church  being  on  one  side  or  at  one  corner  and 
next  it,  on  the  principal  front,  in  almost  every  case  a  long 
corridor,  sometimes  with  brick  pillars  and  arches  and  some- 
times with  wooden  supports  and,  like  the  finished  church  and 
buildings,  roofed  with  tiles.  There  was  considerable  variety 
of  architecture,  no  two  missions  being  alike;  but  all  were  of 
the  same  general  character.  That  of  San  Juan  Bautista, 
which  was  a  fair  average,  may  be  taken  as  an  example  of 
them  all.  The  church,  which  had  been  commenced  almost 
immediately  after  the  foundation  in  1797,  was  not  finished 
and  formally  dedicated  until  St.  John's  day,  June  24,  1812, 
that  is  to  say  fifteen  years  afterwards.  It  was  about  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety  feet  long  from  the  entrance  door  in  front  to 
the  altar  at  the  rear,  thirty  feet  wide  and  forty  feet  high  from 
floor  to  ceiling,  having  the  chancel  separated  from  the  nave  by 
a  railing,  over  which  was  sprung  an  arch  spanning  the  full 
width  of  the  church.  The  nave  was  subdivided  on  either  side 
into  seven  sections  by  as  many  arches.  The  church  and 
adjacent  buildings,  which  as  usual  throughout  the  country 
were  of  adobe,  occupied  two  sides  of  a  court-yard  which  was 
completed  by  a  wall;  and  in  front,  next  the  church,  there  was 
a  corridor  of  twenty  arches,  resting  on  pillars  of  brick.1 

In  the  meanwhile  and  at  or  about  the  same  time  that 
most  of  the  church  structures  were  completed,  several  impor- 
tant changes  took  place  in  reference  to  the  government  of  the 
missions.     One  was  the  creation  about  1816,  or  perhaps  a  few 

1  History  of  Monterey  County,  1881,  144. 


SAN  FRANCISCO  SOLANO.  501 

years  earlier,  of  the  office  of  prefect  of  the  missions,  which 
divided  with  the  presidency  the  general  supervision  and 
administration  of  ecclesiastical  affairs  and,  as  a  special  part 
of  its  business,  carried  on  the  ecclesiastical  correspondence. 
While  Payeras  was  president,  Father  Vicente  Francisco  de 
Sarria  was  prefect;  afterwards  about  1820,  when  Father  Jose 
Seiian  became  president  for  the  second  time,  Payeras  became 
prefect;  and  in  1823,  when  Payeras  died  both  offices  were 
united  in  Senan,1  who  seems  to  have  held  them  until  1825, 
when  Father  Narciso  Duran  became  president  and  Father 
Sarria  prefect  for  the  second  time.'"' 

Another  and  still  more  important  change  was  the  gradual 
withdrawal  of  the  college  of  San  Fernando  of  Mexico  from  the 
management  of  the  missions.  It  had  been  under  the  auspices 
of  this  great  college  that  the  country  had  been  settled  and  the 
missions  established;  but  in  the  course  of  time  its  resources 
failed  and  it  could  no  longer  respond  to  the  demand  for  new 
missionaries.  In  18 16  Pablo  Vicente  de  Sola,  who  had  shortly 
before  been  appointed  governor,  made  a  report  to  the  viceroy 
in  reference  to  the  missions  and  missionaries  of  Alta  Cali- 
fornia and  complained,  among  other  things,  that  while  many 
of  the  old  priests  were  rapidly  wearing  or  were  already  worn 
out,  no  new  recruits  were  forthcoming  and  that  the  country 
was  consequently  suffering  for  the  want  of  spiritual  instruc- 
tion and  consolation.  This,  he  said,  was  especially  the  case 
at  the  presidios,  the  pueblos  and  the  ranchos;  and  it  was 
necessary  in  some  way  or  other  to  provide  a  remedy  in  the 
form  of  a  fresh  supply  of  missionaries;  and,  if  San  Fernando 
could  not  furnish  them,  there  were  other  colleges,  such  as 
that  of  Orizaba,  that  could  and,  if  afforded  a  proper  opportu- 
nity, would  gladly  do  so.3  When  this  report  reached  Mexico 
the  Conde  de  Venadito,  who  had  just  become  viceroy,  made 
the  subject  a  matter  of  consideration;  and,  as  the  college  of 
San  Fernando  acknowledged  its  inability  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  Sola,  an  arrangement  was  made  to  relieve  it  of  the 

1  Cal.  Archives,  D.  R.  I,  21. 
a  Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.   P.  II,  16. 
3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IX,  491-494. 


502  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

care  of  all  the  southern  part  of  the  country;  and  in  Septem- 
ber, 1 8 17,  a  formal  transfer  was  executed  by  the  father  guar- 
dian and  directory  of  San  Fernando  of  all  ecclesiastical  juris- 
diction over  the  missions  and  presidios  south  of  San  Luis 
Obispo,  including-  the  pueblo  of  Los  Angeles,  to  the  college 
of  San  Jose  de  Gracia  de  Orizaba.1  It  was  with  great  regret 
that  San  Fernando  found  itself  obliged  to  make  the  transfer, 
though  the  college  of  Orizaba  belonged  to  the  same  order  of 
Franciscans  as  itself.  The  memory  of  its  former  greatness 
and  what  it  had  accomplished  in  times  gone  by,  compared 
with  its  present  exhaustion  and  weakness,  caused  it  and  the 
remnants  of  its  old  friars  many  a  bitter  pang.  But  there  was 
no  help  for  it.  Nor  was  this  by  any  means  the  end  of  its 
humiliation;  for  in  1821  the  Spanish  cortes  issued  a  decree 
that  its  management  of  the  temporalities  of  missions  should 
cease;2  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  revolution,  then  on  the 
eve  of  consummation,  which  nullified  the  Spanish  power,  it  is 
likely  that  the  grand  old  college  and  California  would  soon 
have  been  entirely  and  forever  separated. 

A  third  great  and  important  change  in  the  ecclesiastical 
affairs  of  the  missions  was  effected  by  the  revolution  itself. 
While  it  destroyed  the  Spanish  power  and  prevented  the 
execution  of  the  decree  of  the  Spanish  cortes  depriving  the 
college  and  friars  of  San  Fernando  of,  the  management  of 
their  temporalities,  this  was  a  mere  incident  to  other  changes 
of  far  greater  moment  which  were  being  worked  out.  If  the 
revolution  had  involved  only  a  transfer  of  sovereignty  from 
Spain  to  Mexico,  the  blood  and  treasure  that  it  cost  would 
have  been  spent  in  vain;  and  in  view  of  the  broils,  the  strifes 
and  the  discords  that  have  disturbed  the  country  from  that 
time  almost  to  this,  it  would  have  been  an  unmixed  evil. 
But  there  was  much  more  involved  than  a  simple  transfer  of 
sovereignty.  The  seed  of  civil  liberty,  sparsely  sown  it  is  true 
and  hardly  recognizable  in  its  feeble  upspringings,  had  really 
takcn  root.  The  true  underlying  cause  of  the  movement, 
little  as  it  was  known  to  the  movers  themselves,   was  revolt 


1  Cal.  Aichives,  P.  R.  IX.  607,  608. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  S.   !'.    XVII,  560. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  REPUBLIC.  503 

against  that  political  and  ecclesiastical  interference  and  inter- 
meddling with  the  natural  course  of  civilization,  which  the  his- 
torian Buckle  has  so  finely  described  as  the  protective  spirit. 
Had  it  been  otherwise,  the  empire  might  have  lasted  a  long 
time  and  Agustin  I.  have  worn  his  crown  and  transmitted  it 
to  a  line  of  successors  as  long  as  that  of  Banquo.1  But  the 
fundamental  principles,  upon  which  the  Mexican  emperor 
attempted  to  build  up  his  government,  were  the  same  in  sub- 
stance as  those  of  the  Spanish  monarchy,  which  he  had 
ejected;  and  the  same  underlying  causes,  working  deep  down 
and  out  of  sight,  that  had  lifted  him  up,  pulled  him  down 
again. 

The  attitude  of  the  church  towards  the  revolution  and 
especially  towards  the  republic,  which  was  the  outcome  of  the 
revolution,  was  one  of  decided  hostility.  Hardly  anything 
could  have  been  more  opposed  to  all  the  principles  and  all 
the  traditions  upon  which  the  Spanish  priesthood  was  founded 
than  a  republic,  or  rather  the  liberty  implied  by  a  republic. 
The  absolute  and  unquestioning  obedience,  which  it  was  their 
business  to  teach,  were  inimical  to  freedom;  and  everything 
like  liberty  and  everything  that  even  in  name  was  calculated 
to  encourage  liberty  was  their  abomination.  Under  these 
circumstances  and  for  these  reasons  the  priests  were  opposed 
to  the  republic  and  to  the  independence  that  produced  it. 
This  was  particularly  the  case  in  California,  the  most  remote 
and  the  most  loyal  of  all  the  provinces.2  If  the  empire  could 
have  maintained  itself,  there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
the  church  would  easily  have  reconciled  itself  to  the  change 
of  sovereignty;  but  it  could  not  give  a  hearty  support  to  the 
republic.  In  1822  Father  Tapis  made  no  difficulty  in  swear- 
ing to  the  imperial  independence;3  but  when  the  republic 
was  established  and  the  new  constitution  promulgated,  almost 
all  the  missionaries  refused  their  allegiance  and  some  of  them 
persisted  to  the  end  in  their  recusancy.  In  1826  a  circular 
was  addressed  by  the  governor  to  the  various  comandantes  of 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  G.  S.  P.  I,  254. 
-  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  575. 
3  Cal.  Archives,  M.  X.  359. 


504  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

the  presidios  to  ascertain  exactly  how  the  missionaries  within 
their  respective  jurisdictions  stood  affected  and  to  require 
their  obedience;1  and  answer  was  returned  that  they  were  in 
general  opposed  to  the  republican  independence  and  that 
some  of  them  were  even  traitorously  opposed.2  Some  few 
had  taken  the  oaths;  but  most  of  them  declined;  and  it  was 
evident  that  none  had  any  enthusiasm  for  the  new  order  of 
things.  There  was  in  fact  a  rupture  between  the  government 
and  the  missionaries;  and  it  was  so  serious  that,  instead  of 
healing  as  the  republic  became  more  and  more  settled,  it 
became  more  and  more  inflamed  and  violent. 

Among  those  who  refused  to  swear  was  Father  Narciso 
Duran,  who  in  1825  had  become  president  of  the  missions 
and  vicario  foraneo.3  He  had  hardly  entered  upon  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  of  his  office  when  he  was  required  to 
come  forward  and  take  the  oath;  and  at  the  same  time,  and 
apparently  for  the  purpose  of  quickening  his  compliance,  he 
was  informed  that  the  government  had  ordered  the  arrest  of 
Father  Francisco  Vicente  de  Sarria,  the  prefect,  who  had  also 
refused  to  be  sworn.4  Duran,  however,  still  held  back;  and 
as  he  was  a  representative  man,  occupying  a  prominent  posi- 
tion and  his  example  would  have  a  great  influence,  it  was 
thought  necessary  if  possible  to  compel  his  compliance.  To 
effect  this,  it  was  proposed  by  some  to  deprive  him  and  the 
other  non-juring  missionaries  of  their  temporalities;  but  this 
was'opposed  by  Governor  Arguello  and  others  on  the  ground 
that  if  the  missions  were  deprived  of  their  spiritual  heads,  the 
result  would  be  their  irreparable  ruin.'1  This  difference  of 
opinion  prevented  any  immediate  action;  but  in  1828  the 
matter  of  the  recusant  and  recalcitrant  missionaries  was  again 
agitated  ;  and  affairs  soon  grew  so  hot  that  several  of  the 
non-jurors  thought  it  prudent  to  escape  out  of  the  country. 
One  of  them,  Father  Luis  Martinez  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  was 

1  Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P.  I,  493,  492. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XIV,  549-552;  I).  R.  VII,  149-156. 
:<  Cal.  Archives,  D.  R.  I,  84. 

1  Cal.  Archives,  D.  R.  II,  16. 
5  Cal.  Archives,  L.  R.  I,  67,  68. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  REPUBLIC.  505 

charged  with  having  surreptitiously  sent  off  six  thousand  dol- 
lars belonging  to  his  mission  and  intending  to  follow  in  person; 
and  it  was  even  said  that  he  contemplated  killing  all  the 
cattle  and  ruining  the  mission  before  his  "departure.1  Fathers 
Antonio  Ripoll  and  Jose  Altimira  concealed  themselves  on 
the  American  ship  Harbinger  and  in  that  manner  escaped.2 
Father  Sarria  had  attempted  to  effect  a  sort  of  compromise 
by  asking  to  be  allowed  to  proceed  to  the  Sandwich  Islands 
and  establish  a  mission  there;3  but  this  was  refused;  and 
orders  came  to  ship  him  out  of  the  country  unconditionally.4 
About  the  same  time  arrangements  were  made  by  the  gov- 
ernment at  Mexico  to  have  the  places  of  the  non-juring  mis- 
sionaries filled  by  more  compliant  substitutes  to  be  furnished 
by  the  Franciscan  college  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  Guadalupe 
of  Zacatecas.5  > 

The  records  are  sufficiently  full  in  relation  to  the  difficul- 
ties between  the  government  and  the  non-juring  missionaries; 
but  very  little  is  said  about  the  quarrels  among  the  different 
classes  of  missionaries  themselves.  That  there  were  such 
quarrels  and  that  much  ill-feeling,  between  those  who  took 
the  oaths  and  those  who  refused  to  take  them,  must  have 
existed,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Some  evidence  of  this  is 
found  in  the  fact  that  Father  Antonio  Peyri  of  San  Luis  Rev, 
one  of  the  former,  became  president  for  a  short  time  in  1829,6 
and  that  Father  Jose  Sanchez,  another  of  them,  became  pres- 
ident in  1830.7  At  or  about  the  same  time  new  orders  came 
for  the  banishment  of  Father  Sarria;  and  Father  Duran  was 
included  in  the  sentence.8  Both  these  missionaries  were  men  of 
ability  and  positive  character;  and  partly  on  this  account  and 
the  consequent  favor  they  found  among  numbers  of  the  peo- 
ple and  some  of  the  soldiers,9  and  partly  on  account  of  the  ac- 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XIV,  549,550. 

a  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  X,  751;  S.  G.  S.  P.  IV,  184. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  S.  G.  S.  P.  XIX,  497,  498. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  D.  R.  VI,  158. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  S.  G.  S.  P.  IV,  184-186. 

6  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XII,  575,  576;  D.  R.  VII,  783. 
'  Cal.  Archives,  D.  R.  VIII,  447. 

8  Cal.  Archives,  D.  R.  VIII.  402. 

»  Cal.  Archives,  S.  G.  S.  P.  VI,  242,  243. 


506  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

cession  to  the  governorship  of  Manuel  Victoria,  who  spoke  in 
terms  of  high  praise  of  Sarria  and  the  opposite  of  his  enemies,' 
the  orders  were  not  executed.  In  1832,  after  the  fall  and  ex- 
pulsion of  Victoria  and  the  triumph  of  his  adversaries  and  the 
adversaries  likewise  of  the  non-juring  missionaries,  the  orders 
for  the  banishment  of  Sarria  and  Duran  were  repeated;  and 
Jose  Figueroa,  then  on  his  way  to  take  charge  as  governor  of 
California,  was  specially  charged  with  their  execution.'2  But 
Figueroa,  upon  his  arrival  at  Monterey,  found  it  entirely  im- 
practicable to  take  any  immediate  hostile  action  against  them. 
On  the  contrary  he  addressed  Duran,  who  was  still  recognized 
as  the  president  of  the  missions  remaining  under  the  control  of 
the  college  of  San  Fernando,  in  the  most  respectful  tone  and 
begged  his  assistance  in  restoring  peace  and  harmony  to  the 
distracted  country.3  Soon  afterwards,  in  a  letter  to  the  gov- 
ernment at  Mexico,  Figueroa  described  the  attitude  of  Sarria 
and  Duran  as  in  theory  very  decidedly  opposed  to  the  repub- 
lic but  in  practice  acquiescing  in  the  established  order  of 
things.  They  denied  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  opposed 
the  liberty  of  the  press  as  the  corrupter  of  morals,  and  advo- 
cated the  establishment  of  the  inquisition  as  the  only  means 
of  preventing  the  spread  of  impiety.*  Though  otherwise 
good  men,  they  did  not  hesitate  to  preach  these  doctrines; 
and,  though  perhaps  harmless  enough  in  quiet  times,  they 
might,  as  Figueroa  thought,  become  very  dangerous  in  case 
of  invasion  or  counter  revolution;  and  on  the  whole  he  was  of 
opinion  that  they,  as  well  as  all  the  non-juring  missionaries, 
ought  to  be  sent  out  of  the  country  as  soon  as  their  places 
could  be  supplied.  But  at  the  same  time  their  advanced  age 
and  past  services  were  also  to  be  taken  into  consideration  and 


1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  G.  S.  P.  VIII,  198-204. 
-'  Cal.  Archives,  S.  G.  S.   I'.   VIII,  291. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.   P.   III.  258,  259. 

4  "  Desaprueban  el  J epartimiento  de  terrenos  baldios  y  todo  acto  emanado  del 
ejercicio  de  la  soberania.  Se  han  deslizado  en  predicar  contra  este  dogma  poli- 
tico, negando  que  reside  en  el  pueblo  la  soberania;  combaten  la  libertad  de  im- 
prenta,  atribuyendo  a  su  estabilidad  la  relajacion  de  costumbres;  abogan  por  el 
restahlecimiento  de  la  Ynquisicion,  por  cuya  falta  dicen  se  ha  propagada  la  impie- 
dad." — Figueroa's  Letter  of  January  17,  1834. — Cal.  Archives,  ] ).  S.  I'.  Ill, 
552. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  REPUBLIC.  507 

their  expulsion  conducted  with  as  great  leniency  as  the  nat- 
ure of  the  case  would  admit.1  A  few  months  subsequently 
an  officious  subordinate  denounced  Duran  and  several  others 
as  conspirators  against  the  government  and  addressed  a  con- 
fidential communication  upon  the  subject  to  the  governor;2 
but  Figueroa  replied  that  he  could  perceive  nothing  criminal 
in  the  charges  preferred  and  thus  put  an  end  to  this  last 
attempt  to  reopen  the  old  sore.3  By  this  time  the  seculariza- 
tion of  the  missions  had  commenced;  and  as  the  missionaries 
were  thereby  deprived  of  their  temporalities  and  shorn  of 
their  powers,  it  seemed  from  this  time  forward  to  make  little 
or  no  difference  whether  they  had  taken  the  oaths  or  not  or 
whether  they  were  well  affected  to  the  government  or  the 
contrary;  and  nothing  further  was  said  or  done  about  their 
expulsion. 

It  thus  appears  that  up  to  the  time  of  the  establishment  of 
the  republic,  the  missionaries  were  in  accord  with  and,  so  to 
speak,  under  the  protection  and  fostering  care  of  the  govern- 
ment; but  that  from  that  period  onwards  there  was  mani- 
fested an  ever  increasing  antagonism  between  them,  com- 
mencing with  the  recusancy  of  the  missionaries,  leading  to 
repeated  struggles,  in  which  treason  on  the  one  hand  and 
spoliation  on  the  other  played  large  parts,  and  ending  in  the 
so-called  secularization  of  the  missions  which  proved  in  a 
very  short  time  to  be  their  absolute  destruction.  It  is  true 
that  the  Spanish  government  had  from  the  very  beginning 
contemplated  secularization  by  finally  transforming  the  mis- 
sions into  pueblos;  but  the  plan  was  based  upon  the  idea  of 
first  educating  the  neophytes  up  to  self-sustaining  industry 
and  citizenship.  How  long  this  education  would  have  taken, 
writh  such  subjects  as  the  Indians  and  particularly  under  the 
tuition  of  such  teachers  as  the  missionaries,  it  might  be  diffi- 
cult to  say.  But  it  is  very  certain  that  the  neophytes  of  Cal- 
ifornia v,  no  respect  fit  for  emancipation  when  the  Mex- 
ican government,  impelled  by  the  popular  cry  for  freedom 

1  Cal.  Ai  >.  S.  P.  Ill,  551-554. 

2  Cal.  An  !  .-         '>.  S.  P.  Ben.  LXXVIII,  643-645. 

D.  S.  P.  Ben.  LXXVIII,  701;  D.  S.  P.  Ill,  692-694. 


508  THE  FRANCISCANS. 

and  urged  on  by  the  clamors  of  greedy  officials,  seized  the 
temporalities  and  undertook  to  change  the  missions  into 
municipalities.  From  the  moment  it  did  so,  or  that  it  was 
known  that  it  would  do  so,  the  religious  establishments,  by 
which  the  country  had  been  settled,  commenced  to  sink;  and 
they  declined  with  astonishing  rapidity.  The  buildings  gen- 
erally fell  into  decay;  the  fields  and  gardens  were  neglected; 
most  of  the  Indians  relapsed  into  wanderers  or  died  off;  the 
herds  and  flocks  were  killed  or  stolen;  and  in  a  few  years 
little  was  left  of  the  old  missions  except  crumbled  and  crum- 
bling walls,  rotten  timbers  and  heaps  of  broken  tiles. 

The  work  of  the  Franciscans  in  Alta  California  was  there- 
fore no  more  destined  to  stand  than  that  of  the  Jesuits  in 
Lower  California.  Notwithstanding  the  admirable  character 
of  some  of  the  missionaries  and  the  great  labors  they  per- 
formed; notwithstanding  their  earnest  endeavors  and  their 
unswerving  belief  that  they  were  accomplishing  good;  not- 
withstanding their  building  of  mission  after  mission  and  their 
infinite  toils  in  what  they  conceived  to  be  harvests  of  immortal 
souls,  nothing,  or  substantially  nothing,  of  all  their  labors  now 
remains.  The  temples  of  the  Greeks  are  buried  under  the 
debris  of  ages;  the  forums  of  the  Romans  are  barely  trace- 
able among  the  dust  of  centuries;  the  chapels  of  the  early 
church  are  nearly  obliterated;  but  their  influence  survives  in 
civilization.  Every  great  work  in  the  right  path  bears  good 
fruit  and  leaves  a  beneficent  impress  upon  the  future.  But 
the  work  of  the  missionaries  in  California  was  not  of  this 
kind.  It  looked  only  to  the  aggrandizement  of  a  system  and 
dominion  that  had  long  outlived  their  usefulness.  It  did  not 
contemplate  or  in  any  proper  sense  regard  the  progress  of 
true  civilization.  It  evolved  no  germs  out  of  which  were  to 
spring  higher  and  better  forms.  It  was  barren  and  unprof- 
itable. 


BOOK  IV. 

THE  SPANISH    GOVERNORS 


CHAPTER    I. 

•  PORTOLA,  BARRI,  DE  NEVE  AND  FAGES. 

THE  first  governor  of  California  was  Gaspar  de  Portola. 
He  was  a  captain  of  dragoons,  a  man  of  experience  and 
ability  in  the  profession  of  arms  and  well  chosen  for  the 
duties  which  he  had  to  perform.  He  had  at  first  merely  to 
command  the  fifty  soldiers,  who  in  October,  1767,  were  sent 
to  expel  the  fifteen  Jesuit  missionaries  from  Lower  California. 
This  duty  he  performed  promptly  and  energetically,  but  with 
all  the  kindness  and  consideration  that  the  nature  of  his  in- 
structions would  admit.  It  will  be  recollected  to  his  credit 
how  courteously  he  embraced  the  fathers,  when  they  took 
their  last  sad  farewell  of  their  weeping  congregation  in  the 
little  church  of  Loreto  on  February  3,  1768.  His  next  duty 
was  to  turn  over  possession  of  the  properties  and  inventories 
of  the  missions,  which  had  been  placed  in  his  hands,  to  the 
Franciscans  who  soon  afterwards  followed;  and  he  did  so 
with  business-like  precision  and  military  promptitude.  He 
was  next  directed  to  lead  the  land  expedition,  composed  of 
missionaries,  soldiers  and  colonists,  who  settled  Alta  Califor- 
nia, and  to  act  as  military  comandante  and  governor  of  the 
new  territory.  He  marched  in  company  with  Father  Junipero 
to  San  Diego  and  raised  the  royal  standard  there.  He  com- 
manded the  two  expeditions  northward  from  that  point,  the 

(509) 


510  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

first  of  which  discovered  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  and  the 
second  of  which,  in  connection  with  an  expedition  by  sea, 
took  possession  of  and  settled  Monterey.  This  last  duty 
having  been  well  performed,  he  embarked,  with  the  news  of 
what  had  been  done,  for  Mexico;  and  his  connection  with 
California  ceased. 

It  is  usual  to  speak  of  Portola  as  governor  of  California 
from  his  arrival  at  Cape  San  Lucas  in  October,  1767,  to  his 
departure  from  Monterey  in  July,  1770.  This  is  not  en- 
tirely correct.  In  very  early  times,  while  the  country  was 
supposed  to  be  an  island  or  rather  several  islands,  it  was  com- 
monly known  by  the  plural  appellation  of  "  Las  Californias — 
The  Californias."  Afterwards,  when  its  peninsular  character 
was  ascertained,  it  was  called  simply  California;  but  the  ter- 
ritory so  designated  was  unlimited  in  extent.  When  the  ex- 
peditions for  the  settlement  of  San  Diego  and  Monterey 
marched,  it  was  understood  that  they  were  going,  not  out  of 
California,  but  into  a  new  part  of  it.  The  peninsula  then 
began  to  be  generally  spoken  of  as  Antigua  or  Old  California 
and  the  unlimited  remainder  as  Nueva  or  New  California, 
subsequently  more  commonly  called  Alta  or  Upper  California. 
At  the  same  time  the  old  plural  name  of  The  Californias  was 
revived,  but  with  a  more  definite  signification  than  before. 
Portola  was  the  first  governor  of  the  whole  country.  But 
when  he  marched  to  San  Diego  in  1769  he  was  succeeded  in 
the  governorship  of  Lower  California  by  Matias  de  Armona. 
On  account  of  this  appointment,  though  Armona  hardly 
acted,  and  did  nothing  of  importance  in  his  office,1  Portola 
could  no  longer,  strictly  speaking,  be  said  to  be  governor  of 
Lower  California  or  of  anything  more  than  New  or  Alta 
California.  But  he  was  nevertheless  usually  called,  and  in 
fact  called  himself,  governor  of  the  Californias. 

There  is  not  as  much  known  about  Portola  as  might  be 
wished.  Such  accounts  as  are  left  make  one  feel  kindly 
towards  him  and  desirous  of  a  more  intimate  acquaintance. 
There  was  evidently  much  to  like  in  his  character-.'^  He  was 
not  a  brilliant  man;  but  he  was  one  whom  it  must  have  been 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  I,  65-127. 


FELIPE  DE  PARRL  511 

pleasant  to  be  with  and  thoroughly  reliable.  He  was  called 
upon  to  perform  a  number  of  very  difficult  tasks;  but  he  did 
them  so  smoothly,  with  so  little  noise  and  friction,  that  they 
seemed  easy.  The  manner  in  which  he  conducted  his  ex- 
peditions through  an  unknown  wilderness;  the  prudence  with 
which  he  provided  against  contingencies;  the  skill  with  which 
he  managed  circumstances;  the  equanimity  with  which  he 
met  and  overcame  obstacles,  and  the  success  with  which  he 
accomplished  everything  he  undertook;  all  marked  him  as  a 
man  of  ability.  He  was  kind  to  his  soldiers,  careful  of  their 
health  and  comfort,  and  willing  to  share  their  hardships.  He 
had  no  quarrels.  He  got  into  no  difficulties.  He  was  well 
liked  and  respected  by  everybody;  and  he  well  deserved  to  be. 
The  next  or  second  governor  of  the  Californias  was  Felipe 
de  Barri.  He  was  appointed  soon  after  the  return  of  Portola 
to  Mexico  and  entered  upon  his  office  at  Loreto  in  the  spring 
of  1 77 1.  While  Portola  was  governor,  everything  had  gone 
on  harmoniously,  as  has  been  seen.  Possibly  during  his  time 
there  was  not  much  occasion  for  any  disagreement  with  the 
missionaries.  But  very  shortly  after  his  departure,  dissensions 
arose;  and  they  vexed  and  continued  to  vex  the  peace  of 
the  country  for  a  number  of  years.  There  were  various 
occasions  of  quarrel;  but  at  bottom  the  real  cause  of  all  the 
disagreements  and  difficulties  was  the  determination  on  the 
part  of  the  missionaries  to  rule  as  they  thought  proper,  and 
the  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  civil  and  military  powers, 
represented  by  the  governor  and  comandantes,  to  be  subor- 
dinated to  ecclesiastical  dictation.  The  trouble  commenced 
in  Lower  California.  Armona,  after  remaining  a  short  while 
as  governor  and  finding  out  the  unpleasantness  of  the  posi- 
tion, made  an  effort  to  be  relieved.  The  administration  of 
his  office  was  thereupon  carried  on  chiefly  by  lieutenants,  of 
whom  at  different  times  there  were  three,  Juan  Gutierrez, 
Antonio  Lopez  de  Toledo  and  Bernardino  Moreno.  Almost 
immediately  disagreements  sprang  up  in  relation  to  the  em- 
ployment by  the  military  of  Indians,  whose  labor  the  mis- 
sionaries claimed  to  belong  exclusively  to  the  missions,  and 


512  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

in  relation  to  numerous  alleged  interferences  by  the  military 
with  the  management  of  the  mission  temporalities.  On  June 
10,  1770,  a  long  list  of  complaints,  directed  chiefly  against 
the  governor  and  his  lieutenants,  was  formulated  by  Father 
Dionisio  Basterra  as  the  representative  of  the  missionaries 
and  presented  to  the  visitador-general,  who  replied  with 
promptitude  that  the  matters  complained  of  should  be  reme- 
died and  affairs  in  the  peninsula  placed  on  a  satisfactory 
basis.1 

Jose  de  Galvez,  the  visitador-general,  who,  as  the  special 
representative  and  minister  of  King  Charles  III.,  had  taken 
control  of  California  affairs  and,  in  so  far  as  those  affairs  were 
concerned,  acted  with  an  authority  equal  and  even  superior 
to  that  of  the  viceroy,  was  a  man  of  excellent  good  sense, 
versed  in  policy  and  practiced  in  business  management. 
While  he  remained  in  Lower  California  and  exercised  per- 
sonal supervision,  everything  had  gone  forward  with  eminent 
success.  He  had  himself  looked  into  every  department;  when 
anything  was  to  be  done  he  had  given  minute  and  carefully 
drawn  instructions,  models  in  their  way;  and  when  anything 
went  wrong,  he  had  himself  applied  the  proper  remedy 
promptly,  pleasantly  and  efficaciously.  It  was  only  after  his 
departure  and  return  to  Mexico  that  the  troubles,  between 
the  missionaries  on  the  one  side  and  the  civil  and  military 
authorities  on  the  other,  began.  Had  he  been  present,  he 
would  undoubtedly  have  put  a  speedy  stop  to  the  difficulty. 
As  it  was,  he  took  the  circumstances  into  serious  considera- 
tion. But,  being  then  at  a  distance  from  the  scene  of  dis- 
turbance and  his  attention  being  engrossed  by  other  matters 
of  greater  public  importance,  which  required  his  presence  else- 
where, nothing  further  was  done  by  him  in  reference  to  com- 
posing the  disorders  at  Loreto.  He  not  long  afterwards 
turned  over  the  supervision  and  control  of  California  to  the 
viceroy  and,  having  fulfilled  the  objects  of  his  commission  as 
visitador-general  in  America,  returned  to  Spain.  He  had 
previously  been  a  member  of  the  council  of  the  Indies  and  an 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  I,  84-90. 


FELIPE  DE  BARRI.  513 

officer  of  high  rank  at  court.  These  positions  he  resumed 
and  afterwards  became  one  of  the  ministers  of  state,  in  which 
office  he  died  some  twenty  years  after  he  had  given  the  first 
start  to  Alta  California. 

While  troubles  had  been  thus  brewing  in  Lower  California, 
others  of  much  the  same  general  character  were  springing  up 
in  Alta  California.  When  Portola  sailed  in  1770,  he,  in 
accordance  with  instructions  from  the  visitador-general,  turned 
over  the  government  to  Pedro  Fages.  This  arrangement  was 
distasteful  to  Rivera  y  Moncada,  who,  as  a  captain  and  second 
in  rank  to  Portola  while  Fages  was  only  a  lieutenant,  consid- 
ered himself  entitled  to  the  position;  and  the  dissatisfaction 
thus  produced  afterwards  become  the  source  of  additional 
trouble.  But  for  the  time  being,  Rivera  y  Moncada,  who  was 
then  in  Lower  California,  remained  away;  and  Fages  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  his  office,  first  as  temporary  governor  and 
afterwards,  upon  the  arrival  of  Barri  at  Loreto  in  177 1,  as  his 
subordinate  or  lieutenant-governor.  Scarcely,  however,  had 
Portola  left,  before  Fages  got  into  substantially  the  same  kind 
of  a  quarrel  with  the  missionaries  that  Armona  and  his  lieu- 
tenants had  been  engaged  in.  The  question  in  Alta  Califor- 
nia, as  it  had  been  and  in  fact  still  was  in  Lower  California, 
was  whether  the  civil  and  military  power  should  be  entirely 
subordinate  and  subject  to  the  missionaries,  or  independent  of 
them.  Fages  was  of  the  same  way  of  thinking  upon  the  sub- 
ject as  Armona;  and  Barri,  when  he  assumed  office,  took  the 
same  view. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1771,  after  the  visitador-general  had 
resigned  the  control  of  California  to  the  viceroy  without  set- 
tling the  controversy  that  had  arisen  at  Loreto,  a  new  series  of 
complaints  on  the  part  of  the  missionaries,  but  on  this  occa- 
sion in  reference  to  the  civil  and  military  administration  at 
Monterey,  was  formulated.  They  demanded  that  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  visitador-general,  which  they  claimed  subordinated 
the  civil  and  military  to  the  missionary  authority,  should  be 
strictly  carried  out  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  government 
should  be  conducted  with  a  view  solely  to  the  benefit  of  the 

33    Vol.  I. 


514  THE  SPAXISH  GOVERNORS. 

missions.  While  they  asked  for  more  military  force,  they 
also  required  that  it  should  be  placed  in  effect  under  their 
command.  While  mission  Indians  might  be  employed  on 
public  work,  they  insisted  that  the  missions  should  be  paid 
for  their  labor;  and  in  numerous  other  particulars,  in  which 
they  represented  that  the  main  purposes  of  the  occupation  of 
the  country  were  not  being  forwarded,  they  called  for  change 
and  alteration. 

It  could  hardly  be  expected  that  the  viceroy  would  under- 
stand all  the  minutiae  of  the  quarrel  or  appreciate  the  merits 
of  all  the  details  of  the  controversy.  But  he  deemed  it  proper 
to  caution  both  Fages  and  Barri  to  be  more  compliant;  to 
recognize  the  spiritual  conquest  as  the  main  object,  and  at  all 
events  to  preserve  harmony  with  the  missionaries.1  In  a 
special  letter,  written  to  Fages  on  December  2,  1772,  he  be- 
rated him  soundly  for  the  scandalous  controversy;  pronounced 
it  not  only  unseemly  in  itself  and  contrary  to  the  objects  for 
which  California  had  been  occupied  but  calculated  to  lead  to 
pernicious  and  possibly  fatal  consequences;  ordered  him  to 
lay  aside  personal  considerations  and  labor  exclusively  for  the 
service  of  God  and  his  king,  and  concluded  with  a  hope  that 
he  should  hear  nothing  further  of  the  disagreeable  business.2 
The  cautions,  however,  did  not  accomplish  their  purpose. 
Fages  either  could  not,  or  would  not,  comply  with  the  de- 
mands made  upon  him  by  the  missionaries;  and  the  result 
was  a  widening  of  the  breach  already  existing  and  another 
series  of  charges  and  complaints,  including  a  prayer  for  his 
removal.  At  the  same  time  the  quarrel  in  Lower  California 
continued.  Barri  was  no  more  disposed  to  submit  than  his 
predecessors  had  been.  The  relations  of  the  respective  parties 
were  such  that  there  was  no  want  of  occasions  for  disagree- 
ment and  conflict.  But  there  was  one  which  more  than  any 
other  evoked  bitterness.  The  Dominicans,  after  the  missions 
of  Lower  California  had  been  turned  over  to  them,  refused 
for  a  time  to  deliver  up  certain  church  vestments  and  other 
property,    which'  were    claimed    to    belong    of   right    to    the 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  I,  127-131. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  J'.  I,  206-209.  * 


FELIPE  DE  BARRI.  515 

missions  of  Alta  California.  Barri's  countenance  of  this 
refusal  and  the  active  part  he  took  in  the  controversy  in  favor 
of  the  Dominicans  touched  the  Franciscans  in  a  very  tender 
spot;  and  the  provocation  he  thus  gave  could  neither  be  for- 
given nor  forgotten.  There  were  consequently  troubles  all 
around.  Matters  were  becoming  more  and  more  complicated 
and  something  had  to  be  done. 

The  visit  of  Junipero  to  Mexico  in  1773  and  the  favorable 
impression  he  made  upon  the  viceroy  Bucareli  determined 
the  course  that  was  taken.  It  was  in  favor  of  the  mission- 
aries and  involved  the  removal  of  both  Barri  and  Fages.  The 
government  immediately  began  looking  about  for  a  new  gov- 
ernor for  the  Californias.  As  a  preliminary,  Captain  Rivera 
y  Moncada,  who  in  the  meanwhile  had  not  been  inactive, 
was  by  special  commission  on  September  7,  1773,1  appointed 
military  comandante  of  San  Diego  and  Monterey  or,  in  other 
words,  of  all  there  then  was  of  Alta  California,2  thus  super- 
seding Fages;  and  in  October  of  the  next  year  Barri,  who 
during  all  the  time  of  his  incumbency  had  resided  at  Loreto, 
was  superseded  by  Felipe  de  Neve,3  Barri  therefore  was 
governor  from  about  March,  1771,  to  October,  1774,  a  little 
over  three  years  and  a  half. 

Fernando  Rivera  y  Moncada  was  a  captain  of  cavalry  in 
that  branch  of  the  service  in  which  the  soldiers  were  known 
as  "  soldados  de  cuera,"  so  called  on  account  of  the  jacket  of 
"cuera"  or  leather  which  they  wore.  This  was  a  sort  of  cas- 
sock, without  sleeves,  composed  of  six  or  seven  layers  of  deer 
skin,  pressed  or  sewed  together  so  as  to  be  impenetrable  to 
the  arrows  of  the  Indians.  Besides  the  cuera,  each  soldier 
carried  a  target  or  shield,  made  of  several  thicknesses  of-  raw 
ox-hide,  which  he  wore  on  his  left  arm  and  was  intended  to 
parry  blows.  Each  man  also  had  a  leathern  apron  fastened 
to  the  pommel  of  his  saddle  and  falling  on  both  sides  so  as  to 
cover  his  thighs  and  protect  his  legs  as  well  against  arrows  as 
against  thorns  and  branches  in  passing  through  underbrush 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.   I,  329. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.    I,  327. 

3  Cal.  Archives,   P.  S.  P.  I,  448-454. 


516  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

and  chaparral.  His  offensive  arms  were  the  lance,  the 
broadsword  or  saber,  and  the  carbine  or  short  musket,  which, 
when  not  in  actual  use,  was  generally  carried  in  a  leather 
case.1  Almost  all  the  soldiers  in  California,  and  especially 
those  who  were  detailed  as  guards  for  the  missions,  were  of 
this  class.  The  other  soldiers  in  the  country,  excepting  a  few 
artillerymen  at  the  presidios,  were  of  a  body  of  light  infantry, 
sent  out  from  Spain  in  1767  and  known  as  Catalonian  volun- 
teers.2 To  these  latter  Fages  belonged,  having  come  as  a 
lieutenant  though  in  1771,  while  in  command  at  Monterey, 
he  had  been  promoted  to  a  captaincy.3  There  was  of  course 
some  differences  in  the  rules  and  regulations  applicable  to 
the  respective  kinds  of  troops.  But  for  all  the  purposes  of 
service  in  California,  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  either 
Fages  or  Rivera  y  Moncada  was  in  any  respect  deficient  in 
general  military  knowledge  and  skill  for  the  command  of 
either  kind.  Nevertheless,  when  the  missionaries  quarreled 
with  Fages,  they  charged  that  he  was  unfit  to  manage  the  sol- 
dados  de  cuera  and  that  he  was  heartily  hated  by  them. 
However  this  may  have  been,  there  could  be  no  objection 
on  this  score  to  Rivera  y  Moncada;  and  therefoVe,  when  he  was 
appointed,  it  was  supposed  that  things  would  go  on  with 
much  greater  smoothness  than  before.  Junipero  himself  had 
advocated  and  urged  the  appointment  of  Sergeant  Jose  Fran- 
cisco Ortega,  who  had  shown  himself  entirely  devoted  to  the 
missionaries.  But  the  viceroy  and  his  advisers,  being  of  opin- 
ion that  Ortega  was  not  of  sufficiently  high  rank  for  the  posi- 
tion, merely  promoted  him  to  a  lieutenancy  at  San  Diego; 
gave  the  superior,  command,  as  before  stated,  to  Rivera  y 
Moncada,  and  ordered  Fages  to  return  to  Mexico.4 

On  August  17,  1773,  a  few  weeks  previous  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  Rivera  y  Moncada,  the  viceroy  Bucareli  issued  a 
series  of  very  important  instructions,  defining  his  powers  and 
regulating    the    government.     Among   other    matters,    these 

1  Historical  Journal  of  the  Expeditions  by  sea  and  land  to  the  north  of  Cali- 
fornia in  1768,  1769  and  1770,  &c,  London,  1790,  pp.  24,  25. 
a  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  I,  I. 
3Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  I,  nS. 
*  Palou,  Noticias,  II,  143,  144. 


FELIPE  DE  BARK  I.  517 

instructions  conferred  authority  to  make  land  grants  and  con- 
stituted the  first  or  one  of  the  first  legislative  acts  upon  the 
subject.  After  expressing  the  high  opinion  he  had  formed  of 
Rivera  y  Moncada's  good  conduct  and  experience,  the  vice- 
roy, in  order  to  enable  him  to  encourage  speedy  population 
in  the  new  territory,  authorized  him,  as  comandante,  to  desig- 
nate lands  to  be  held  in  common  for  the  use  and  benefit  of 
the  people  in  general  and  also  to  grant  lands  in  private  own- 
ership to  such  Indians  as  should  dedicate  themselves  to 
agriculture  and  stock-raising,  or  to  such  white  colonists  as 
might  by  their  industry  show  themselves  worthy  of  conces- 
sions. The  grants  were  to  be  gratuitous;  but  care  was  to  be 
taken  that  the  beneficiaries  should  live  in  a  pueblo  or  at  mis- 
sions and  not  dispersedly  over  the  country.  The  comandante 
was  also  to  see  that  the  new  colonists  should  possess  the 
requisite  arms  for  their  own  defense  as  well  as  for  assisting 
the  garrisons  of  the  presidios  or  missions  in  case  of  necessity; 
and  he  was  further  instructed  that,  in  case  it  should  become 
expedient  to  change  a  mission  into  a  pueblo,  he  was  to  give 
it  a  name,  declare  for  its  patron  the  saint  under  whose 
patronage  the  original  mission  had  been  founded,  and  provide 
a  civil  and  economical  government  in  accordance  with  the  laws 
observed  in  other  pueblos  of  the  kingdom.1  It  was  in  virtue 
of  the  authority  thus  conferred  that  the  first  private  land 
grant  in  Alta  California  was  made  by  Rivera  y  Moncada  in 
November,  1775.  It  was  a  concession  of  a  lot  one  hundred 
and  forty  varas  square  at  the  mission  of  San  Carlos  to  a 
soldier  named  Manuel  Butron  and  his  Indian  wife  Margarita 
Maria,  who  is  styled  in  the  old  documents  "  a  daughter  of  the 
mission,"  and  to  their  descendants.2 

At  the  time  of  Rivera  y  Moncada's  appointment,  he  was  at 
Guadalajara.  He  immediately  posted  off  to  Mexico  to  con- 
fer with  the  viceroy  and  then,  in  accordance  with  instructions, 
returned  and  proceeded  on  to  Sinaloa  to  recruit  more  soldiers 
and  families  for  California.  In  March,  1774,  having  collected 
fifty-one  persons,  he  sailed  with  them  to  Loreto;  from  there 

1  Cal.  Archives,  M.  &  C  I,  812. 

*i  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  I,  431-439. 


518  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

proceeded  to  San  Fernando  de  Vellicata,  and  thence,  after 
making  arrangements  for  the  subsequent  continuation  of  their 
journey,  himself  hastened  on  and  reached  Monterey  on  May 
23.  The  next  day  he  presented  his  commission  to  Fages, 
who  delivered  up  the  command  and  in  the  course  of  a  few 
weeks  marched  to  San  Diego  and  thence  sailed  to  San  Bias. 
Most  of  the  Catalonian  volunteers  retired  with  him  or  about 
the  same  time.1 

The  soldiers  and  families,  recruited  in  Sinaloa,  arrived  at 
Monterey  in  November.  Almost  as  soon  as  they  came, 
Rivera  y  Moncada,  urged  on  by  the  loud  and  repeated 
demands  for  the  speedy  settlement  of  San  Francisco,  marched 
with  a  portion  of  them  on  his  expedition  of  exploration  of 
November  and  December,  1774,  to  that  place.  In  November, 
1775,  occurred  the  Indian  outbreak  at  San  Diego,  in  which 
Father  J  ay  me  was  murdered  and  the  mission  burned.  Rivera 
y  Moncada,  upon  hearing  of  it,  immediately  made  prepara- 
tions for  a  march  thither.  Gathering  his  soldiers  he  proceeded 
to  San  Gabriel.  Being  joined  there  in  January,  1776,  by 
Juan  Bautista  de  Anza,  who  had  just  arrived  with  settlers  for 
San  Francisco,  the  two  proceeded  to  San  Diego.  There,  on 
account  of  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  what  was  best  to  be 
done,  Rivera  y  Moncada  being  in  favor  of  slow  and  cautious 
movements  and  Anza  of  swift  and  bold  ones,  they  disagreed; 
and  shortly  afterwards,  while  Rivera  y  Moncada  proceeded  in 
his  own  way  to  deal  with  the  rebel  Indians,  Anza  withdrew 
and  continued  his  journey  with  his  settlers  to  Monterey. 

It  was  "not  long  afterwards  that  difficulties  sprang  up 
between  the  comandante  and  the  missionaries  of  San  Diego. 
The  origin  of  the  trouble  was  substantially  the  same  disposi- 
tion of  the  missionaries  to  trench  upon  the  civil  and  military 
authority,  which  had  caused  controversy  almost  from  the 
beginning.  The  comandante  made  up  his  mind  that  he 
would  not  tamely  submit.  An  open  breach  took  place,  as  has 
already  been  related,  on  the  occasion  of  the  protection  afforded 
by  the  missionaries,  under  the  plea  of  sanctuary,  to  one  of  the 
Indian  murderers;  and  the  result  was  the  violent  seizure  of 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  III,  150-153. 


FEL1TE  DE  BARK  I.  519 

the  criminal  by  Rivera  y  Moncada  and  the  excommunication 
of  the  latter  by  the  missionaries.  The  position,  in  which 
affairs  had  thus  ranged  themselves,  obliged  Rivera  y  Moncada 
to  return  to  Monterey  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  Juni'pero, 
endeavoring  to  relieve  himself  of  the  anathema  that  had  been 
pronounced  and  making  some  kind  of  an  arrangement  by 
which  he  would  be  allowed  to  carry  on  his  administration 
without  too  much  interference.  But  he  was  in  no  temper  to 
be  as  cool  and  judicious  as  the  occasion  required.  He  had 
been  subjected  to  so  many  annoyances  that  he  had  lost  for 
the  time  his  usual  good  disposition  and  even  his  accustomed 
courtesy. 

A  strange  exhibition  of  his  ill  humor  took  place  in  his  fur- 
ther intercourse  or  rather  want  of  intercourse  with  Anza.  It 
will  be  recollected  that  when  Anza  arrived  from  Sonora  with 
settlers  for  the  foundation  of  San  Francisco,  Rivera  y  Mon- 
cada, on  account  of  the  outbreak  at  San  Diego,  insisted  that 
the  proposed  settlement  should  be  deferred.  Anza  had  con- 
curred for  a  while;  but  finally,  becoming  dissatisfied  with  the 
cautious  policy  of  the  comandante,  he  had  gone  off,  taken  his 
settlers  on  to  Monterey,  and  himself  proceeded  to  make  a 
survey  and  select  a  site  for  the  new  foundation.  He  had  next 
returned  to  Monterey;  transferred  the  charge  of  the  settlers  to 
Jose  Joaquin  Moraga,  and  then,  regarding  his  commission 
ended,  prepared  to  march  back  to  Sonora.  Rivera  y  Moncada 
considered  Anza's  proceedings  reprehensible;  but,  as  the  latter 
was  acting  under  an  independent  authority,  the  former  could 
not  compel  his  obedience.  He  showed,  however,  that  he  was 
very  much  displeased.  Anza  had  written  to  him;  but  he  had 
not  answered.  As  Anza  was  about  leaving  Monterey  on  his 
return  to  Sonora,  he  sent  off  a  courier  in  advance  to  notify 
Rivera  y  Moncada  of  his  coming  and  asking  for  an  interview 
at  San  Gabriel,  where  he  would  give  an  account  of  his  expe- 
dition to  San  Francisco.  Anza's  courier,  Sergeant  Jose  Maria 
Gongora,  had  been  gone  only  a  few  days,  however,  before  he 
returned  with  information  that  he  had  met  Rivera  y  Moncada 
near  San  Luis  Obispo.     Upon  their  meeting  the  comandante 


520  THE  SPANISH  GOVENORS. 

had  asked  him  where  he  was  going.  He  had  answered  that 
he  was  seeking  the  comandante  with  a  letter  from  Anza.  But 
the  comandante  refused  to  receive  it  and  ordered  Gongora  to 
keep  at  a  distance  and  not  camp  near  him.  The  next  morn- 
ing, however,  the  comandante  called  to  him,  demanded  the 
letter  and,  without  opening  it,  handed  Gongora  a  letter  for 
Anza  and  directed  him  to  return  to  Monterey  and  deliver  it 
at  once.  Gongora  was  of  opinion  that  the  comandante's 
actions  indicated  an  unsettled  brain. 

Anza  had  already  left  Monterey  and  that  same  evening, 
when  he  camped  near  San  Antonio,  Rivera  y  Moncada  passed 
by  without  manifesting  any  disposition  to  stop  or  have  any 
communication.  A  few  words  of  official  salutation  passed, 
and  that  was  all  Rivera  y  Moncada  continued  on  his  way 
to  Monterey  and  Anza,  after  requesting  a  certificate  from 
those  who  were  present  of  what  had  taken  place,  proceeded 
on  to  San  Luis  Obispo.  Shortly  afterwards  Rivera  y  Mon- 
cada, failing  to  prevail  upon  Jum'pero  to  absolve  him  from 
the  excommunication,  started  back  in  pursuit  of  Anza  and 
endeavored  to  bring  about  an  interview,  at  the  same  time 
apologizing  for  any  former  want  of  courtesy  *  But  it  was  now 
Anza's  turn  to  be  discourteous;  and  he  absolutely  refused  to 
have  any  communication  with  the  comandante  except  in 
writing  and  only  in  relation  to  the  survey  of  San  Francisco. 
Rivera  y  Moncada,  upon  receiving  this  reply,  immediately 
resumed  his  journey  to  San  Gabriel,  whither  Anza  followed, 
taking  care  to  keep  far  enough  behind  not  to  join.  At  San 
Gabriel,  Anza  continued  to  act  in  much  the  same  spirit;  but, 
upon  leaving  that  place  for  Sonora,  he  notified  the  comandante 
that  he  would  carry  any  letters  he  might  desire  to  send  to  the 
viceroy.  The  comandante  replied  that  he  had  not  finished 
his  letters,  but  would  send  them  after  him.  A  few  days  after- 
wards the  comandante's  messengers  overtook  Anza  with  two 
letters,  one  to  the  college  of  San  Fernando  at  Mexico  and 
doubtless  on  the  subject  of  his  difficulty  with  the  mission- 
aries and  excommunication,  and  the  other  to  Anza  himself 
stating  that  he  did  not  send  any  dispatch  for  the  viceroy,  on 


FELIPE  DP    AEIE.  521 

account  of  the  absence  of  an  important  paper  left  by  oversight 
at  San  Diego,  and  requesting  him  to  carry  and  deliver  the 
other  letter.  Anza,  however,  refused  to  do  so,  sending  back 
word  that  he  was  not  a  letter-carrier;  and  thereupon  he  con- 
tinued his  march  to  Sonora  and  thence  communicated  with 
the  viceroy. 

Bucareli  no  sooner  heard  of  this  ridiculous  quarrel  than  he 
sent  word  to  both  parties  that  their  petty  questions  of  eti- 
quette were  calculated  to  seriously  injure  the  service;  and, 
as  it  had  already  been  determined  that  the  governor  of  the 
Californias  should  change  his  residence  from  Loreto  to  Mon- 
terey, he  immediately  sent  off  orders  that  Governor  Felipe  de 
Neve  should  at  once  proceed  to  Monterey  and  that  Rivera  y 
Moncada  should  retire  to  and  take  charge  of  the  presidio  at 
Loreto.1  In  obedience  to  these  orders  De  Neve  arrived  at 
Monterey  on  February  3,  1777,  whereupon  Rivera  y  Moncada 
turned  over  the  command;  marched  to  Loreto,  and  did  not 
again  see  Alta  California  except  upon  his  fatal  journey  to 
the  Colorado  in  1781. 

Felipe  de  Neve,  the  third  governor  of  the  Californias,  was 
at  the  time  of  his  appointment  a  cavalry  officer  at  Oueretaro 
or,  to  give  his  exact  title,  "  sargento  mayor  del  regimehto  de 
caballeria  provincial  de  Queretaro."2  He  had  been  picked 
out,  as  already  stated,  to  supersede  Governor  Barri.  In  a 
letter  addressed  to  him  on  October  28,  1774,  by  the  viceroy, 
informing  him  of  his  appointment,  he  was  notified  of  the 
quarrel  that  had  taken  place  between  Barri  and  the  mission- 
aries and  cautioned,  in  the  exercise  of  the  duties  of  the  office 
thus  conferred  upon  him,  to  proceed  with  moderation  and 
prudence/  But  the  caution  was  unnecessary,  as  De  Neve 
proved  to  be  a  man  of  marked  ability  and  statesmanship. 
He  at  once  turned  his  attention  to  his  new  employment  and 
labored  earnestly  and  zealously.  But  he  found  so  much  to  do 
in  Mexico,  in  the  way  of  providing  supplies  and  recruits  for 
the  new  country,  that  he  did  not  reach   Loreto  until  March, 

1  Palou,  Noticias,  IV,  144-158. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  I,  459. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  I'    I,  448-454. 


\ 


522  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

1775.  It  was  intended  at  first  that  he  should  reside  there,  as 
Barri  had  done,  leaving  the  affairs  of  Alta  California  to  be 
administrated  by  Rivera  y  Moncada,  nominally  as  his  subor- 
dinate but  in  fact  with  nearly  complete  independence.  But 
soon  after  De  Neve's  appointment,  it  was  determined  by  the 
Spanish  government  to  make  Monterey,  instead  of  Loreto, 
the  real  capital  of  the  Californias  and  the  residence  of  the 
governor.  The  difficulties  in  which  Rivera  y  Moncada  be- 
came involved  in  1776  hastened  action  and  occasioned  the 
orders,  already  referred  to,  in  accordance  with  which  De  Neve 
marched  to  and  took  up  his  residence  at  Monterey  in  Febru- 
ary, 1777.  Immediately  upon  his  arrival  there,  bearing  in 
mind  the  troubles  of  his  predecessors  and  the  cautions  of  the 
viceroy,  he  put  himself  in  intimate  and  friendly  communica- 
tion with  Junipero  and  the  missionaries;  and  until  his  pro- 
motion to  a  higher  office,  five  years  afterwards,  he  worked  in 
comparative  harmony  with  them  for  the  advancement  and 
prosperity  of  the  province  over  which  he  ruled.1 
_^  Felipe  de  Neve  is  entitled  to  the  grateful  remembrance  of 
Californians  as  the  founder  of  the  two  old  Spanish  pueblos  of 
San  Jose  and  Los  Angeles.  But  his  chief  title  to  fame  is  the 
authorship  of  the  "  Regiament'o,"  constituting  a  complete  sys- 
tem or  code  of  legislation  for  the  province  of  the  Californias. 
He  drew  it  up  and  dated  it  on  June  I,  1779,  at  the  "  Royal 
Presidio  of  San  Carlos  de  Monterey;''  and  it  was  afterwards, 
on  October  24,  1781,  approved  in  a  royal  order  by  the  king  of 
Spain.  These  celebrated  regulations  contained  fuil  and  mi- 
nute provisions  for  the  government  of  the  presidios,  the  cloth- 
ing, feeding  and  payment  of  the  troops,  and  the  support  and 
maintenance  of  their  families  and  other  persons  dependent  on 
or  connected  with  the  military  service.  But  their  most  inter- 
esting provisions  were  those  relating  to  colonization.  After 
setting  forth  the  importance  of  the  reduction  and  settlement 
of  the  country,  the  promotion  of  agriculture,  stock-raising  and 
other  branches  of  industry  .and  the  establishment  of  pueblos 
of  gente  de  razon,  whereby  the  territory  might  become  self- 

1  I'alou,  Vida,  223. 


FELIPE  DE  NEVE.  523 

supporting,  they  proceeded  to  state  that  the  pueblo  of  San 
Jose  had  already  been  founded  with  these  ends  in  view;  that 
another  pueblo,  referring  to  that  of  Los  Angeles,  had  been 
determined  upon,  and  that  others,  as  the  country  should  pro- 
gress in  population,  were  in  contemplation  which  in  time 
would  furnish  soldiers  and  supplies  and  finally  relieve  the 
royal  treasury  from  the  burdensome  expenses  to  which  it  had 
hitherto  been  and  was  still  unavoidably  subjected.  They  then 
provided  that  each  "poblador"  or  colonist,  meaning  thereby 
each  white  male  inhabitant  of  a  pueblo,  should  receive  a  cer- 
tain fixed  amount  of  money  annually  for  five  years  in  lieu  of 
another  amount  previously  provided  for  but  not  properly 
secured;  and  that  this  amount  should  be  payable  from  the 
moment  of  his  arrival.  The  amount  so  fixed  was  about  ten 
dollars  a  month  for  the  first  two  years  and  five  for  the  last 
three  years.  Each  was  to  receive  at  cost  price  certain  breed- 
ing animals,  including  two  mares,  two  cows,  two  sheep  and 
two  goats;  also  a  yoke  of  oxen,  a  plow  and  various  agricul- 
tural implements,  two  horses  and  a  pack-mule,  a  musket  and 
a  leather  shield;  for  all  which  he  was  to  pay  in  horses  and 
mules  at  a  future  time;  and  to  each  pueblo  were  to  be  given 
for  community  use  a  number  of  male  animals,  a  few  swine,  a 
forge,  blacksmith  and  carpenter  tools,  and  various  implements 
and  instruments  such  as  crowbars  and  shovels. 

In  reference  to  the  distribution  of  pueblo  lands,  each  pob- 
lador or  colonist  was  to  receive  a  house-lot  of  such  size  as 
might  be  found  convenient  and  four  "suertes"  or  lots  two  hun- 
dred varas  square  for  cultivation;  and  commons  or  pasture 
lands,  as  well  as  lands  for  municipal  purposes,  were  to  be 
designated  for  the  general  use  of  the  community.  The  house- 
lots,  which  were  to  be  arranged  in  streets,  and  the  cultivable 
lands  and  commons  were  to  be  distributed  on  equitable  prin- 
ciples by  the  government  and  in  the  name  of  the  king.  These 
lots  and  lands  were  to  be. hereditary  from  father  to  son  and 
inalienable,  but  with  the  power  in  the  father  to  designate  one 
of  several  sons,  or  in  certain  cases  a  married  daughter,  who 
was  to  succeed;  and  with  the  further  power  in  proper  cases  cf 


524  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

dividing  the  cultivable  land  among  several  children.  In  no 
case,  however,  was  a  suerte  or  cultivable  lot  to  be  divided,  nor 
was  any  poblador  or  heir  to  be  able  to  mortgage  or  impose 
any  condition  or  burden  upon  either  house-lot  or  suerte;  and 
any  attempt  to  do  so  was  to  be  good  ground  of  forfeiture. 
Each  poblador  or  colonist  was  to  be  exempt  from  paying 
tithes  or  taxes  for  five  years,  provided  he  built  a  house  and 
lived  in  it  within  a  year  and  provided  further  that  he  did 
certain  work  for  the  benefit  of  the  pueblo  or  municipality 
relating  chiefly  to  public  buildings,  granaries  and  irrigating 
canals.  All  the  colonists  were  to  enjoy  common  privileges  of 
water,  pasture,  fire-wqod  and  timber,  in  so  far  as  these  were 
afforded  by  the  common  lands;  but,  in  order  to  prevent  dis- 
putes in  reference  to  pasturage,  brands  were  to  be  used  and 
herders  employed;  and,  in  order  to  prevent  monopolies,  no 
one  person  was  to  possess  more  than  fifty  head  of  the  same 
kind  of  cattle.  There  were  many  other  minor  provisions,  in 
reference  to  the  distribution  of  increasing  wealth,  the  furnish- 
ing of  supplies  to  the  presidios,  the  obligations  of  the  colo- 
nists to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  for  military  service  and 
the  appointment  or  election  of  magistrates  and  other  munici- 
pal officers.1  The  whole  system  was  admirably  calculated  for 
the  condition  of  the  country;  and,  if  it  had  been  carried  out 
in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  conceived,  pueblos  would  have 
superseded  missions  throughout  the  country  and  the  develop- 
ment of  California  under  the  Spaniards  and  Mexicans  would 
have  been  very  different  from  what  it  was. 

It  was  in  accordance  with  these  regulations  that  the  pueblo 
of  San  Jose  had  been  founded  and  the  pueblo  of  Los  Angeles 
was  afterwards  laid  out.  A  plan  of  the  latter,  as  originally 
located,  shows  twelve  house-lots  arranged  on  three  sides  of  a 
very  large  public  plaza,  each  lot  having  a  frontage  on  the 
plaza  of  one  hundred  varas  and  a  depth  of  two  hundred  varas, 
except  at  the  corners  where  the  shape  of  the  lots  was  differ- 
ent though  the  frontage  and  area  were  the  same.  Nine  of 
these  lots  had  been  distributed  to  as  many  pobladors  and 
three  were  vacant.     In  the  neighborhood  was  the  Porciuncula 


1  Cal.  Archives.   M.  &  <J.   I,  7  52-762. 


FELIPE  DE  NEVE.  525 

river,  with  an  "azequia"  or  irrigating  canal  taken  out  of  it  and 
heading  some  distance  off.  Between  the  river  and  canal  were 
the  suertes  or  lands  for  cultivation  arranged  in  nine  tiers  of 
four  each  and  each  tier  distributed  to  one  of  the  nine  colonists 
who  had  building  lots.1 

The  mind  of  Felipe  de  Neve  ran  naturally  to  legislation. 
He  left  a  number  of  able  state  papers  and,  among  them,  rules 
for  the  regulation  of  almost  every  branch  of  the  public  service. 
In  1 78 1  it  became  his  duty  as  governor  to  distribute  three 
hundred  and  forty-five  mules  and  sixty-one  horses  among  the 
various  presidios  of  the  two  Californias;  and,  in  doing  so,  he 
took  occasion  to  promulgate  a  series  of  regulations  for  the 
care  and  safe-keeping  of  animals  belonging  to  the  govern- 
ment.'2 In  March,  1782,  he  drew  up  a  very  long  series  of 
regulations,  instructing  the  soldiers  then  stationed  along  the 
Santa  Barbara  Channel  how  they  were  to  gain  the  confidence 
of  the  Indians  of  that  region  and  win  them  over  to  the  cause 
of  God  and  the  king,  and,  in  doing  so,  he  composed  a  com- 
plete manual  for  military  conduct  in  California.3  In  July  of 
the  same  year  he  issued  directions  for  the  establishment  of  a 
system  of  posts  or  couriers  for  the  carrying  of  dispatches  and 
mails  from  one  end  of  the  territory  to  the  other.4  It  may  be, 
and  it  is,  true  that  the  mere  fact  of  drawing  up  rules  and 
regulations  does  not  of  itself  entitle  a  governor  to  any  great 
credit.  But  those  of  Felipe  de  Neve  were  eminently  wise, 
practicable  and  prudent,  admirably  suited  to  the  situation 
of  affairs  and  to  the  nature  of  the  subject  which  he  under- 
took to  regulate;  and  for  many  years  afterwards  his  work, 
though  it  may  have  been  superseded  by  later  legislation,  was 
always  looked  back  to  with  admiration  and  respect.  He  may 
be  called  the  first  legislator  that  California  had  and  one  of  the 
very  best. 

It  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  a  man  of  De  Neve's 
ability  would  be  long  confined  to  so  remote  and  comparatively 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ill,  no. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P.  Mon.  I,  41 S,  419. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ill,  75-85,  184,  295. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ill,  40. 


526  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

unimportant  a  province  as  the  Californias  of  those  days;  nor 
was  it  long  before  his  merits  were  recognized  and  promotion 
came.  He  was  not  only  made  a  "coronel  "  but  the  king  also 
conferred  upon  him  the  cross  of  the  royal  order  of  Charles 
III.;1  and,  about  the  middle  of  1782,  he  was  raised  to  the 
inspector-generalship  of  all  the  troops  of  the  Provincias 
Internas,  comprehending  Sonora,  New  Mexico,  Chihuahua, 
Coahuila  and  Texas,  as  well  as  the  Californias.2  This  promo- 
tion required  him  to  change  his  residence  to  Chihuahua  and 
at  the  same  time  rendered  necessary  the  appointment  of  some 
one  to  take  his  place  in  California;  and  until  some  person 
entirely  suitable  could  be  found,  Teodoro  de  Croix,  the  com- 
andante-general  of  the  Internal  Provinces,  appointed  Pedro 
Fages,  who  since  his  supersession  by  Rivera  y  Moncada  had 
been  residing  in  Sonora.  De  Neve,  however,  had  not  yet 
done  with  his  legislation  for  the  country.  Before  leaving  the 
territory,  he  sat  down  and  wrote  out  a  complete  set  of  instruc- 
tions for  the  guidance  and  government  of  Fages.  In  these 
he  took  up  seriatim  the  different  branches  of  the  public  service 
and,  in  eighteen  separate  articles,  explained  particularly  what 
was  to  be  done  in  reference  to  each  and  how  it  was  to  be  per- 
formed, and  thus  composed  another  long  document,  mani- 
festing the  same  wisdom  and  prudence  which  had  charac- 
terized his  other  papers.3 

De  Neve  managed  during  his  administration,  as  has  been 
said,  to  keep  on  comparatively  good  terms  with  the  mission- 
aries. But  they  did  not  like  him;  and,  as  can  be  gathered 
fromTiis  legislation  as  well  as  from  the  accounts  which  have 
been  preserved  of  his  utterances  and  public  life,  he  was  en- 
tirely opposed  to  the  system  of  slavish  subjection  to  which 
they  reduced  and  in  which  it  was  their  policy  to  hold  the 
Indians.  He  remonstrated,  in  so  far  as  it  was  safe  for  him  to 
do  so,  against  the  cruelties  frequently  practiced  and  the  course 
of  repressive  treatment  uniformly  exercised.  He  saw,  and 
said,  that  these  could  have  no  other  effect  than  to  prevent  every- 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ill,  374. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ill,  51. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.   1'.  Ill,  313  330;  S.  I'.  I,  441. 


PEDRO  PAGES.  527 

thing  like  manly  feeling  or  generous  aspiration  from  finding 
lodgment  in  the  breasts  of  the  miserable  creatures  over  whose 
spiritual  welfare  they  assumed  to  keep  watch  and  ward.  He 
did  not  believe  in  the  value  of  a  faith  that  was  compelled,  or 
in  the  efficacy  of  prayers  that  were  constrained.  He  desired 
a  government  for  the  Indians  less  monastic  in  its  constitution 
and  less  despotic  in  its  exercise;  and  he  kept  steadily  in  view 
their  education  as  prospective  citizens  and  the  gradual  devel- 
opment and  assurance  of  their  civil  and  political  liberties.1 

De  Neve  had  scarcely'  reached  Chihuahua  when  he  was 
still  further  honored  by  being  appointed  a  general  of  brig- 
ade and  promoted  in  place  of  De  Croix,  who  had  been 
raised  to  a  higher  field  of  action,  to  the  office  of  comandante- 
general  of  the  Internal  Provinces.2  He  thus  occupied  the 
highest  office  in  those  extensive  regions  and  thereby  became 
entitled  to  great  consideration  and  honor.  ,  And,  as  in  those 
days  merit  furnished  a  good  title  to  advancement,  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  he  would  have  risen  still  higher 
and  that  his  fame,  instead  of  remaining  local,  would  have 
become  national,  had  not  an  untimely  death  cut  short  his 
promising  career.  He  died  at  Chihuahua  in  November,  1784.3 
He  had  been  governor  of  the  Californias  from  October,  1774, 
to  September,  1782,  a  period  of  about  eight  years. 

Pedro  Pages,  the  fourth  governor  of  the  Californias,  had 
been  one  of  the  pioneers  of  1769.  He  was  then  a  lieutenant 
of  infantry  and  in  command  of  a  company  of  the  Catalonian 
Volunteers.  He  had  previously  been  in  service  in  Sonora. 
In  January,  1769,  having  been  sent  over  to  La  Paz,  he  em- 
barked there  with  his  company  on  the  San  Carlos  and  in  May 
following  reached  San  Diego.  It  was  to  him  that  Jose  de 
Galvez,  the  visitador-general,  addressed  most  of  the  multi- 
tudinous instructions  which  he  drew  up  in  reference  to 
California  and  its  government.  The  first  of  these  was  dated 
at  the  camp  of  Santa  Ana  in  Lower  California  on  October 
16,  1768,  and  related  particularly  to  the  conduct  of  the  expe- 

1  See  La  Perouse,  I,  448,  449. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.   P.  I\  ,  it,.,. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  I'.  S.  1'    V,  i.o. 


528  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

dition.1  The  next,  dated  at  the  same  place  on  January  5, 
1769,  related  to  the  government  of  the  country  and  consti- 
tuted the  first  "reglamento"  for  Alta  California.  In  if,  Galvez 
declared  the  objects  of  the  new  settlements  to  be  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  true  and  Catholic  religion  among  numerous 
heathens  then  plunged  in  the  black  darkness  of  paganism,  the 
extension  of  the  dominions  of  the  king  and  the  protection 
of  California  from  the  ambitious  views  of  foreign  nations. 
He  also  declared  that  the  project  was  not  a  new  one;  that  it 
had  been  entertained  ever  since  1606,  soon  after  the  news  of 
Viscaino's  voyage  reached  Spain,  when  Philip  III.  had  it  in 
contemplation,  but  that  for  various  reasons  it  had  never  been 
carried  into  execution.  He  then  proceeded  to  order  the  dif- 
ferent original  settlements  to  be  made,  particularly  those  of 
San  Diego  and  Monterey,  and  prescribed  the  manner  and 
form  in  which  the  work  should  be  performed  and  the  laws  or 
rules  and  regulations  which  should  be  observed  by  the  sol- 
diers and  others,  as  well  among  themselves  as  in  their  inter- 
course with  the  natives.2  A  third  letter  of  instructions  was 
dated  San  Lucas,  February  14,  1769,  and  was  sent  after 
Fages.  In  it,  Galvez  gave  an  account  of  the  thriving  posture 
of  affairs  in  Lower  California  and  the  abundant  collection  of 
recruits  and  supplies  for  the  expedition  that  had  already  gone 
ahead ;  and  he  closed  with  the  hope  that  his  letter  would  find 
Fages  already  arrived  at  and  in  possession  of  Monterey  and 
that  there  would  be  no  delay  in  transmitting  to  him  the 
happy  news.3 

Monterey  was  not  reached  as  early  as  Galvez  anticipated; 
but  when  it  at  length  came  to  be  settled  in  May,  1770,  Fages 
was  in  the  land  party  that  marched  up  from  San  Diego  and 
took  possession  of  it.  Immediately  afterwards,  when  Fortola 
sailed  for  Mexico  as  will  be  recollected,  Fages  became  mili- 
tary comandante  and  performed  the  duties  of  temporary 
governor  until  the  appointment  and  arrival  at  Loroto  in  June, 
1771,  of- the  new  governor  Felipe  de  Barri,  when  his  func- 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  I,  4. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  I,   38-56. 

s  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  I,  57-60;  61,  62. 


PEDRO  FAGES.  529 

tions  as  temporary  governor  ceased.  Just  before  that  time, 
in  May,  1 771,  the  viceroy  De  Croix  had  sent  him  a  commission 
as  captain  of  infantry1  or,  as  sometimes  styled,  captain  of 
the  Catalonian  Volunteers."  The  next  year  Bucareli,  the  new 
viceroy,  finding  that  he  was  disagreeing  and  quarreling  with 
the  missionaries,  cautioned  him  against  such  a  course  and 
afterwards,  in  1772,  as  has  been  stated,  superseded  him  by  a 
special  appiontment  forwarded  to  Rivera  y  Moncada.  In  the 
summer  of  1774,  Faaes  left  for  Mexico  and  in  1776  made  a 
report  there  on  affairs  in  California.3  From  that  date  to  his 
march  against  the  Yumas  in  1781,  the  year  before  his  appoint- 
ment as  governor,  he  spent  his  time  chiefly  in  Sonora  and  in 
military  service  on  the  frontiers;  and  for  his  good  conduct 
and  efficiency  in  the  field  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
"  teniente-coronel  "  or  lieutenant-colonel.      *^ 

It  was  about  the  time  of  Pages'  appointment  as  governor 
that  the  first  mention  was  made  of  his  wife,  who  followed  him 
to  Alta  California  and  was,  it  seems,  the  first  lady  of  preten- 
sion that  made  her  residence  in  the  country.  Her  name  was 
Doha  Eulalia  Callis;  but,  being  the  wife  of  the  governor,  she 
was  usually  known  as  the  "  Seiiora  Gobernadora."  She  ap- 
pears to  have  crossed  the  gulf  with  a  little  son  in  1783.  Occu- 
pying so  prominent  a  position  as  she  did  and  undertaking  so 
great  a  task,  as  a  journey  to  California  in  those  days  must  have 
been  for  a  lady,  every  one  strove  to  contribute  to  her  comfort; 
and  every  care  was  taken  to  render  her  voyage  as  pleasant  as 
possible.  But  she  seems  to  have  been  either  a  lady  of  too 
high  and  exacting  a  spirit  or  to  have  been  sadly  abused  in 
her  new  home.  In  the  course  of  a  year  or  two,  as  the  records 
show,  she  and  her  husband  were  separated  and  engaged  in  a 
bitter  quarrel.  She  was  dissatisfied;  made  demands  with 
which  he  could  not  comply;  charged  him  with  infidelity,  and 
was  loud  and  boisterous  in  her  complaints.  There  was  great 
scandal.     Almost  everybody  of  consideration,  on  account  of 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P    S.  P.  I,  118. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  I,  455. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  I,  467. 

34    Vol.  I. 


530  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

the  prominence  of  the  principals,  became  more  or  less  em- 
broiled in  the  difficulty.  On  the  one  side,  the  missionaries,  to 
whom  Fages  had  appealed  to  bring  her  to  reason,  made  an 
effort  and  were  even  driven  so  far  by  her  violence  as  to  be 
obliged  to  threaten  her  with  stripes  and  hand-cuffs.  On  the 
other  hand,  Captain  Nicolas  Soler  who  had  been  left  in 
military  command  by  Felipe  de  Neve,  a  mutual  friend  of  the 
spouses,  endeavored  to  effect  a  compromise  and  reconciliation. 
But  he  found  it  such  hot  work  that  in  one  of  his  letters, 
describing  his  efforts,  he  spoke  of  fire  in  a  magazine  of  gun- 
powder, indicating  thereby  that  the  materials  with  which  he 
was  called  upon  to  deal  were  exceedingly  explosive.1  It  is 
not  exactly  known  how  the  quarrel  was  finally  composed; 
but,  as  little  further  is  heard  about  Eulalia  except  that  she  was 
afterwards  living  with  her  husband  and  children,"  it  is  to  be 
presumed  that  she  accepted  her  cross  and  possessed  herself  in 
patience,  as  Soler  advised  her  to  do;  and  that  thenceforth 
quiet  reigned  at  Monterey. 

In  the  meanwhile  Fages  commenced  his  administration; 
and  one  of  his  first  acts  was  an  order  that  no  one  should  leave 
California  without  his  permission,3  which  was  followed  up  by 
a  subsequent  order,  originating  with  the  comandante-general 
of  the  Internal  Provinces,  that  no  missionary  should  leave  the 
peninsula  without  license  or  passport  from  the  government.4 
This  was  afterwards  modified,  at  the  instance  of  the  president 
of  the  missions  of  Lower  California,  so  as  to  allow  Jose  Joa- 
quin de  Arrillaga,  the  captain  of  the  presidio  of  Loreto,  to 
issue  licenses  and  thus  obviate  the  necessity  of  applying  to 
Fages  at  Monterey.  It  followed  from  the  practice  of  requir- 
ing these  licenses  or  passports  and  from  the  practice,  estab- 
lished not  long  afterwards,  of  never  allowing  a  missionary  to 
leave  his  mission  except  in  the  company  of  several  soldiers 
with  the  apparent  object  of  watching  as  well  as  guarding 
him,5   that   the    liberty   of   the    missionaries    was   somewhat 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  I'.  V,  490,  491. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  VII,  560. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  IV.  3. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  1'.  S.  P.  VI,  221,  222. 

5  Cal.  Archives.  S.  I'.  II,  228,  229. 


PEDRO  FACES.  531 

restricted  and  that  the  government  assumed  a  certain  sort  of 
control  over  them,  which  thenceforth  it  continued  to  exercise. 
It  is  true  that  in  theory  such  control  had  always  existed;  but 
it  had  not  previously  been  found  necessary  to  issue  positive 
orders  upon  the  subject. 

The  next  matter  that  occupied  Pages'  attention  was  the 
immorality  of  the  soldiers,  as  well  officers  as  privates.  It  had 
been  the  policy  of  the  government,  in  order  both  to  attach 
the  natives  and  to  supply  the  want  of  wives,  to  induce  the 
soldiers  to  marry  neophyte  women  of  the  missions,  and  in 
1774  the  viceroy  Bucareli  ordered  cattle  and  land  to  be  given 
to  couples  of  that  kind;1  but  the  inducements  offered  were 
insufficient  to  attain  the  object  in  view:  marriages  were  few 
and  the  grossest  and  most  promiscuous  licenciousness  pre- 
vailed. This  became  at  length  so  glaring  that  the  comand- 
ante-general  of  the  Internal  Provinces  demanded  its  repres- 
sion; and  Fages  was  obliged  to  take  measures  to  put  a  stop 
to  the  excesses."  About  the  same  time,  in  addressing  a  series 
of  letters  to  Ignacio  Vallejo,  alcalde  of  San  Jose — one  about 
some  hens  and  a  mule  which  he  requested  the  latter  to  send 
him,  another  about  an  expedition  to  the  Tulare  country  after 
Indian  deserters,  a  third  about  his  own  reported  recall  which 
he  pronounced  without  foundation — he  took  occasion  in  a 
fourth  to  administer  a  castigation  to  his  correspondent  for  too 
intimate  an  acquaintance  with  the  daughter  of  one  Gonzalez. 
This  irregularity  on  Vallejo's  part,  Fages  said  he  felt  the  more 
keenly  as  he  had  commissioned  him  as  alcalde  in  the  belief 
and  confidence  that  he  would  suppress  immorality  instead  of 
himself  presenting  so  scandalous  an  example  of  it.3  He  also 
noticed  a  number  of  disturbances  that  had  occurred,  caused 
as  he  claimed  by  the  too  great  license  allowed  people  to 
murmur  against  those  in  authority;    and,  in  a   spirit  which 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  I,  283. 

-Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  II,  207,  208. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P.  S.  J.  I,  39-73.  In  the  last  mentioned  of  these  let- 
ters, dated  Monterey,  August  11,  1786,  Fages,  among  other  things,  said  to  Vallejo: 
"  Advierto  a  V.  M.  por  ultima  que  si  no  quiere  experimentarun  sobreojo,  se  aparte 
totalmente  de  dicha  mujer,  dandome  a  mi,  y  al  publico,  la  satisfaccion  que  corre- 
spondt  con  no  verla,  oyrla,  ni  entenderla." — D.  S.  P.  S.  J.  I,  72,  73. 


532  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

seems  strange  to  the  soil  of  California,  he  ordered  a  sort  of 
espionage  to  be  instituted  and  provided  that  murmurers 
should  be  punished.1 

In  January,  1787,  Fages  issued  a  long  series  of  instructions 
to  the  corporal  of  the  guard  of  Los  Angeles  and  thus  tried 
his  hand  at  legislation.  These  instructions  were  chiefly  direc- 
tions to  comply  with  and  execute  the  regulations  already 
established;  to  watch,  in  conjunction  with  the  "  comisionado" 
or  commissioner  and  alcalde,  over  the  welfare  of  the  pueblo, 
and  to  see  that  industry  and  thrift  were  practiced  and  good 
order  preserved.  They  also  included  regulations  in  reference 
to  agriculture,  stock-raising  and  other  industries  in  which  the 
colonists  were  interested,  and  in  reference  to  the  employment 
of  Indians — how  they  should  be  brought  from  the  rancherias, 
how  treated,  how  paid  for  their  services,  how  punished  for 
their  offenses  and  how  offenses  against  them  were  to  be 
redressed.  There  were  also  various  regulations  against  gam- 
bling, licentiousness  and  disorders  of  all  kinds,  and  also 
several  in  reference  to  attendance  upon  mass  and  religious 
services.  In  all  these  respects,  excellent  as  the  instructions 
were,  there  was  nothing  specially  new.  But  there  were  two 
provisions,  which  seem  to  have  been  original  with  Fages  and 
are  worthy  of  special  notice.  One  of  these,  to  which  he 
called  particular  attention,  was  an  order  to  prevent  what  he 
called  the  pernicious  familiarity  that  had  theretofore  been 
allowed  the  gentile  Indians;  and,  with  this  object  in  view,  he 
directed  that  thenceforth  when  such  Indians  were  employed 
in  grinding  meal  or  other  domestic  labor,  even  though  they 
were  women,  they  should  be  compelled  to  do  it  outside  the 
houses;  nor  should  they  be  permitted  to  sleep  inside;  and,  if 
from  distant  rancherias,  they  should  in  effect  be  herded  at 
night  near  the  guard-house  and  under  the  eyes  of  the  sentinel. 
The  other,  which,  perhaps,  throws  still  more  light  upon  the 
condition  of  affairs  in  that  old  municipality,  was  a  provision 
that  these  instructions  and  the  other  regulations  that  were  in 
force  and  had  the  effect  of  laws  should  every  month  without 
fail  be  publicly  read  in  presence  of  the  soldiers  and  all  the 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  II,  224,  225. 


PEDRO  PAGES.  533 

inhabitants  of  the  pueblo,  so  that  each  and  all  might  have  an 
opportunity  of  learning  their  respective  duties  and  obligations.1 

Having  thus  tried  his  hand  at  legislation  for  Los  Angeles, 
Fages  next  issued  several  letters  of  instruction  to  the  comand- 
ante  of  Monterey.  One  of  these  was  in  reference  to  certain 
disorders  of  common  occurrence,  occasioned  by  the  intercourse 
of  couriers  and  soldiers,  while  on  their  journeys  or  marches, 
with  Indians.  To  remedy  these,  he  ordered  that  no  courier 
or  soldier  should  leave  the  main  road,  or  stop  at  any  of  the 
rancherias  or  even  dismount  from  his  horse,  except  in  case  of 
urgent  necessity;  that  care  should  be  taken  to  provide  horses 
that  would  not  have  to  be  abandoned  on  the  road,  and  that 
no  one  should  under  any  pretext,  while  on  duty,  lay  aside  his 
arms  or  place  them  so  that  they  could  not  be  used  in  a  mo- 
ment on  any  emergency.2  Another  set  of  instructions  was  in 
relation  to  the  stealing  of  horses  and  cattle  by  the  neophytes, 
the  laws  for  the  punishment  of  which,  as  Fages  complained, 
had  been  too  much  relaxed;  and  he  ordered  that  offenders  of 
this  class  should  be  put  in  the  stocks  for  eight  days  and  receive 
twenty  stripes;  and,  in  case  of  second  offenses,  twenty  days 
in  the  stocks  and  thirty  stripes,  divided  between  the  first  and 
last  days  of  their  punishment.3  Another  set  of  his  instruc- 
tions was  directed  against  the  use  of  aguardiente  or  distilled 
liquor,  the  importation  and  sale  of  which  had  caused  the  most 
serious  disorders;  and  he  ordered,  as  the  best  means  of  pre- 
venting these,  the  total  prohibition  of  the  traffic  under  severe 
penalties,  at  the  same  time  calling,  though  doubtless  in  vain, 
upon  all  subordinates  to  enforce  his  orders.* 

On  January  I,  1788,  he  issued  a  reformed  tariff  of  prices, 
by  means  of  which  he  attempted  to  fix  the  market  value  of 
the  chief  articles  of  purchase  and  sale  in  the  province.  Ac- 
cording to  the  views  of  later  times  all  legislation  of  this  kind 
is  regarded  as  not  only  useless  but  positively  pernicious. 
The  days  of  Fages,  however,  preceded    the  era  of   political 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  VII,  456-466. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  VII,  467-469. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  VII,  470-473. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  VII,  53S-540. 


534  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

economy;  and  nearly  every  nation  had  something  more  or  less 
resembling  the  old  Spanish  schedules.  But  it  is  obvious  that 
in  the  nature  of  things  in  a  country  like  California  values 
must  have  changed  very  rapidly.  When  the  territory  was 
first  settled  and  provisions  and  cattle  had  to  be  brought  from  § 
Mexico,  either  by  a  long  and  tedious  voyage  in  the  teeth  of 
the  northwest  winds  or  by  the  still  longer  and  more  tedious 
journey  over  sandy  and  desolate  wastes  of  almost  intermin- 
able distances,  their  market  values  were  excessively  high; 
but,  according  to  the  normal  course  of  events,  their  real  values 
decreased  with  the  same  rapidity  that  the  agricultural  and 
stock-raising  interests  advanced.  They  were  excessively  dear 
at  first  because  the  demand  was  great  and  the  supply  small; 
but  in  a  few  years  the  exact  contrary  was  the  case,  the  demand 
being  small  on  account  of  the  superabundance  of  the  supply. 
Under  the  circumstances  of  such  great  and  rapid  changes  as 
were  thus  presented,  it  must  have  occurred  to  the  old  Califor- 
nians  that  there  was  something  wrong  in  the  system;  but  it 
was  a  time-honored  institution  and  could  not  easily  be  altered; 
and  the  consequence  was  that  every  few  years  the  tariff  had 
to  be  revised  and  new  prices  fixed.  The  work  of  Fages  was 
only  one  of  a  great  many  efforts  of  the  same  kind  that  were 
made  from  time  to  time;  and  it  is  interesting  now  mainly  as 
exhibiting  the  values  of  articles  at  the  time  it  was  promul- 
gated. Thus,  the  price  of  an  ox  for  the  yoke  or  a  cow  was 
fixed  at  five  dollars;  a  heifer  or  young  bull  at  four  dollars;  a 
sheep  at  from  one  to  two  dollars  according  to  age;  an  "arroba  " 
or  twenty-five  pounds  of  clean  wool  at  two  dollars;  a  chicken 
or  a  dozen  of  quails  at  about  twenty-five  cents;  an  ox-hide 
at  thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents;  the  same  tanned  into  leather 
at  two  dollars  and  a  quarter ;  a  "  fanega  "  or  nearly  two  bushels 
of  wheat  at  two  dollars,  of  maize  at  one  dollar  and  a  half,  of 
beans  or  lentiles  at  two  dollars  and  a  half,  of  peas  at  three 
dollars;  a  horse  broken  to  the  rein  at  nine  dollars;  a  three- 
years-old  mare  at  four  dollars,  and  a  mule  at  from  fourteen  to 
twenty  dollars  according  to  age  and  training.1 

While  Fages  was  thus  busy  in   writing  letters,  composing 

1  Cal.  Archives,  V.  S.  P.  VIII,  io8  in. 


PEDRO  FAGES.  535 

instructions  and  administering  public  affairs,  he  also  received 
various  communications  which  tended,  equally  well  with  his 
own  compositions,  to  illustrate  the  condition  of  the  society 
over  which  he  presided.  In  January,  1787,  for  instance,  he 
received  from  Jose  Francisco  Ortega,  one  of  the  original  pio- 
neers, who  had  been  some  years  before  comandante  of  San 
Diego  but  was  then  of  Rosario,  a  letter  of  thanks  for  a  prom- 
ised appointment  to  one  of  the  presidios  of  Alta  California. 
Ortega,  though  his  letter  appears  to  be  overflowing  with  com- 
pliments and  courtesies,  wrote  that  he  could  not  find  language 
in  which  to  express  his  gratitude  and  that  his  wife  and  three 
sons  were  in  the  same  situation;  but  he  kissed  the  superior 
hands  of  his  excellency  and  his  wife  threw  herself  at  the  feet 
of  her  ladyship,  the  gobernadora;  and  he  prayed  God  to 
prosper  their  important  lives  many  years  in  health,  grace  and 
the  favor  of  their  sovereign.  Profuse  expressions  of  this  kind 
were  common  in  almost  all  the  old  letters;  but  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  in  this  instance  Ortega  and  his  family  meant 
what  they  professed,  and  that,  in  such  and  like  cases,  the 
consideration  and  respect  with  which  the  governor  and  his 
lady  were  treated,  could  hardly  have  been  exceeded  even  if 
they  had  been  the  king  and  queen  of  Spain  visiting  Califor- 
nia and  holding  their  court  at  Monterey.1 

In  November,  1789,  Fages  received  from  Jose  Dario  Argu- 
ello,  the  comandante  of  San  Francisco,  a  letter  complaining 
of  the  criminal  conduct  of  one  of  his  soldiers,  named  Marcelo 
Pinto,  who  had  managed  to  find  admittance  to  and  had  dis- 
honored the  domestic  hearth  of  Francisco  Bernal.  Arguello 
related  in  detail  the  circumstances  how  Bernal,  having  his 
suspicions  aroused,  had  surprised  Pinto  and  pulled  him  out 
from  a  place  of  concealment,  and  how  Pinto  had  escaped  Ber- 
nal's  vengeance  by  being  arrested,  hand-cuffed  and  thrown 
into  prison.  On  this  state  of  facts,  Fages  was  asked  to  de- 
cide what  punishment  should  be  inflicted  in  view  of  such  an 
execrable  crime;2  and   it  was  suggested  that,  as   Pinto  had 

1  Cal.  Archi  -       .  VII,  559,  560. 

2  "  En  cuia  ]  n  mante  ngo  hasta  que  en  vista  de  tan  execrable  delito  se  sirva 
la  justification  S.  l<  terminar  lo  que  sea  mas  concentaneo  &  justicia." — Cal. 
Archives,  P.  S.  P.  VIII,  194. 


536  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

previously  been  a  thief  and  suffered  a  term  of  four  years  in 
the  public  works  and  was  incorrigible,  he  should,  among  other 
punishments,  be  expelled  the  public  service.1  And  this,  it 
seems,  was  Fages'  judgment  in  the  case. 

But  while  there  were  cases  like  that  of  Pinto  to  blacken  the 
picture,  there  were  others  of  nobility  of  character  which  stand 
out  in  bright  and  radiant  relief  against  the  dark  background. 
One  of  these  is  preserved  in  an  exquisite  letter  written  in 
February,  1790,  by  Jose  de  Zuniga,  the  comandante  of  San 
Diego,  to  his  mother  Doiia  Maria  Barbara  Martinez.  Ad- 
dressing her  in  the  most  affectionate  but  at  the  same  time 
respectful  terms  as  his  "  Estimably  dear  little  mother  and 
madam,"  he  complained  that  it  had  been  days  since  he  had 
heard  from  her  or  from  Don  Bonifacio;  and  in  his  anxiety  he 
prayed  God  it  was  not  on  account  of  want  of  good  health  on 
their  part:  as  for  himself,  he  was  strong  and  robust.  He 
had  the  pleasure  of  informing  her  that  in  the  course  of  the 
past  year  a  beautiful  church  had  been  commenced  at  the 
presidio  under  his  charge  and  an  image  in  honor  of  the  pure 
and  immaculate  conception  provided  for  it;  that  he  had  been 
instrumental  in  accomplishing  the  work  and  had  himself  per- 
sonally labored  as  a  mason  and  as  a  carpenter  and  had 
painted  the  whole  with  his  own  hands;  and  he  thanked  God 
that  she  would  thus  see  that  her  son,  who  had  done  things 
that  were  evil,  was  now  zealous  in  doing  things  that  were 
good.  He  went  on  to  say  that  he  sent  her  fifty  dollars  as  a 
present  for  herself  and  his  Senor  father,  and  ten  dollars  to  be 
expended  in  carmine,  vermilion  and  other  painting  materials, 
which  he  required  and  which  he  desired  should  be  forwarded 
to  him.  He  further  requested  if  she  had  any  comedies  to 
spare,  notwithstanding  they  might  be  old  ones,  that  she  would 
send  them;  for,  though  he  had  but  little  time  to  read,  yet 
they  would  serve  to  divert  him  in  those  solitudes;  and  he 
would  also  be  obliged  for  any  histories  of  the  Most  Holy  Vir- 
gin and  especially  any  works  on  the  mystery  of  the  pure  and 
immaculate  conception.  And  in  conclusion,  after  asking  for 
some  garden  and  flower  seeds,  and  excusing  himself  for  the 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  VIII,  193-195-  t* 


PEDRO  PAGES.  537 

trouble  he  caused,  he  again  recommended  himself  to  her  kind 
remembrance,  begged  her  to  present  his  obedient  regards  to 
his  Senor  father  and  signed  himself  her  most  affectionate  son, 
who  "  S.  P.  B.  [sus  pies  beso] — kisses  her  feet."1  A  single 
example  of  filial  love  and  duty  like  this,  so  honorable  alike  to 
both  son  and  mother,  is  sufficient  to  show  that,  though  there 
may  have  been  vices  among  the  very  early  settlers  of  Califor- 
nia occasioning  and  requiring  the  many  regulations  against 
immorality  which  Fages  deemed  it  necessary  to  issue,  there 
were  also  virtues  and  traits  of  character  out  of  which  heroisms 
might  have  developed. 

On  September  i,  1790,  the  Conde  de  Revillagigedo,  who 
had  in  October  of  the  previous  year  become  viceroy  of  New 
Spain,  wrote  to  Fages  informing  him  of  the  appointment  of  a 
gobernador  propietario  of  the  Californias  and  requesting  him 
to  turn  over  the  government."  This  successor  was  Jose  Anto- 
nio Romeu,  who.  however,  did  not  arrive  in  California  until 
March,  1 79 1 ,  and  not  at  Monterey  until  about  October  of  that 
year;  and  in  the  meanwhile  Fages  continued  to  exercise  the 
duties  of  the  office.  But  he  devoted  himself  more  particu- 
larly, during  this  period,  to  certain  improvements  which  he 
found  it  necessary  to  make  at  Monterey,  and  the  manner  in 
which  he  accomplished  the  work  not  only  attracted  much 
deserved  attention  afterwards  at  Mexico  but  proved  him  to 
be  a  man  of  singular  skill  and  capacity  for  affairs  of  this  nat- 
ure. It  appears  that  on  August  11,  1789,  a  fire  had  broken 
out  in  the  presidio  of  Monterey,  which,  being  in  those  days 
roofed  with  a  thatch  of  reeds  and  tules,  suffered  great  dam- 
age. Fages  at  once  turned  his  attention  to  rebuilding.  At 
the  same  time  he  conceived  the  idea  of  making  other  improve- 
ments, that  seemed  to  him  much  needed,  and  among  other 
things  to  replace  the  old  church,  which  was  small  and  badly 
situated  in  the  middle  of  the  plaza,  with  a  new  one,  larger, 
better  built  and  more  conveniently  located.  For  the  purpose 
of  securing  funds,  he  consulted  the  comandante-general  of  the 
Internal  Provinces,  but  with  such  poor  success  that  he  soon 

»  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  IX,  583-586. 
'2Cal.  Archives,  V^L  P.  IX,  607-609. 


538  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

abandoned  all  hope  of  aid  from  that  quarter  and  found  him- 
self forced  to  rely  entirely  upon  his  own  resources  and  such 
means  as  were  offered  by  nature  and  the  people  around  him. 
Building  materials  of  great  excellence  were  easily  found 
in  the  neighborhood,  stone,  timber,  lime  and  sand;  and  there 
were  laborers  enough  if  he  could  get  them  to  work  without 
too  great  cost  to  the  royal  treasury.  After  some  negotiations, 
he  managed  to  interest  three  stone-cutters  in  his  projects  and 
some  sailors  who  had  left  their  vessels,  and  then  made  ar- 
rangements for  a  large  force  of  gentile  Indian  workmen  from 
San  Jose,  whose  services  he  procured  by  agreement  with  their 
capitanejos  to  furnish,  in  payment  for  their  labor,  a  certain 
number  of  blankets,  cotton  stuffs,  beads  and  shells.  Having 
in  this  manner  collected  some  eighty  or  a  hundred  Indian 
workmen,  he  placed  them  in  charge  of  a  corporal  and  four 
soldiers,  who  took  possession  of  their  weapons  and  acted  as 
guards  on  their  march  to  Monterey,  while  the  civil  authorities 
of  San  Jose  were  directed  to  pacify  the  Indian  women,  who 
were  left  behind  in  the  rancherias.  Fages  undertook  to  pro- 
vide for  the  subsistence  of  his  dusky  employees;  and  upon 
their  arrival  at  Monterey,  they  were  fed  upon  regular  rations 
of  beef  for  breakfasts  and  boiled  maize  and  beans  for  dinners 
and  suppers.  After  a  sufficient  period  'of  rest,  in  the  course 
of  which  each  one  was  given  a  couple  of  strings  of  beads  and 
a  piece  of  light  woolen  or  cotton  cloth,  worth  about  seventy- 
five  cents,  and  was  permitted  to  go  down  to  the  beach  and 
collect  shells,  such  as  they  used  for  making  their  money  and 
ornaments,  they  commenced  work  on  the  new  church.  Being 
under  the  direction  of  skilled  white  artisans  and  well  fed  and 
great  care  being  taken  to  treat  them  with  kindness  and  hu- 
manity and  keep  them  in  good  humor,  they  labored  industri- 
ously and  with  excellent  results.  The  plan  of  the  new  edifice 
was  in  accordance  with  a  design  made  by  Antonio  Velasquez, 
director  of  the  royal  academy  of  San  Carlos;  and  it  was  fol- 
lowed as  closely  as  could  under  the  circumstances  be  ex- 
pected. But  be  this  as  it  may,  the  work  continued  to  go  for- 
ward under  Fages'  superintendence  for  upwards  of  two  years 


PEDRO  FACES.  539 

and  four  months  or  until  the  end  of  1 791,  when  he  laid  down 
his  authority;  and  it  appears  that  during  this  period,  at  the 
very  inconsiderable  expense  to  the  royal  treasury  of  about 
three  thousand  dollars,  he  erected  a  number  of  new  buildings 
forming  parts  of  the  presidio,  as  well  as  repaired  old  ones, 
besides  building  the  new  church.1 

The  last  official  act  of  Fages,  that  need  be  noticed,  was  a 
letter,  addressed  to  Jose  Dario  Arguello  though  intended  for 
his  own  successor  Romeu,  setting  forth  what  further  he  con- 
ceived necessary  to  be  done  for  the  improvement  of  Monterey 
and  advising,  among  other  things,  that  the  lime-kilns  should 
be  repaired  and  new  tile-kilns  erected."  He  had  always  been 
a  busy  and  energetic  man,  but  not  an  adroit  one.  He  had 
temper  and  weaknesses  that  involved  him  in  various  difficul- 
ties. He  was  always  more  or  less  at  variance  with  the 
missionaries,  which  fact  doubtless  contributed  to  his  superses- 
sion. He  was  far  from  being  a  Felipe  de  Neve;  but  at  the 
same  time  he  was  a  good  man,  honest,  earnest,  sincere;  nar- 
row-minded without  question,  but  well-intentioned.  He  is 
usually  regarded  as  having  been  governor  of  the  Californias 
from  September,  1782,  to  September,  1790,  a  period  of  eight 
years,  without  counting  the  six  or  seven  months  during  which 
he  exercised  the  duties  of  the  office  after  Romeu's  appoint- 
ment. After  laying  down  his  authority  and  towards  the  end 
of  1 79 1,  he  went  to  Mexico,  whither  his  wife  and  family, 
including  two  children  born  in  California,  had  preceded  him 
in  1790.  At  Mexico  in  August,  1793,  he  rendered  an  account 
and  report  of  his  Monterey  work,  and  a  few  years  afterwards 
he  died.3 


1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XIII,  440-453. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  X,  173-179. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XIII,  361,  440-447. 


CHAPTER    II. 

ROMEU   AND   ARRILLAGA. 

THE  Californias,  as  has  been  already  stated,  were  attached 
as  an  integral  part  to  what  were  known  as  the  Provincias 
Internas  or  Internal  Provinces  of  New  Spain.  This  juris- 
diction, including  all  the  northern  provinces  from  Texas  on 
the  east  to  Alta  California  on  the  west,  had  been  established 
about  1776  for  the  purpose  in  part  of  relieving  the  viceroy- 
alty  from  the  burden  of  their  management  and  in  part  of 
affording  a  more  immediate  and  effective  government  for 
regions  so  remote  from  Mexico.  But  the  new  jurisdiction, 
though  in  one  sense  independent,  was  in  fact  subordinate  to 
the  viceroyalty;  and  when  the  viceroy  saw  proper  to  interfere 
or  in  any  manner  interpose  in  the  affairs  of  any  of  the  prov- 
inces, his  orders  were  superior  and,  except  as  they  might 
be  affected  by  royal  authority,  supreme.  The  immediate 
government  of  these  provinces  thus  erected  into  a  subordi- 
nate jurisdiction,  was  vested  in  a  comandante-general,  who 
usually  resided  at  Arispe,  which  was  made  the  capital;1  and 
under  him  were  various  comandantes  -general  distributed 
to  the  respective  districts.  The  first  comandante  of  the 
Internal  Provinces  was  Teodoro  de  Croix,  the  same  who 
appointed  Fages  temporary  governor  of  the  Californias.  De 
Croix  was  succeeded  in  1783  by  Felipe  de  Neve;  and  Felipe 
de  Neve,  when  he  died  in  November,  1784,  was  succeeded  by 
Jose  Antonio  Rengel,  who  held  the  office  ad  interim  until  the 
appointment,  by  royal  commission  dated  October  6,  1785,  of 
Jacobo  de  Ugarte  y  Loyola.2 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  1'.  IV,  1.57. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  VI,  232-234. 

(540) 


JOSE  AXTONIO  ROMEU,  541 

In  1786,  it  having  been  found  that  the  vast  extent  of 
country  from  Alta  California  to  Texas,  as  it  became  more 
and  more  settled,  could  not  well  be  administered  by  the 
comandante-general  alone  without  further  subdivision  royal 
instructions  were  issued  for  creating  such  new  subdivi- 
sions. Texas  and  Coahuila  were  erected  into  one,  and  New- 
Mexico  and  New  Vizcaya  into  another,  and  each  placed  in 
charge  of  a  comandante-inspector;  while  the  Californias  and 
Sonora  were  left  under  the  immediate  and  direct  control  of 
Ugarte  y  Loyola,  the  comandante-general,  who  at  the  same 
time  continued  to  exercise  a  general  supervision  over  the 
whole  territory.  This  plan  of  government,  however,  was 
found  still  inadequate;  and  in  1787  new  instructions  or  regu- 
lations were  issued,  under  which  the  Internal  Provinces  were 
divided  into  two  separate  and  distinct  jurisdictions,  one  in  the 
east  and  one  in  the  west.  By  this  arrangement  the  Califor- 
nias were  united  with  Sonora,  New  Mexico  and  New  Vizcaya 
into  what  was  called  the  "  comandancia-general  "  of  the  four 
Internal  Provinces  of  the  West,  over  which  Ugarte  y  Loyola 
continued  in  control  as  comandante-general,  while  the  eastern 
provinces  were  erected  into  a  separate  comandancia  known 
as  that  of  the  Internal  Provinces  of  the  East.1 

While  this  system  lasted,  almost  all  the  orders  and  instruc- 
tions either  from  the  king  in  Spain  or  the  viceroy  in  Mexico, 
which  were  intended  for  California,  came  through  the  com- 
andante-general of  the  Internal  Provinces,  and  this  is  the 
reason  why  the  name  of  that  officer  was  attached  to  so  many 
of  the  papers  relating  to  California  during  the  period  referred 
to.  There  were  instances  in  which  orders  or  instructions 
were  transmitted  more  or  less  directly;  but  the  usual  course 
was  the  circuitous  one — first  from  the  king  or  his  council  to 
the  viceroy;  then  by  him  to  the  comandante-general  at  Arispe 
or  Chihuahua;  by  him  to  the  governor  of  the  Californias,  and 
by  him  to  the  comandante  of  the  presidio  or  to  the  particular 
officer  or  soldier  who  was  to  execute  them.  At  the  same 
time  it  was  usual  for  each  of  these  different  officers  to  pre- 
serve and  archive  all  documents  received  by  him  and  to  trans- 

1  Cal.  Archives,  M.  &  C.  I,  378-381. 


542  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

mit  entirely  new  papers  to  his  next  subordinate,  so  that  it 
sometimes  not  only  took  a  long  time  for  orders  to  reach  then- 
destination  but  they  often  did  so  in  a  form  very  different 
from  that  in  which  they  originally  issued.  Thus,  soon  after 
the  settlement  of  San  Francisco,  when  the  king  heard  of  the 
extraordinary  elks  in  that  neighborhood,  which  were  said  to 
be  as  large  as  oxen  and  with  antlers  so  monstrous  as  to  pre- 
vent their  running  against  the  wind,  he  desired  some  speci- 
mens for  his  royal  park.  He  accordingly  communicated  his 
orders  to  that  effect  to  the  viceroy  at  Mexico;  the  viceroy 
wrote  to  De  Croix  the  comandante-general  at  Arispe;  De 
Croix  wrote  to  De  Neve  the  governor  of  the  Californias;  by 
the  time  the  letter  reached  De  Neve,  Fages  had  become  gov- 
ernor: De  Neve  therefore  wrote  to  Fages  and  charged  him  to 
attend  to  the  matter,  at  the  same  time  ordering  Jose  Joaquin 
Moraga,  comandante  of  the  presidio  of  San  Francisco,  to  go 
out  and  catch  the  elks.  On  account  of  the  course  they  were 
thus  compelled  to  take,  it  was  sometimes  years  after  orders 
left  Spain  before  they  reached  San  Francisco.1 

Another  curious  document,  still  further  illustrating  the 
precise  but  circuitous  manner  in  which  the  public  correspond- 
ence was  carried  on,  was  a  letter  addressed  by  the  coman- 
dante-general Ugarte  y, Loyola  to  Governor  Fages  in  1787. 
It  appears  that  in  the  tropical  parts  of  America,  though  not 
within  many  hundreds  of  miles  of  California,  there  exist  cer- 
tain littleinsect  pests,  which,  when  they  get  an  opportunity, 
bore  into  and  bury  themselves  under  the  skin,  particularly  of 
the  feet,  of  living  persons  and  there  breed  their  young,  caus- 
ing festering  sores.  They  are  called  in  Spanish  "  neguas;"  in 
English  jiggers.  In  November,  1786,  the  Marques  de  Sonora, 
viceroy  of  Mexico,  wrote  to  Ugarte  y  Loyola  that  he  had 
received  a  letter  from  the  viceroy  of  Santa  Fe  in  South 
America  announcing  an  efficacious  remedy  against  the  rav- 
ages of  these  insects;  that  it  consisted  in  anointing  the 
attacked  parts  with  cold  olive  oil,  the  effect  of  which  was  to 
kill  the  jiggers  and  allow  the  sacs  containing  them  to  be 
easily  extracted;  that  the  king  desired  the  discovery  to  be 

1  Cal.  Archives,  1'.  S.  P.  Ill,  503,  503',. 


JOSE  ANTONIO  ROMEb.  543 

published  by  a  bando  or  proclamation  in  order  that  it  might 
come  to  the  notice  of  all,  and  that  he  should  see  that  those 
afflicted  used  the  remedy  which  was  as  simple  as  it  was 
effectual.  In  obedience  to  these  orders,  Ugarte  y  Loyola  in 
April,  1787,  transmitted  an  account  of  the  precious  discovery 
to  California  and  directed  Fages  to  publish  it  throughout  his 
province;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Fages  complied 
literally  with  the  instruction  by  causing  it  to  be  posted  up  at 
the  main  entrance  of  every  presidio  in  the  Californias.1 

A  more  interesting  document,  which  seems  to  be  the  last 
of  a  series  on  the  same  subject,  though  neither  that  of  the 
viceroy  nor  that  of  the  comandante-general  is  preserved,  was 
a  letter  addressed  on  May  13,  1789.  from  Santa  Barbara  by 
Governor  Fages  to  Jose  Dario  Arguello,  comandante  of  San 
Francisco.  It  was  marked  "reservada"  or  confidential.  In 
it,  Fages  informed  Arguello  that  as  soon  as  there  should 
arrive  at  the  port  of  San  Francisco  a  ship  called  the  Colum- 
bia and  said  to  belong  to  General  Washington — his  spelling 
was  Waughengton — of  the  American  States  under  command 
of  John  Kendrick,  which  sailed  from  Boston  in  September, 
1787,  on  a  voyage  of  discovery  to  the  establishments  held  by 
the  Russians  "on  the  northwest  coast  of  this  peninsula,''  he 
should  with  discretion,  prudence,  tact  and  caution  cause  the 
vessel  and  those  who  sailed  in  it  to  be  secured,  and  do  the 
same  with  a  small  paquebot  which  it  had  under  its  protec- 
tion and  any  other  foreign  and  suspicious  vessel,  giving  him 
in  such  case  prompt  notice  for  such  action  as  he  might  deem 
expedient.2  Although,  as  has  been  stated,  this  letter  is  the 
only  document  relating  to  the  subject  in  the  California 
archives,  there  is  every  probability  that  Fages  received  his 
information  and  instructions  from  head-quarters  and  in  the 
usual  way  through  the  comandante-general  at  Arispe.  But 
be  this  as  it  may,  his  caution  was  altogether  useless.  About 
a  year  before  Fages  wrote  his  tardy  letter,  the  famous  Boston 
ship,  first  of  American  circumnavigators  and  afterwards  dis- 
coverer of  the  Columbia  river,  had  passed  far  northward  of 

1  Cal.  Archives,  M.  &  C.  I,  368. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  M.  &  C.  I,  371. 


544  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

the  latitude  of  San  Francisco  and  did  not  touch  anywhere  in 
its  neighborhood. 

But  the  authority  exercised  over  California  affairs  by  the 
comandante-general  of  the  Internal  Provinces  was  not  limited 
to  the  mere  transmission  of  laws,  orders,  instructions  and  reg- 
ulations or  to  the  mere  appointment  of  a  temporary  governor 
or  other  subordinate  officer.  He  claimed,  and  in  some 
instances  exercised,  the  right  of  granting  lands  and  thus 
wielded  one  of  the  highest  attributes  of  sovereignty.  An 
example  of  this  kind  occurred  in  November,  1789,  when 
Ugarte  y  Loyola  ordered  a  grant  of  certain  lots  to  be  made 
at  the  mission  of  San  Luis  Obispo.  The  grantee  was  Fran- 
cisco Cayuelas,  a  retired  corporal,  who  had  married  a  neo- 
phyte woman  and  petitioned  in  right  of  his  wife  as  well  as 
of  himself;  and  it  seems  from  the  fact  that  Fages  referred 
the  petition  to  the  comandante-general,  that  his  authority  to 
order  such  grants  was  unquestioned.  But  at  the  same  time 
Ugarte  y  Loyola  referred  to  general  laws,  that  had  been  pre- 
scribed, and  suggested  that  they  ought  to  be  a  sufficient  guide 
for  the  action  of  the  governor.1 

The  comandante-general  of  the  Internal  Provinces  also 
appears  to  have  exercised  judicial  authority  over  the  Califor- 
nias  at  least  up  to  about  the  end  of  1791,  when  Pedro  de 
Nava,  who  in  November,  1790,  had  succeeded  Ugarte  y 
Loyola,  disclaimed  the  jurisdiction.  It  was  well  understood 
that  the  captains,  military  chiefs  and  governors  of  California 
were  authorized  to  act  as  ordinary  judges  of  first  instance  in 
all  causes,  both  civil  and  criminal,  arising  in  their  respective 
districts.  But  it  seems  to  have  been  a  custom  in  important 
cases  to  transmit  the  papers  for  decision  to  the  comandante- 
general.  Towards  the  end  of  1791,  however,  on  occasion  of 
a  prosecution  for  bigamy,  when  the  captain  of  the  presidio 
where  the  offense  occurred,  after  taking  the  usual  informa- 
tion, sent  the  documents  to  De  Nava  then  at  Chihuahua 
for  decision,  that  officer  hesitated  to  act;  and,  after  taking 
cojnsel  with  the  assessor  or  law-adviser  of  the  comandancia, 
he  refused  to  entertain  the  cause  on  the  ground  that  his  juris- 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XIV,  494,  495. 


JOSE  ANTONIO  ROMEU.  545 

diction  was  military  rather  than  judicial  and  that  the  only 
proper  course  of  procedure  was  for  the  captain  or  other 
officer,  acting  as  judge  of  first  instance,  to  decide  every 
cause  before  him — and  from  his  decision  an  appeal  might 
be  taken  to  the  royal  audiencia  or  supreme  court.  In 
this  way,  as  he  took  occasion  to  remark,  not  only  would  a 
more  speedy  and  satisfactory  administration  of  justice  be 
secured,  but  the  comandancia  under  his  charge  would  be 
relieved  from  business,  not  properly  cognizable  by  it,  which 
embarrassed  and  disturbed  the  dispatch  of  other  affairs  that 
were  within  its  peculiar  jurisdiction  and  deserved  all  its 
attention.1 

It  thus  appears  that  the  Californias,  as  long  as  they  were 
a  part  of  the  Internal  Provinces  or  of  the  Internal  Provinces 
of  the  West,  were  in  most  respects  subject  to  the  comand- 
ancia-general  of  those  provinces.  And  during  the  adminis- 
tration of  Fages,  as  has  been  seen,  the  comandante-general 
so  constantly  interposed  his  authority  that  their  government 
and  even  their  capital  may  be  said  to  have  been  rather  at 
Arispe  than  at  Monterey.  But  at  the  same  time  the  viceroy 
at  Mexico  possessed  superior  jurisdiction  in  case  he  saw 
proper  to  exercise  it.  This  Revillagigedo  did  soon  after  his 
assumption  of  the  office  of  viceroy  and  his  appointment  of 
Governor  Romeu;  and  from  that  time,  during  his  administra- 
tion and  that  of  his  successor  Branciforte,  most  of  the  Cali- 
fornia business  was  transacted  with  the  viceregal  government 
directly 

Lieutenant-colonel  Jose  Antonio  Romeu  was  the  fifth  gov- 
ernor of  the  Californias.  He  was  appointed  and  commissioned 
by  Revillagigedo  in  the  spring  of  1790  and  in  September  of 
that  year  ordered  to  his  post.'2  He  was  at  that  time  in  Mex- 
ico, but  soon  afterwards  started,  with  his  wife  and  family,  for 
California  and  arrived  at  Loreto  in  March,  1791.3  In  April 
he  took  possession  of  the  government*  and  immediately  after- 

»  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XI,  48-50. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XI,  530. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  X,  144. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  X,  163,  434. 
.  35    Vol.  I. 


546  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

wards  sent  notice  of  his  appointment  and  induction  into  office 
to  the  comandante-general,  then  at  Chihuahua,1  and  trans- 
mitted a  report  of  his  proceedings  to  the  viceroy. 2  From 
Loreto  he  proceeded  to  Monterey,  but  did  not  arrive  there- 
until near  the  middle  of  October.  His  health  was  not  good 
when  he  embarked  for  Loreto  and  soon  after  he  reached 
Monterey  it  became  very  bad.  In  November  he  wrote  to  the 
viceroy,  describing  his  sleeplessness,  the  oppression  of  his 
breast  and  the  acute  pains  he  suffered.  He  begged  that  any 
remissness  in  his  correspondence  might  be  imputed  to  the 
fact  that  his  condition  was  not  equal  to  his  desire  to  do  his 
duty  but  he  hoped  soon  to  be  able  to  fulfill  all  his  obligations.3 
In  January,  1792,  he  wrote  to  the  comandante-general  at 
Chihuahua  that  he  had  ordered  certain  repairs  to  be  made  at 
the  arsenal  and  warehouse  at  Loreto; 4  and  this  was  about  all 
the  business  he  was  able  to  do.  His  disease  increased;  his 
condition  became  more  and  more  alarming;  and  by  the 
beginning  of  April  it  became  evident  that  he  could  not  long 
survive.  On  the  fifth  of  that  month,  Jose  Dario  Arguello, 
who  was  acting  as  temporary  comandante  of  Monterey, /upon 
being  informed  of  the  governor's  serious  illness,  asked  a  cer- 
tificate of  the  fact  from  Pablo  Soler,  the  physician  in  charge. 
Upon  receiving  it,  deeming  the  circumstances  sufficiently 
grave  to  warrant  his  action,  he  called  together  a  council  of 
officers  and  propounded  to  them  for  resolution  a  series  of 
questions  as  to  the  temporary  disposition  of  the  government 
in  the  event  of  Romeu's  death. 

The  council  consisted,  besides  Arguello  himself,  of  Lieu- 
tenant Jose  Francisco  de  Ortega  of  Loreto,  Lieutenant  Felipe 
de  Goycoechea  of  Santa  Barbara  and  Ensign  Hermenegildo 
Sal  of  San  Francisco,  who  happened  to  be  present  at  Mon- 
terey, waiting,  as  would  appear  from  what  took  place  in 
the  council,  for  further  orders  whether  to  return  to  their 
respective   commands   or    be   disposed    of   differently.     The 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVIII,  321. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  V,  830-832. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  V,  850,  851. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII.  346. 


JOSE  ANTONIO  ROMEU.  547 

questions  propounded  were:  First,  In  case  of  the  governor's 
death,  upon  whom  should  the  office  of  interino  or  temporary 
governor  devolve  ?  Secondly,  What  measures  should  be 
taken  in  view  of  the  imminent  danger  of  such  death  ? 
Thirdly,  In  case  of  the  governor's  death,  should  the  coman- 
darites  of  Santa  Barbara  and  San  Francisco  resume  their 
commands?  Fourthly,  In  such  case,  what  disposition  should 
be  made  in  reference  to  Lieutenant  Ortega?  And  after  full 
and  solemn  deliberation  it  was  resolved  and  determined,  in 
answer  to  the  first  question,  that  Captain  Jose  Joaquin  de 
Arrillaga,  comandante  of  Loreto,  was  the  proper  person  to 
assume  the  office  of  temporary  governor;  in  answer  to  the 
second,  that  immediate  notice  of  the  condition  of  affairs  and 
of  the  action  of  the  council  should  be  dispatched  to  Arrillaga 
in  order  that  he  might  make  such  dispositions  as  he  should 
think  proper;  in  answer  to  the  third,  that  in"  case  of  the  gov- 
ernor's death  all  the  officers  of  the  council  should  go  to  his 
house,  take  charge  of,  seal  up  and  place  in  a  safe  and  secret 
place  of  deposit  all  the  archives,  and  then  Goycoechea  and  Sal 
should  return  to  their  presidios  and  resume  their  commands; 
and  in  answer  to  the  fourth,  that  in  the  same  case  Ortega 
should  return  to  Loreto  and  report  to  Arrillaga.1 

Pablo  Soler  was  too  good  a  physician  to  be  mistaken  in  his 
diagnosis.  Nothing  could  save  the  life  of  the  governor.  He 
died  on  April  9,  1792,"  having  filled  the  office  a  little  more 
than  a  year  and  seven  months,  though  actually  in  possession 
of  it  only  a  year  and  at  Monterey  less  than  six  months.  Two 
days  after  his  death,  the  government  archives  having  in  the 
meanwhile  been  secured,  Arguello  proceeded  to  the  house  of 
the  deceased  for  the  purpose  of  making  an  inventory  and 
settling  his  estate.  He  met  there  Dona  Josefa  Sandoval  de 
Romeu,  the  afflicted  widow,  who  exhibited  to  him  a  will  duly 
executed  by  her  husband  before  he  had  left  Mexico,  appoint- 
ing her  his  executrix  and  guardian  of  his  children.  There 
was  no  property  to  administer  except  the  personal  effects, 
which  were  handed  over  to  the  widow;    and  the  business  of 

'  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXII,  85-89. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XI,  186;  S.  P.  Ill,  297. 


548  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

administration  was  therefore  closed  and  a  formal  certificate  to 
that  effect  made  out  and  signed  by  Arguello  and  the  widow 
and  by  Pablo  Soler  and  Sergeant  Manuel  de  Vargas.1  On 
May  3,  news  of  the  death  reached  Arrillaga  at  Loreto/ 
who  thereupon  assumed  the  direction  of  affairs  as  temporary 
governor  and  soon  afterwards  addressed  a  circular  to  the  com- 
andantes  of  Alta  California  in  which,  among  other  things, 
he  spoke  feelingly  and  kindly  of  the  dead  governor  whom  it 
had  pleased  an  inscrutable  Providence  to  remove  to  a  better 
life.3  On  July  8,  when  the  news  reached  Mexico,  Revilla- 
gigedo,  the  viceroy,  wrote  to  Arrillaga,  recognizing  him  as 
temporary  governor  and  directing  him  to  exercise  the  duties 
of  the  office  until  a  new  and  regular  appointment  should  be 
made;  and  he  especially  charged  him  to  pay  all  proper 
respect  and  attention  to  the  widow  and  family  of  Romeu  and 
to  furnish  for  their  return  to  Mexico  all  the  aid  and  assistance 
they  might  require/  Subsequently  the  viceroy,  to  show  still 
further  honor  and  respect  to  the  memory  of  Romeu,  wrote 
Arrillaga  to  detail  Ensign  Jose  Perez  Fernandez  of  San 
Francisco  to  accompany  the  widow  and  family  to  Mexico; 
but  the  order  did  not  reach  California  until  November;5  and 
they  had  sailed  from  Monterey  in  October. 6 

Jose  Joaquin  de  Arrillaga,  the  sixth  governor  of  the  Cali- 
fornias,  was  a  native  of  the  province  of  Guipuzcoa  in  Spain, 
born  about  1750.  He  entered  the  military  career  as  a  volun- 
teer in  1777  and  after  six  years  of  service  in  Sonora  and  Coa- 
huila,  in  the  course  of  which  he  made  three  active  campaigns 
against  the  Seris  and  Pima  Indians  and  rose  to  the  rank  of 
lieutenant,7  he  was  in  1783  appointed  by  De  Croix,  the  com- 
andante-general  of  the  Internal  Provinces,  to  the  office  of 
captain  of  the  presidio  of   Loreto.8     He  landed    there    and 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXII,  83,  84. 

*Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XI,  162. 

s  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  VI,  348. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  VIII,  639,  638. 

*Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  213,  214. 

«  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  222. 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  Ill,  462;  P.  S.  P.  XV,  537. 

8  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  IV,  126. 


JOSE  JOAQUIN  DE  ARRILLAGA.  549 

assumed  command  on  September  29,  1785 ; l  and  from  that 
time  until  his  death  in  18 14  he  was  not  only  identified  with 
but  was  a  large  factor  in  California  affairs. 

Upon  his  accession  to  the  office  of  governor  interino  in  May, 
1792,  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to  address  the  comandantes 
of  the  four  presidios  of  Alta  California,  expressing  his  great 
faith  and  confidence  in  their  superior  intelligence  and  long 
experience  and  calling  upon  them  to  aid  and  assist  him  in 
carrying  on  the  government.''  He  next  turned  his  attention 
to  the  regulation  and  adjustment  of  the  accounts  of  the 
troops  in  Alta  California,  which  for  a  number  of  years  had 
been  neglected.3  He  then  addressed  himself  to  the  project 
of  one  Alejandro  Jordan  to  found  a  colony  in  Alta  California, 
as  to  the  feasibility  of  which  the  viceroy  had  asked  his  opin- 
ion. Jordan  claimed  that  the  expenses  of  the  department  of 
San  Bias,  especially  for  provisions  and  marine  stores  furnished 
by  it  to  Californian  vessels,  were  entirely  too  high ;  and  he 
proposed,  if  supplied  with  a  dozen  and  a  half  of  men,  two 
dozen  axes,  saws,  clothing,  carpenter  tools  and  other  articles 
besides  a  salary  of  four  thousand  dollars  for  himself,  to  found 
a  colony  in  the  new  territory  and  within  three  years  to  furnish 
all  the  supplies  that  were  needed.  But  at  the  same  time  he 
desired  that  he  and  his  colony  should  be  independent  of  the 
California  authorities  and  subject  only  to  the  superior  orders 
of  the  viceroy.  Arrillaga,  in  reply,  wrote  that  he  could  see 
no  necessity  for  a  colony  and  particularly  not  for  such  an 
expensive  one  as  was  proposed;  that  so  far  as  the  articles 
which  Jordan  offered  to  furnish  were  concerned,  all  that  was 
requisite  was  a  request  from  his  excellency  to  the  governor 
and  the  president  of  the  missions  to  furnish  them  and  they 
would  be  supplied,  and  that  as  to  the  proposition  to  make 
the  colony  independent  of  the  California  authorities,  it  was 
altogether  inadmissible.4 

These  matters  detained  the  new  governor  at  Loreto  until 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  IV,  148. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  VI,  348-351;   IX,  452-454. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P    VIII,  644-646. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI.  210  212. 


550  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

the  middle  of  January,  1793,  when  he  finally  set  out  on  his 
journey  for  Monterey  and  reached  San  Diego  in  March.1 
There  he  found,  not  only  by  inspection  of  the  presidio  of  that 
place  but  by  letters  from  the  comandantes  of  the  other  pre- 
sidios, that  Alta  California  was  entirely  defenseless;  and  as 
the  remedying  of  the  defects,  which  were  so  apparent,  was 
the  duty  lying  next  at  hand,  he  immediately  wrote  to  the 
viceroy,  setting  forth  the  condition  of  affairs  and  calling  for 
aid.  He  then  proceeded  to  Monterey,  where  he  found  a  letter 
from  the  viceroy  giving  him  notice  that  a  schooner  and  launch 
had  been  dispatched  from  San  Bias  with  orders  to  take  pos- 
session of  and  occupy  Bodega.  Upon  receiving  this  informa- 
tion, Arrillaga  hastened  on  to  San  Francisco'2  and  immediately 
sent  Lieutenant  Felipe  de  Goycoechea  with  a  company  of 
chosen  men  to  open  communication  with  Bodega;  and,  as 
soon  as  Goycoechea  left,  he  himself  set  about  fortifying  San 
Francisco. 

It  appears  that  at  that  time  no  resistance  whatever  could 
have  been  opposed  to  an  armed  vessel  entering  any  of  the 
ports  of  the  coast.  At  San  Francisco  there  was  only  one 
small  cannon  and  that  of  little  or  no  account,  while  at  Mon- 
terey, although  there  was  some  ordnance  and  ammunition 
that  had  been  left  the  previous  year  by  Bodega  y  Quadra, 
there  was  no  one  to  manage  them.  Santa  Barbara  and  San 
Diego  were  in  no  better  condition.  Vancouver  on  his  recent 
visit  had  noticed  these  defects  and  it  was  thought  not  impos- 
sible that  he  might  take  advantage  of  them;  while,  as  Arril- 
laga wrote  to  the  viceroy,  any  of  the  numerous  pirates,  who 
infested  the  Pacific,  might  at  any  time  run  in  and  harry  the 
whole  country  unopposed.3  Under  the  circumstances,  defense 
being  the  very  first  thing  to  be  attended  to,  Arrillaga  set 
about  it  with  zeal  and  energy.  On  August  5,  1793,  he 
selected  a  site  for  a  fort  on  the  bluff  constituting  the  extreme 
northern  point  of  the  peninsula  of  San  Francisco  and  south- 
ern side  of  the  Golden  Gate,  now  known  as  Fort  Point,  and 

1  Cal.  Archives,  V.  S.  P.  XXI,  231. 
»Cal.  Archives,  1>    S.  P.  XXI,  273,  274. 
a  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  236. 


JOSE  JOAQUIN  DE  ARRILLAGA.  551 

began  fortifying  it  with  cannon  that  had  just  arrived  from 
San  Bias.1  A  few  days  afterwards  Goycoechea  and  his  party 
returned  from  Bodega.  That  officer  had  spent  several  days  in 
cruising  over  the  intervening  country  and  reaching  Bodega; 
but  upon  arriving  there  he  ascertained  that  the  schooner  and 
launch,  after  touching  and  finding  the  place  vacant,  had  aban- 
doned the  proposed  settlement  and  sailed  for  San  Francisco; 
and,  there  being  nothing  left  for  him  to  do  but  to  retrace  his 
steps,  he  had  accordingly  done  so.2 

While  Arrillaga  was  building  his  fort  at  San  Francisco,  hlT 
gave  a  description  to  the  viceroy  of  the  different  presidios. 
That  of  San  Francisco  consisted  of  the  house  of  the  com- 
andante  and  six  others,  constructed  of  thick  adobe  and  mud 
walls  and  roofed  with  a  thatch  of  tules,  which  had  to  be  re- 
newed every  year.  There  was  also  a  small  chapel  and  a  few 
store-houses,  built  in  the  same  manner  and  all  liable  to  be 
destroyed  in  the  course  of  a  single  rainy  season.  These 
formed  two  sides  of  the  presidio  square :  the  other  sides  were 
open  and  entirely  exposed,  except  for  the  guard-house,  which, 
however,  was  so  badly  planned  and  built  that  it  afforded  no 
protection.  The  presidios  of  Monterey  and  Santa  Barbara 
were  in  better  condition,  the  first  on  account  of  the  repairs 
recently  made  by  Governor  Fages  and  the  second  on  account 
of  its  recent  construction,  while  that  of  San  Diego  was  in  so 
bad  a  state,  owing  chiefly  to  the  rottenness  of  the  timbers 
that  had  been  used,  as  to  be  threatened  with  complete  ruin  at 
almost  any  moment.3  To  remedy  the  worst  of  the  defects  a 
few  improvements  were  made  by  order  of  the  governor  in 
each  of  the  presidios;  but  they  did  not  amount  to  much. 
Even  the  labor  that  was  expended  was  so  unskillfully  applied 
as  to  do  very  little  good.  When  Arrillaga  undertook  to  build 
his  San  Francisco  fort,  he  could  not  find  among  his  people 
any  person  that  understood  the  mason  business;  and  it  is 
likely  that  he  would  have  had  to  give  up  his  plans,  had  it  not 
been   for  one  Toribio  Ruiz,  a  roving  journeyman  who  had 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  2S6,  287. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI.  287,  188. 
:t  Cal.   Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI.  288  292. 


552  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

happened  to  drift  into  Monterey  the  year  before  and,  being 
enamored  of  the  country,1  had  settled  there.  This  indi- 
vidual, for  want  of  somebody  more  competent,  Arrillaga 
employed ;  and  under  his  directions,  apparently  acting  in  the 
threefold  capacity  of  architect,  superintendent  and  builder, 
the  work,  such  as  it  was,  was  done.'2 

From  San  Francisco  Arrillaga  in  September  returned  to 
Monterey;  and  in  January,  1794,  he  wrote  out,  for  the  inspec- 
tion of  the  viceroy,  a  short  account  of  his  administration. 
One  of  his  main  objects,  as  he  said,  had  been  to  preserve 
public  peace  and  tranquillity,  and  there  had  been  nothing  to 
wish  for  in  that  respect.  Progress  had  been  made  in  the 
conversion  of  the  gentiles  and  in  the  recovery  of  fugitives  who 
had  escaped  from  the  missions.  A  few  individuals  had  been 
granted  tracts  of  land  in  the  vicinity  of  Monterey  and  encour- 
aged to  cultivate  them.  Some  useless  soldiers  had  been  dis- 
charged and  regulations  put  in  force  to  prevent  the  vice  of 
gambling  among  others;  and,  lastly,  particular  attention  had 
been  paid  to  the  religious  observances,  which  were  required 
of  the  troops;  and  he  thought  he  was  justified  in  saying  that, 
although  there  was  room  for  great  improvement  in  these 
respects,  still  there  had  been  much  progress  and  much  more 
was  to  be  hoped  for.3 

It  was  about  this  same  time  that  news  arrived  of  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  propietario  or  regular  governor  in  the  person 
of  Lieutenant-colonel  Diego  de  Borica;  and  Arrillaga  began 
making  arrangements  for  transferring  the  government.  In 
contemplation  of  this,  he  drew  up  a  long  document,  consist- 
ing of  thirty-two  separate  paragraphs,  for  the  information  of 
his  successor,  setting  forth  the  condition  of  the  province  and 
giving  a  brief  account  of  what  had  transpired  during  his  in- 
cumbency. In  addition  to  a  substantial  repetition  of  what  he 
had  already  written  to  the  viceroy,  he  called  attention  to  the 
dangers  of  the  fires  which  the  Indians  were  accustomed  to 
kindle  for  the  purpose  of  burning  off  the  dry  grass;  next,  to 

1  "  Enamorado  del  pais." — Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.   P.  XXI,  309. 

a  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  309. 

3  Cal.   Archives,  P.  S.  I".  XXI.  321,  322. 


JOSE  JOAQUIN  DE  ARRILLAGA.  553 

certain  disturbances  in  the  two  pueblos  of  San  Jose  and  Los 
Angeles,  chiefly  in  relation  to  the  use  of  municipal  property 
and  the  pasturage  of  cattle  on  the  common  grounds;  next,  to 
the  qualifications  and  conditions  under  which  the  lands  near  / 
Monterey  had  been  granted;  next,  to  the  regulation  of  the 
business  of  stock-raising;  next,  to  the  fortifications  going  for- 
ward at  the  different  presidios,  and,  next,  to  the  skilled 
mechanics,  who  were  in  the  country,  and  their  employments. 
He  then  spoke  of  the  chief  prisoners,  who  were  to  be  turned 
over  to  the  charge  of  the  new  governor.  One  was  a  Christian 
Indian  of  San  Antonio,  named  Macario,  confined  at  San 
Francisco  for  having  cruelly  beaten  and  perhaps  murdered 
his  wife.  Another  was  a  Christian  Indian  of  San  Francisco, 
lamed  Charquin,  who  was  confined  at  Santa  Barbara  on 
account  of  flight  from  his  mission  and  harboring  other  fugi- 
tives. There  were  three  Indians  confined  at  San  Diego,  two 
gentiles  and  one  neophyte,  for  attempting  to  burn  the  mission 
and  murder  the  guard  of  San  Miguel.  And  in  conclusion  he 
spoke  about  the  necessity  of  greater  care  and  circumspection 
on  the  part  of  the  troops  in  guarding  the  province  and  the 
means  on  hand  for  paying  them  their  salaries  and  wages.1 

Having  thus,  in  anticipation  of  his  successor's  arrival,  put 
all  the  affairs  of  his  office  of  governor  interino  in  order,  Arril- 
laga  prepared  to  return  to  Loreto  and  resume  the  special 
duties  of  his  office  of  comandante  of  that  point.  There  was 
much  to  be  done  there.  Since  the  year  1773,  when  the  Fran- 
ciscans turned  over  the  missions  of  Lower  California  to  the 
Dominicans,  the  latter  had  extended  the  mission  system 
northward  along  the  ocean  coast  by  the  foundation  of  five 
new  establishments.  The  first  of  these,  commencing  with  the 
most  southerly,  was  the  mission  called  by  them  Rosario, 
though  different  of  course  from  the  old  Jesuit  mission  of 
Rosario  de  Mulege.  The  new  Rosario  was  located  to  the 
south  of  San  Quentin  bay  and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  in  a  direct  line  southeasterly  from  San  Diego.  The 
second,  going  northwesterly  from  Rosario,  was  the  mission  of 
San  Domingo.  It  was  to  the  north  of  San  Simeon  bay  and 
1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XII,  491-498. 


554  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

about  thirty-six  miles  in  a  direct  line  from  Rosario.  About 
the  same  distance  northwest  of  San  Domingo  was  San  Vicente. 
The  fourth  was  Santo  Tomas,  some  eighteen  or  twenty  miles 
from  San  Vicente;  and  the  fifth  and  last  was  San  Miguel 
to  the  north  of  Todos  Santos  bay  and  a  day's  journey  south- 
erly from  San  Diego.  With  the  foundation  of  these  new  mis- 
sions the  entire  northern  part  of  the  ocean  coast  of  Lower 
California  was  occupied.  But  there  was  nothing  yet  done  for 
the  northern  part  of  the  gulf  coast  and  the  territory  about 
the  mouth  of  the  Colorado  river.  It  had  for  many  years  been 
regarded  as  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  establish  one  or 
more  missions  in  that  neighborhood,  both  on  account  of  the 
numbers  of  gentiles  inhabiting  those  regions  and  also  on 
account  of  securing  safe  and  direct  overland  communication 
between  the  Californias  and  Sonora.  It  had  been  with  these 
objects  in  view  that  the  Franciscan  college  of  Queretaro  had 
established  the  two  missions  on  the  Colorado,  which  were 
destroyed  by  the  Indians  in  1781  at  the  same  time  that  Cap- 
tain Rivera  y  Moncada  and  a  number  of  his  soldiers,  then  on 
their  way  with  horses  and  cattle  from  Sonora  to  California, 
were  overpowered  and  killed.  After  that  catastrophe  no  fur- 
ther steps  were  taken  until  Father  Juan  Crisostomo  Gomez, 
the  president  of  the  Dominicans  in  Lower  California,  began 
writing  letters  to  the  viceroy,  setting  forth  the  urgent  neces- 
sity of  missions  in  the  Colorado  country  and  soliciting  the 
requisite  aid  and  assistance  to  found  them.  In  1791  the  vice- 
roy addressed  a  communication  in  relation  to  the  matter  to 
Governor  Romeu;  but  by  the  time  it  reached  its  destination 
Romeu  was  dead  and  Arrillaga  occupied  his  place.  In  No- 
vember, 1792,  Arrillaga,  who  was  doubtless  the  most  compe- 
tent man  in  the  whole  country  to  give  advice  upon  the  subject, 
answered  the  viceroy  and  spoke  favorably  of  the  project;  and 
it  was  in  substance  determined  to  found  at  least  three  new 
missions  and  a  new  presidio  in  the  territory  indicated.1  In 
addition  to  the  work,  which  the  foundation  of  these  new 
establishments  would  involve,  there  was  other  labor  awaiting 
Arrillaga  in  Lower  California  as  soon  as  he  should  be  relieved 


1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  202  210. 


JOSE  JOAQUIN  DE  ARRJLLAGA.  555 

of  his  office  of  governor  interino.  It  had  been  found  that 
two  of  the  old  missions,  one  that  of  Santiago  near  San  Jose 
del  Cabo  and  the  other  that  of  Guadalupe  between  Mulege 
and  Pun'sima,  were  useless;  and  it  was  resolved  to  suppress 
them  and  consolidate  their  possessions  and  interests  with  the 
neighboring  establishments.  But  Arrillaga's  presence  was 
necessary  to  carry  the  resolution  into  effect.1 

It  is  likely  that  Arrillaga,  having  thus  many  matters  to 
attend  to  in  Lower  California,  in  which  he  took  a  deep  inter- 
est, and  having  substantially  finished  his  work  in  Alta  Cali- 
fornia, would  have  set  out  on  his  return  to  Loreto  much  ear- 
lier than  he  did;  but  he  could  not  leave  until  his  successor 
should  arrive.  In  the  meanwhile  he  went  back  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  it  seems  the  work  of  fortifying  the  entrance  to 
the  bay  was  still  going  forward;  and  from  there,  in  June, 
1794,  he  wrote  to  the  viceroy  that  it  was  important,  in  view 
of  the  labor  that  was  awaiting  his  presence  in  Lower  Califor- 
nia, the  great  amount  of  traveling  he  would  have  to  do,  the 
surveys  he  would  have  to  make  and  the  advance  of  the  sea- 
son, that  he  should  get  under  way  for  Loreto  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible.2 At  length  in  September,  it  being  then  known  that  the 
new  governor  was  approaching  San  Diego,  Arrillaga,  without 
waiting  any  longer,  set  out  on  his  march  and  hastened  south- 
ward as  rapidly  as  he  could  travel.3  He  had  been  temporary 
governor  of  the  Californias  from  May,  1792,  to  September, 
1794,  a  period  of  two  years  and  four  months.  During  the 
period  of  his  administration  as  such  governor,  the  public 
business  was  conducted  with  great  regularity;  there  was  no 
discontent,  there  were  no  disturbances;  it  became  apparent 
that  he  was  a  man  of  great  industry  as  well  as  of  ability;  and 
it  was  doubtless  owing  to  the  reputation  he  established  for 
himself  in  this  position  and  the  good  character  he  manifested, 
that  he  afterwards  was  promoted  to,  and  for  many  years  en- 
joyed, the  office  of  gobernador  propietario. 

It  was  somewhere  about  the  time  of  Arrillaga's  return  to 


1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  279-282. 
s  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  341,  342. 
3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  357. 


556  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

Lower  California,  or  possibly  a  year  or  two  earlier,  that  a 
strange  piece  of  good  fortune  is  said  to  have  befallen  Our 
Lady  of  Loreto.  The  pearl  fisheries,  which  had  long  been 
held  in  the  grasp  of  monopolists,  being  at  length  thrown  open 
to  private  enterprise,  the  Dominican  missionaries  ordered  a 
grand  fishing.  For  this  purpose  they  collected  their  Indians; 
prepared  a  number  of  light  and  tastefully-ornamented  canoes, 
and,  proceeding  to  the  oyster-beds,  opened  the  season  with 
religious  ceremonies,  invoking  the  blessing  of  God  upon  their 
efforts  and  consecrating  to  Our  Lady  of  Loreto  all  the  pro- 
duct of  certain  specified  days  of  labor.  The  divers  went  to 
work  with  a  will;  and  for  some  reason,  whether  it  was  the 
favor  of  heaven  or  the  greater  zeal  of  the  Indians  when  labor- 
ing for  their  patroness  or  some  other  reason  not  necessary  to 
be  explained,  the  share  of  the  virgin  proved  to  be  extraordi- 
narily large  and  valuable;  and  Our  Lady  of  Loreto,  whose 
image  had  been  brought  across  the  gulf  and  set  up  and 
guarded  with  such  tender  solicitude  by  Salvatierra  and  his 
associates  nearly  a  hundred  years  before,  and  was  now  covered 
and  adorned  with  pearls  without  number  and  of  the  most  ex- 
quisite forms  and  orient,  became  one  of  the  richest  ladies  in  the 
world. 

But  among  the  many  splendid  jewels,  to  which  the  virgin 
thus  became  entitled,  there  was  one  of  extraordinary  splen- 
dor. In  form  and  size  it  resembled  a  pigeon's  egg;  its  sym- 
metry was  perfect;  and  in  brilliancy  and  irreproachable  pur- 
ity, the  like  had  not  before  been  seen  in  those  regions.  It 
was  so  magnificent  and  at  the  same  time  probably  so  tempt- 
ing to  sacrilegious  hands,  that  the  question  occurred  to  the 
padres,  whether  Our  Lady,  in  her  vast  and  superabundant 
wealth,  could  not  spare  it  for  more  effective  use  and  wider 
admiration  than  it  would  find  in  a  remote  province  of  poor 
priests  and  unappreciative  Indians.  They  thought  she  could 
well  do  go;  and  accordingly  the  treasure,  which  was  known  as 
"  La  Peregrina  "  was  by  them,  but  in  the  name  and  as  the  act 
of  Our  Lady  of  Loreto.  made  a  present  to  the  queen  of  Spain 
and  thus   became  one  (if  the  crown  jewels  of  the  Spanish 


JOSE  JOAQUIN  DE  ARRILLAGA.  557 

monarchy.  The  sovereign  who  then  occupied  the  second  seat 
at  the  Escurial,  eminent  for  her  liberality  as  well  as  for  her 
piety,  was  not  to  be  excelled  in  generosity.  Sensible  of  the 
compliment  thus  paid  her  and  with  a  determination  that  the 
virgin  should  not  be  a  loser  by  her  delicate  attention,  she  set 
aside  a  fund  from  her  royal  revenue  and  ordered  that  out  of 
its  produce  wax  and  oil  should  be  purchased  and  a  perpetual 
flame  maintained  in  the  presence  of  the  image.  And  from 
that  time  down  to  the  Mexican  independence,  when  all  con- 
nection with  Spain  was  entirely  and  forever  severed,  the  royal 
blaze  illumined  the  sacred  shrine  at  the  ancient  capital  of  the 
Californias.1 

1  See  Lassepas,  92.     See  also  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XII,  108- 116. 


CHAPTER    III. 

BORICA. 

DIEGO  UE  BORICA,  the  seventh  governor  of  the  Cali- 
fornias,  and  the  most  genial  and  chivalrous  as  well  as 
wise  and  laborious  of  the  old  Spanish  stock,  was  appointed 
to  the  office  by  a  royal  order  of  June  10,  1793.  He  appears 
to  have  come  to  America  from  Spain  while  still  a  very  young 
man  and  to  have  been  at  the  time  of  his  appointment  some 
fifty  years  of  age.  He  had  entered  the  military  service  about 
1763  and  served  in  various  capacities,  most  of  the  time  in  the 
northern  provinces  of  Mexico,  sometimes  in  campaigns  against 
hostile  Indians,  sometimes  on  tours  of  inspection,  and  some- 
times on  commissions  to  quell  disturbances  and  reduce  out- 
breaks. By  degrees  he  rose  in  the  ranks  until  he  became 
teniente-coronel  or  lieutenant-colonel  of  cavalry;  and  while 
occupying  this  position  he  married,  taking  for  his  wife  a 
lady,  who  had  landed  property  in  New  Viscaya.1  In  1793, 
when  he  was  promoted  to  the  high  office  of  gobernador 
propietario  of  the  Californias,  he  was  ayudante-inspector  of 
the  Internal  Provinces  of  the  West  and  had  his  head-quarters 
at  Arispe. 

It  took  some  months  for  the  royal  order  of  his  appoint- 
ment, issued  in  Madrid,  to  reach  Mexico;  and  it  was  com- 
paratively late  in  the  year  before  Borica  was  aware  of  it.  The 
viceroy  Revillagigedo  wrote  in  September,  giving  the  infor- 
mation and  directing  him  to  take  possession  of  his  province 
as  soon  as  he  conveniently  could;  and  at  the  same  time  he 
sent  off  dispatches  to  Arrillaga  at  Monterey,  ordering  him  to 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  520-523. 
(558) 


DIEGO  DE  BORICA.  559 

turn  over  the  government  as  soon  as  the  new  governor  should 
present  himself.1  In  the  meanwhile  Borica  was  living  on 
terms  of  the  most  intimate  companionship  at  Arispe  with 
various  persons  of  scholarly  attainments.  A  few  private  let- 
ters, which  he  afterwards  addressed  to  them  and  which  have 
been  preserved  in  the  California  archives,  indicate  on  his 
part,  as  well  as  on  theirs,  a  much  higher  degree  of  culture 
than  could  have  been  expected  in  those  remote  regions.  It 
must  have  cost  him  a  severe  struggle  to  break  up  his  hand-to- 
hand  and  face-to-face  intercourse  with  such  associates  and 
travel  away  off  into  a  country,  where  it  was  difficult  to  find 
anybody  that  could  even  read  and  much  more  so  anybody 
who  could  appreciate  intellectual  cultivation.  There  was, 
however,  one  great  solace,  which  he  possessed  in  all  his  strug- 
gles, and  that  was  a  devoted  wife  and  daughter,  who  were 
ready  and  willing  to  accompany  him  wherever  his  duty  called; 
and  together  they  got  ready  and  in  the  spring  of  1794  traveled 
down  to  the  gulf  coast  to  embark  for  Loreto  and  thence  to 
Monterey. 

The  gubernatorial  party  consisted  of  the  governor  himself, 
the  gobernadora,  their  daughter,  a  Sefior  Andres,  a  Seiiora 
Narcisa,  a  cook  and  a  negro  servant.  In  their  passage  across 
the  gulf  they  met  with  rough  weather;  and  all  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  gentlemen  and  negro,  suffered  the  most  distressing 
sea-sickness.  They  reached  Loreto  on  May  13,  where  it  took 
them  several  days  to  recuperate.  It  had  been  the  original 
intention  to  travel  the  entire  distance  by  water;  but  the  gob- 
ernadora and  her  daughter  had  acquired,  from  their  recent 
experience,  such  a  horror  of  the  sea  that  they  could  not 
think  with  any  patience  of  the  ocean  and  insisted  upon  prose- 
cuting the  remainder  of  the  journey,  notwithstanding  its 
length  and  difficulties,  by  the  overland  route  Owing  to  their 
persistence,  the  governor  found  himself  placed  in  some  doubt 
as  to  how  he  should  decide;  and  he  wrote  to  his  friends  in 
Arispe,  giving  an  amusing  account  of  the  difficulties  which  he 
had  already  encountered  in  the  business  of  governing  and 
humorously  comparing  himself  to  Sancho  Panza  in  his  island 

»  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  I,  647,  648. 


560  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

of  Barataria,  his  wife  to  Teresa  Panza  and  his  daughter  to 
Sanchica.1  As  might  have  been  expected,  gallantry  and 
kindness  finally  prevailed;  and  the  arrangements  for  his 
journey  were  changed  from  those  of  an  ocean  voyage  to  those 
of  an  expedition  by  land.  The  alteration  of  plan  and  vari- 
ous matters  of  business,  which  he  found  to  engage  his  atten- 
tion at  Loreto,  detained  him  and  his  party  at  that  place  until 
July  24,  when  they  took  a  short  coasting  passage  by  schooner 
to  the  military  post  called  Santa  Ana;  and  thence,  with  a 
dozen  riding  mules,  a  dozen  pack  mules,  several  muleteers 
and  a  number  of  Indians  on  foot,  they  set  out  on  their  jour- 
ney for  Monterey.  On  August  4,  they  were  at  the  mission  of 
San  Ignacio;  and  thence  they  traveled  by  the  way  of  Santa 
Gertrudis,  San  Francisco  Borja  and  San  Fernando  Vellicata 
and  so  on  from  mission  to  mission  along  the  ocean  coast 2  till 
November  9,  1794,  when  they,  happily  and  without  accident 
though  only  at  the  end  as  they  declared  of  a  million  of 
labors  and  inconveniences,  reached  their  destination  at  the 
capital.3  Borica  had  already  on  May  14,  at  Loreto,  taken 
possession  of  the  government;  he  had  been  publicly  pro- 
claimed at  Monterey;4  and  consequently,  upon  his  arrival, 
there  were  no  formalities  requisite  but  to  introduce  and  set- 
tle himself  in  his  office. 

Captain  George  Vancouver  and  Lieutenant  Puget  were  at 
that  time  with  their  vessels  at  Monterey,  having  been  on  the 
coast  since  1792;  and  between  the  English  officers  and  the 
new-comers  there  were  many  meetings  of  civility  and  social 
intercourse.  It  was  a  something  unexpected  for  Borica  to 
meet  men  of  the  highest  acquirements  so  far  from  home;  and 
his  wife,  the  gobernadora,  found  her  attention  pleasantly 
occcupied  in  doing  the  honors  of  her  mansion  towards  the 
polite  foreigners.  But  notwithstanding  frequent  merry  meet- 
ings, for  which  the  lockers  of  the  English  vessels  yielded  up 
dozens  after  dozens  of  rhenish,  port  and    madeira,  Borica's 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  514-520. 
"  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  569-588. 
3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  533,  534. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XII,  400. 


DIEGO  BE  BORIC  A.  561 

thoughts  reverted  to  his  old  friends  in  Arispe;  and  for  a  num- 
ber of  weeks  it  seemed  as  if  he  could  satisfy  himself  only  with 
writing  numerous  letters.  Nearly  all  of  these  productions 
were  lively  and  humorous,  their  gaiety  and  wit  being  some- 
times set  off  by  the  use  of  a  French  phrase  or  an  English 
expression;  but  others  contained  serious  and  sagacious  ob- 
servations upon  political  characters  and  events.  In  giving 
his  first  impressions  of  California,  he  called  it  a  grand  coun- 
try, with  a  healthy  climate  intermediate  between  cold  and 
temperate,  especially  rich  in  beef,  fish,  table  delicacies  and, 
best  of  all,  in  "  bonne  humeur."  ' 

At  the  same  time  that  he  was  thus  entertaining  his  friends 
a-t  Arispe,  he  was  corresponding  with,  and  cultivating  the 
friendship  of,  the  missionaries.  Even  before  he  had  com- 
menced his  journey,  he  had  written  to  the  respective  presi- 
dents of  the  missions  of  Alta  and  Baja  California,  soliciting 
their  good  will  and  tendering  them  his  services."  He  also 
wrote  to  the  comandantes  of  the  various  presidios,  requiring 
them  to  make  monthly  reports  to  him  of  the  condition  of 
their  commands  and  diaries  of  all  important  or  interesting 
events  transpiring  within  their  jurisdictions.3  But  the  chief 
matter  that  engaged  his  attention  was  the  fear  lest  the  foreign 
vessels  visiting  the  coast  might  make  a  lodgment  at  Bodega 
or  some  other  poinl  to  the  north;  and  upon  this  subject  he 
wrote  various  confidential  letters  to  the  comandante  of  San 
Francisco,  enjoining  secrecy  and  prudence  but  prompt  action 
in  case  of  necessity.4  His  orders  from  government  were  to 
admit  no  foreign  vessels,  except  in  cases  of  such  urgency  that 
hospitality  could  not  be  refused;  and  even  Vancouver  and 
the  English  visitors,  then  at  Monterey,  were  not  to  be  encour- 
aged, unless  it  were  certain  that  they  would  soon  leave  the 
country,  as  was  expected  of  them.5 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  536-538.  He  said:  "  Este  es  un  gran  pais; 
temperamento  sano  y  entre  frio  y  templado;  buen  para  riquisima  carne  de  rez, 
pescadus,  regalados,  y  bonne  humeur,  que  vale  por  todo." — 537. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  569. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XII,  1%,. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  V,  81. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XII,  485,  4S6. 

36     Vol.  I. 


5GL>  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

Having  thus  disposed  of  the  correspondence  and  business, 
which  he  deemed  of  most  pressing  and  immediate  concern, 
Borica  next  turned  his  attention  to  other  matters  of  impor- 
tance. Among  these,  one  of  the  most  interesting  related  to 
the  disposition  of  lands  in  private  ownership.  Some  incon- 
siderable grants,  particularly  in  the  neighborhood  of  Mon- 
terey, Santa  Barbara,  San  Gabriel  and  Los  Angeles,  had 
already  been  made;  but  the  demand  was  growing;  and  it 
became  a  question  as  to  the  circumstances  under  which,  and 
the  extent  to  which,  further  grants  should  be  made.  The 
increase  of  the  Spanish  population  was  recognized  as  one  of 
the  great  needs  of  the  territory;  and  it  seemed  necessary  to 
provide  some  system  of  granting  lands  for  agricultural  and 
stock-raising  purposes.  But  it  was  plain  that  a  prime  require- 
ment, in  view  of  such  a  system,  was  the  assignment  of  limits 
to  the  missions.  There  were  at  that  time  thirteen  of  these 
establishments  in  Alta  California  including  San  Francisco  on 
the  north  and  San  Diego  on  the  south;  and  each  of  them 
claimed  that  its  limits  and  jurisdiction  extended  at  least  half 
way  to  the  next  adjoining  missions.  Most  of  the  lands  inter- 
vening between  these  missions  were  occupied  by  rancherias 
of  gentile  Indians,  who  though  they  were  gradually  being 
reduced  to  mission  government,  were,  in  Borica's  judgment, 
legitimate  owners  of  the  soil;  and  he  was  of  opinion  that 
it  would  be  unjust,  and  for  various  reasons  impolitic  and  dan- 
gerous, to  despoil  them  of  their  rights.1  Under  the  circum- 
stances he  advised  that  land  grants  should  be  made  only  in 
exceptional  cases,  only  where  the  grantee  was  a  man  of 
known  probity,  only  in  the  vicinity  of  a  mission  or  pueblo, 
and  only  in  cases  where  no  prejudice  could  result  to  the 
Indians  either  gentile  or  Christian.2 

Borica  next  turned  his  attention  to  the  condition  of  the 
neophytes  at  the  missions;  and  he  found  many  occasions  for 
the  exercise  of  the  great    kindness    and    consideration   with 

1  "  Ocupadas  en  el  dia  mucha  parte  de  las  tierras  intermedias  de  mision  &  mision 
por  sus  legltimos  duefios  los  Indios  gentiles,  no  parece  regular  se  les  despoje 
de  los  frutos,  semillas,  aguas  y  montes  que  sirven  a  su  manutencion." — Cal.  Ar- 
chives, P.  R.  IV,  131. 

*  Cal    Archives,  1'.  R.  IV,  130-133. 


DIEGO  DE  BORICA.  563 

which -he  invariably  treated  them.  During  the  earlier  days 
of  the  spiritual  conquest  and  particularly  during  the  life-time 
of  Father  Jhuni'pero,  little  or  no  complaint  of  injustice  or  ill- 
usage  had  been  made;  but,  within  the  last  few  years,  there 
were  numerous  instances  of  cruelty,  and  even  of  brutality, 
in  the  conduct  of  some  of  the  missionaries  towards  their 
charges.  They  not  only  compelled  them  to  almost  incessant 
labors,  but  failed  to  furnish  them  with  sufficient  food  to  sus- 
tain them  in  working  condition;  and  at  the  same  time  for 
the  most  trivial  offenses  they  hand-cuffed,  imprisoned  and 
unmercifully  beat  them.  When  the  miserable  Indians,  learn- 
ing too  late  that  their  former  gentile  life  even  with  its  pre- 
cariousness  and  constant  warfare  was  far  preferable  to  chris- 
tianization  such  as  it  was  thus  exhibited,  attempted  to  regain 
their  lost  freedom  by  flight,  they  were  hunted  down  and 
punished  with  tenfold  rigor.  Nor  were  stripes  reserved  for 
the  men  alone,  but  the  women  too  were  stripped  and  flogged: 
the  only  difference  being,  that  the  men  were  lashed  publicly 
while  the  women,  as  related  by  La  Perouse,  were  removed  to 
an  enclosure  at  such  a  distance  that  their  sobs  and  screams 
could  not  be  heard.  These  barbarous  cruelties,  added  to  the 
miserably  slavish  kind  of  existence  which  the  neophytes 
were  compelled  to  live  at  the  missions,  rendered  them  in 
many  instances  desperate;  and,  whenever  an  opportunity 
occurred,  notwithstanding  the  risks  they  ran,  they  took  to 
flight  and  trusted  themselves  rather  to  the  mercies  of  savage 
gentile  tribes,  even  though  their  hereditary  enemies,  than 
return  to  the  stocks  and  whipping-posts  of  the  missions. 

It  cannot  be  affirmed  that  the  ill-treatment  and  cruelty 
practiced  towards  the  neophytes  of  San  Francisco  were  much 
more  severe  than  those  common  at  other  missions.  But 
there  were  several  circumstances  that  called  particular  atten- 
tion to  them.  The  first  of  these  was  the  murder  in  1795  of 
seven  Indians,  who  had  been  sent  across  the  bay  in  pursuit 
of  fugitives.  On  account  of  the  frontier  position  of  San 
Francisco  and  the  facilities  for  escape  afforded  by  its  peculiar 
topography,  desertions  there  had  become    so   frequent    that 


564  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

the  soldiers  could  not  attend  to  them  all;  and  for  this  reason 
Father  Antonio  Danti,  the  principal  missionary  of  the  post, 
undertook  to  send  out  an  expedition  of  his  own.  Danti's 
party  consisting  of  fifteen  christianized  Indians,  upon  whom 
lie  could  rely  in  any  action  against  their  country  people, 
crossed  over  to  the  neighborhood  of  Bodega,  where  they 
were  overpowered  and  half  of  them  slain.1  These  events 
occasioned  discussion;  and  discussion  evoked  inquiry  as  to 
the  reasons  that  caused  so  many  as  two  hundred  and  eighty 
runaways  from  the  mission  up  to  September,  1795."  As  the 
facts  became  more  and  more  known,  a  few  persons,  whose 
humanity  was  greater  than  their  prudence,  stepped  forward 
as  advocates  of  the  Indian  cause  and  demanded  reform. 
The  most  prominent  of  these  was  Father  Jose  Maria  Fer- 
nandez, who  in  September,  1796,  after  vainly  trying  his  per-, 
suasions  upon  Father  Martin  de  Landaeta  of  San  Francisco, 
called  Borica's  attention  to  the  subject  and  thus  initiated  a 
long  and  bitter  controversy,  in  the  course  of  which  there 
were  many  exposures,  derogatory  to  the  missionaries,  that 
would  otherwise  perhaps  never  have  seen  the  light  of  day)3 

Upon  receiving  Fernandez'  missive,  Borica  sat  down 
almost  immediately  and  wrote  in  very  plain  and  feeling  lan- 
guage to  president  Lasuen,  setting  forth  the  cruelties  in  the 
three  respects  of  treatment,  labor  and  food  to  which  the 
San  Francisco  neophytes  had  been  and  were  still  exposed, 
and  demanding  that  vigorous  measures  should  be  taken  to 
alleviate  their  miseries.  It  would  have  been  impossible  for 
the  poor  creatures  to  have  found  a  more  firm  and  steadfast 
advocate,  friend  and  protector  than  Borica  at  once  showed 
himself  to  be.  It  was  a  scandal,  he  wrote,  as  well  to  the 
secular  as  to  the  ecclesiastical  government,  that  during  the 
single  year  1795  there  had  been  two  hundred  and  three  cases 
of  death  and  two  hundred  of  flight  at  San  Francisco.  It 
was  a.  matter  that  deprived  him  of   sleep  and    caused    him 

1  Cat.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  153,  171,  172. 

aCal.  Archives,  P.  S.  ]'.  XIII,  335.  , 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R."VII,  637. 


DIEGO  DE  BORICA.  565 

great  uneasiness,1  a  matter  the  gravity  of  which  compelled 
him  to  speak;  and  he  hoped  that  the  frankness  with  which 
he  spoke  was  a  sufficient  proof  of  his  earnestness  and  sin- 
cerity." 

Lasuen's  own  kindliness  of  disposition,  thus  prompted  by 
Borica's  zeal,  was  not  slow  in  providing  at  least  a  temporary 
remedy  for  the  evils  of  which  Father  Fernandez  had  com- 
plained. The  Indians  at  San  Francisco,  it  was  promised, 
should  be  thenceforth  treated  with  affection;  their  hours  of 
labor  should  be  reduced;  they  should  be  afforded  regular 
recreations  and  amusements;  they  should  be  furnished  with 
three  sufficient  meals  of  cooked  food  daily,  and  their  health 
and  comfort  should  be  sedulously  attended  to.  Upon  these 
assurances,  Borica  addressed  a  second  letter  to  Lasuen, 
expressing  his  satisfaction  at  the  result  of  his  interference 
but  at  the  same  time  asking,  in  language  denoting  his  chiv- 
alric  sense  of  honor  and  propriety,  that  the  peremptory  tone 
of  his  former  communication  might  be  excused.  "Your 
reverence  is  aware,"  he  wrote,  "of  my  manner  of  thinking 
and  will  do  me  the  justice  of  being  persuaded  that  whatever 
1  speak,  whatever  I  write,  whatever  I  meditate,  is,  and  always 
will  be,  on  the  side  of  justice  and  humanity.  If  sometimes  I 
use  strong  expressions  it  is  for  the  purpose  of  animating  and 
invigorating  those  who  have  it  in  their  power  to  contribute  to 
such  beneficial  objects  as  may  be  in  contemplation.  I  am  a 
soldier,  while  your  reverence  fills  a  sacred  office.  It  is  not 
unnatural  that  the  soldier  in  his  fiery  manner  ma)*,  in  his 
desire  for  the  prompt  co-operation  of  the  priest,  overlook 
or  disregard  considerations  of  prudence  which  the  latter  may 
deem  of  great  importance."8 

But  however  satisfactory  in  some  respects  the  remedy 
applied  by'Father  Lasuen  to  the  evils  existing  at  San  Fran- 
cisco may  have  been  and  however  energetic  his  efforts  to  pre- 
vent other  troubles,  new  causes  'of  dissatisfaction  soon  arose. 


1  "  Es  asunto  que  me  quita  el  sueno  y  me  hace  hablar  solo." — Cal.  Archives, 
P.  R.  VII,  640. 

»  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  639,  640. 
3  Cal.  Archives,1  P,  R.  VII,  646.^ 


566  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

The  Indians  continued  to  seize  every  opportunity  for  escape 
that  presented  itself;  and  the  missionaries  seemed  determined, 
on -their  own  account  and  without  application  to  the  proper 
authorities,  to  hunt  them  down.  In"  1797  they  fitted  out  an 
expedition  of  Indians  under  the  leadership  of  one  Raymundo 
to  cross  the  bay  in  search  of  a  number  of  wretches,  who  had 
thus  fled.  But,  as  had  occurred  on  several  other  expeditions 
of  this  character,  the  hunters  were  worsted  and  found  great 
difficulty  in  escaping  with  their  lives.  The  result  was  that 
Jose  Dario  Arguello,  the  comandante,  called  the  missionaries 
to  account  for  their  unlawful  proceedings.  They  replied  that 
it  had  become  a  custom,  in  all  the  missions,  to  send  out  after 
fugitives  and  they  deemed  it  no  more  than  a  part  of  the 
obligations  of  their  ministry,  like  good  shepherds,  to  look 
out  for  and  gather  in  the  lost  sheep.  Arguello,  not  being 
convinced  by  the  answer,  ordered  Raymundo  and  his  Indians 
under  no  circumstances  to  attempt  such  an  expedition  again 
and  threatened  them,  in  case  of  disobedience,  with  severe 
punishment,  and  at  the  same  time. he  wrote  to  Borica,  giving 
an  account  of  all  that  had  occurred.1 

In  the  meanwhile  Father  Fernandez,  whose  dissatisfaction 
with  the  state  of  affairs  at  San  Francisco  still  continued, 
wrote  another  letter.  Taking  as  his  text  the  expedition  of 
Raymundo,  he  insisted  that  the  real  cause  of  all  the  troubles 
was  the  cruel  manner  in  which  the  Indians,  notwithstanding 
some  temporary  improvement,  continued  to  be  treated.2  This 
letter  was  written  before  the  return  of  Raymundo  and  his 
companions  and  while ^  was  still  uncertain,  on  account  of 
their  long  absence,  whether  or  not  they  would  ever  return. 
After  they  made  their  appearance,  one  by  one,  from  different 
points  along  the  west  side  of  the  bay  to  which  they  had 
managed,  after  being  defeated  and  dispersed,  to  escape,  Fer- 
nandez wrote  a  third  letter,  rejoicing  in  their  safety,  but  urg- 
ing the  governor  to  interpose  his  authority  and  prevent  any 
further  proceedings  of  the  kind.3     Borica  on  his  part,  thus 

»  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XV,  57-66. 
a  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S  P.  XV,  60-62. 
3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XV.  63,  64. 


DIEGO  DE  BORICA.  567 

addressed  by  both  Arguello  and  Fernandez,  and  apparently 
fully  recognizing-  the  abuses  which  had  been  practiced  at  San 
Francisco,  issued  positive  orders  that  no  further  expeditions 
in  search  of  fugitives  should  be  sent  out  from  the  missions  and 
that  the  missionaries  should  be  obeyed  by  the  neophytes  only 
in  such  matters  like  religious  exercises  and  regular  labors,  as 
were  within  their  undoubted  jurisdiction.1 

It  may,  not  be  out  of  place  in  this  connection  to  state  that 
Father  Fernandez  suffered  the  fate  of  many  another  good 
man,  who  has  attempted  to  stem  the  evil  current  of  his  times. 
He  had  taken  up  the 'pen,  as  he  wrote  to  Borica,  with  the  sole 
object  of  accomplishing  good  for  the  Indians.  He  loved  them 
and  felt  for  the  evils  under  which  they  groaned.  Their  mis- 
eries had  cost  him  much  suffering,  many  sad  days,  continual 
sleeplessness  and  not  a  few  bitter  tears.  In  their  behalf  he 
had  been  willing  to  consecrate  his  life  even  to  the  last  drop  of 
blood  that  flowed  in  his  veins;  and  to  this  sacred  service  he 
had  accordingly  devoted  himself  with  all  his  energy.  He 
had  succeeded  in  saving  them  from  a  thousand  oppressions, 
as  was  well  known;  but  he  now  found  that  his  health  was 
broken  down  and  he  feared  his  strength  would  not  hold  out 
much  longer.  And  for  all  his  efforts,  he  continued  with  pro- 
found melancholy,  his  reward  had  been  nothing  but  infamy  and 
dishonor.  His  actions  were  impugned  as  wanting  in  judg- 
ment; his  zeal  as  false;  his  motives  as  sinister  and  malevo- 
lent. But  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  in  the 
sight  of  God  and  his  own  conscience,  he  had  fought  the  good 
fight  and  preserved  his  integrity,  and,  notwithstanding  the 
heavy  burdens  he  was  obliged  to  bear,  he  felt  justified." 
Shortly  after  so  writing,  he  was  obliged  to  retire  to  his  college 
in  Mexico;  and  there,  to  all  appearance,  his  reforming  spirit 
was  quietly  silenced. 

Father  Fernandez  was  at  heart,  by  the  very  excess  and 
energy  of  his  humanity,  a  non-conformist  and  evident!}'  a 
man  not  to  be  advanced  in  the  church  or  well  spoken  of  by 
missionaries    and    ecclesiastical    bodies.     But   Borica,    whose 

1  Cal.  Archives,  V.  S.  V.  XV,  67. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  1'.  S.  Pi  XV,  64. 


5G8  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

good  word  more  than  counterbalanced  all  the  calumnies  the 
poor  philanthropist  suffered,  paid  a  just  tribute  to  his  virtues 
the  year  after  his  retirement.  In  writing  to  the  viceroy  of 
the  great  changes  that  had  taken  place  in  the  treatment  of 
the  Indians  at  San  Francisco,  contrasting  the  kindness  and 
justice  then  exercised  towards  them  with  the  former  rigor  and 
cruelty,  he  said  that  although  he  had,  by  frequent  private 
conversations  and  confidential  communications,  aided  the 
good  work,  the  merit  of  the  reform  was  not  to  be  attributed 
to  himself  but  entirely  to  Father  Fernandez,  who  had  been 
the  true  author  of  all  that  had  been  accomplished.1- 

At  the  same  time  that  complaints  of  abuses  came  from 
San  Francisco,  like  complaints  came  from  other  parts  of  the 
country;  and  for  a  time  Borica  had  his  hands  full  in  attend- 
ing to  them.  Other  missionaries,  besides  those  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, sent  out  unauthorized  expeditions  after  fugitive  neo- 
phytes; and  there  were  at  other  missions  many  instances  of 
cruelty  no  less  barbarous  than  those  exposed  by  Father  Fer- 
nandez. It  was  admitted  that  the  missionaries  had  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  domestic  and  religious  affairs  of  their  establish- 
ments, including  the  power  of  inflicting  corporal  punishment 
for  delinquencies  not  exceeding  twenty-five  lashes;  and  as 
long  as  this  extent  of  punishment  was  not  exceeded,  the 
government  did  not  feel  authorized  to  interfere."  But  as  in 
the  case  of  San  Francisco,  so  at  various  other  missions,  not, 
only  were  neophytes  sent  out  with  hand-cuffs  and  scourges 
after  runaways  and  thus  turned  into  what  may  not,  improperly 
be  called  slave-hunters;  but  the  power  of  inflicting  lashes, 
and  especially  in  cases  of  fugitives,  had  come  to  be  shamefully 
abused.  Fxcessive  punishments  had  become  so  general  that 
even  for  the  most  trivial  offenses,  it  was  the  usual  practice  to 
inflict,  instead  of  twenty-five,  fifty  or  even  more  lashes?  Bo- 
rica, "lleno  de  fuego — full  of  fire,"  as  he  described  himself  in 
his  letter  to  Father  Lasuen,  insisted  that  these  abuses  should 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  403,  404. 

-  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  4S2.  In  a  letter  to  lather  Mariano  Apolinario, 
dated  September  26,  1796,  Borica  said:  "La  autoridad  paternal  se  estiende  a. 
veinte  y  cinco  [azotes] ;  pues  quanclo  hay  delito  grave  que  exija  mayor  castigo, 
corresponde  &  la  jurisdiction   real."—  1'.  R.  VII.  641. 


DIEGO  DE  BO  RICA.  569 

cease;  and  as  he  soon  approved  himself  a  man  who  meant 
what  he  said — one  with  whom,  notwithstanding  his  accus- 
tomed good  humor,  it  would  not  do  to  trifle — he  succeeded, 
after  calling  a  number  of  the  missionaries  to  account,  in  put- 
ting a  stop  to  their  transgressions. 

But  while  he  was  thus  a  friend  and  protector  of  the  Indians 
and  did  not  hesitate  to  take  their  part  when  they  were  ill- 
treated,  he  believed,  as  a  soldier  and  a  governor,  in  requiring 
them  to  perform  their  duties  and  pay  proper  respect  to  their 
superiors.  He  had  occasion  in  1796  to  exhibit  his  views  upon 
these  subjects.  A  San  Francisco  neophyte,  who  stayed  away 
from  prayers,  had  been  arrested  by  a  soldier  and  was  being 
conducted  to  the  mission,  when  he  turned  upon  the  soldier, 
struck  him  down  with  a  stone  and  escaped.  Being  subse- 
quently again  arrested  and  thrown  into  prison  for  a  month, 
Borica  pronounced  the  punishment  insufficient  and  directed 
the  comandante,  as  soon  as  the  term  of  imprisonment  was 
finished,  to  inflict  a  further  punishment  of  twenty-five  lashes 
in  presence  of  all  the  neophytes  of  the  mission.  He  also  at 
the  same  time  caused  it  to  be  publicly  stated  that  any  further 
offense  of  like  character,  being  subversive  of  public  order, 
would  be  punished  with  still  greater  rigor,  and  that  it  was 
imperatively  necessary  for  the  Indians  in  every  case  to  pre- 
serve proper  discipline  and  attend  faithfully  to  the  duties 
prescribed  for  them.1  By  this  kind  of  strictness  on  occasions 
which  in  his  judgment  demanded  it,  but  at  the  same  time 
exhibiting  his  sincere  good  will  and  kindness  towards  the 
Indians  and  convincing  them  that  his  object  was  their  welfare 
and  that  in  him  they  had  an  advocate,  Borica  in  the  course  of 
his  administration  effected  a  great  change  in  the  condition  of 
affairs.  In  1799  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  writing  the  results 
of  the  pplicy,  which  he  had  thus  adopted  as  a  maxim  of  his 
government.  Abuses  in  the  treatment  of  the  neophytes, 
which  had  been  frequent  and  oppressive,  had  to  a  great 
extent  been  reformed;  and  there  was  a  much  better  feeling 
among  all  the  Indians,  as  well  gentiles  as  Christians.  Many 
of  the  fugitives  from  San  Francisco,  and  among  them  numer- 


1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  V,  135. 


570  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

ous  fierce  Cuchillones  and  Sacalanes  of  Contra  Costa,  had 
been  induced  to  return  and  were  peaceful.  At  one  time  seven 
and  at  another  eighteen  voluntarily  presented  themselves.  At 
still  another  time  thirty-three  presented  themselves  for  admis- 
sion at  the  mission  of  San  Jose  and,  with  the  consent  of 
Father  Lasuen,  were  accepted  there.  They  represented  that 
they  still  felt  such  a  horror  of  what  they  had  suffered  at  San 
Francisco  that  they  were  unwilling  under  any  circumstances 
to  go  back  to  that  place  but  were  desirous  of  being  again 
restored  to  regular  government.  So  also  at  other  missions, 
there  was  a  marked  improvement  in  the  temper  of  the  Indi- 
ans. Those,  who  before  had  been  turbulent  and  rebellious, 
were  living  in  quiet  and  tranquillity;  and  many  gentiles, 
appreciating  the  advantages  of  peace  and  assured  subsistence, 
were  coming  forward  and  asking  for  baptism.1 

Another  matter,  which  engaged  much  of  Borica's  attention 
during  the  first  few  years  of  his  administration,  was  the  ways 
and  means  of  defending  the  country  in  case  of  invasion.  In 
March,  1793,  Spain  declared  war  against  France,  and  the 
declaration  was  published  at  Monterey  in  October,  1793.2  At 
that  time,  with  the  exception  of  some  little  fortification  and  a 
few  pieces  of  ordnance  at  San  Francisco  and  Monterey,  Alta 
California  was  almost  entirely  defenseless.  There  were  only 
about  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  soldiers  in  the  country: 
some  sixty  at  each  of  the  presidios  of  San  Diego,  Santa 
Barbara  and  Monterey,  thirty-six  at  San  Francisco  and  the 
others  in  small  parties  of  from  five  to  eight  or  ten  at  various 
missions.3  In  July,  1793,  all  the  small  arms  at  the  four  pre- 
sidios, that  were  of  any  account,  consisted  only  of  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-one  muskets,  fifty-nine  pistols,  one  hundred 
and  seventy-seven  swords  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-three 
lances.4  To  these  a  few  more  were  added  by  the  vessel  which 
had  been  sent  up  from  San  Bias  with  the  object  of  fortifying 
Bodega.     But  still  it  was  clearly  impossible  to  offer  anything 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  505,  506. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  1'.  S.  P.  XXI,  301. 

3  Vancouver,  III,  410. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  358. 


DIEGO  DE  BORICA.  571 

like  a  defense  in  case  French  vessels  should  see  fit  to  make 
an  attack,  which,  as  a  state  of  war  actually  existed,  was  a  not 
impossible  event.  In  view  of  these  facts  Branciforte,  who  was 
then  viceroy,  bestirred  himself  to  put  the  territory  in  some 
sort  of  condition  to  resist;  and  Borica  co-operated  with  great 
energy.  In  1794  Branciforte  ordered  up  from  San  Bias  a 
company  of  Catalonian  volunteers,  consisting  of  seventy-two 
soldiers  well  armed  and  fully  accoutred  for  general  service, 
and  a  sergeant,  three  corporals  and  fourteen  artillerymen  for 
working  the  recently  erected  batteries  at  San  Francisco  and 
Monterey.  At  the  same  time  he  directed  the  marine  depart- 
ment of  San  Bias  to  dispatch  a  vessel  or  two  to  guard  the 
coasts  of  California  and  give  notice  in  case  of  invasion.1  In 
June,  1795,  he  suggested  the  propriety  of  a  general  and  gen- 
erous contribution  throughout  the  country  to  raise  funds  for 
the  purpose  of  aiding  in  carrying  on  the  war;"  and  from  that 
time  on  until  the  supposed  danger  was  over,  he  exerted  him- 
self on  behalf  of  California  in  a  manner  which  was  far  from 
usual  with  the  authorities  at  Mexico.  Borica,  on  his  part, 
thanked  the  viceroy  for  the  reinforcements  sent  and  under- 
took to  do  everything  in  his  power  to  carry  out  the  wise 
provisions  of  his  excellency  and  to  punctually  and  zealously 
fulfill  his  own  duties  and  obligations  as  governor  of  the  threat- 
ened province.3  If  either  the  port  of  San  Francisco,  Monte- 
rey or  San  Diego  were  attacked  by  a  single  vessel  or  by  forces 
that  were  not  entirely  too  powerful,  it  was  his  intention,  he 
said,  to  make  a  defense.  If  on  the  other  hand,  there  should 
be  a  formal  invasion  in  force,  it  was  apparent  that  he  could 
not  successfully  resist.  But  in  such  case  he  would  retire  into 
the  interior;  drive  off  the  cattle;  lay  waste  the  country,  and 
endeavor,  by  every  means  in  his  power,  to  so  incommode  the 
enemy  as  to  force  him  to  abandon  the  coast.4  So  far  as  the 
suggested  contributions  was  concerned,  he  engaged  to  do  all 
that  could  be  done  and  at  once  headed  the  list  with  a  sub- 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  38,  39. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  34,  35. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  S.  V.  XVII,  39. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  S.  1'.  XVII,  40. 


572  THE  SPA  XI  SI  I  GOVERNORS. 

scription  of  a  thousand  dollars,  which  sum  was  soon  after- 
wards increased  to  nearly  four  thousand  dollars  by  contribu- 
tions from  the  officers,  soldiers  and  population  in  general.1 
The  fund  and  its  object,  under  his  management,  became  so 
popular  in  the  territory  that  everybody,  even  the  Indians  that 
were  able,  contributed  to  it — all  except  the  missionaries. 
When  they  were  invited  by  Borica  to  join  the  remainder  of 
the  people,  they  replied  at  great  length,  through  Father  La- 
suen,  that  the  war  against  France  was  a  just  one  and  God 
grant  that  it  might  redound  to  the  glory  of  the  Catholic  relig- 
ion, the  Spanish  nation  and  his  august  majesty,  the  king. 
But  he  and  his  companions  were  poor  clergymen,  engaged  in 
the  holy  and  pious  work  of  administering  to  the  spiritual  and 
temporal  welfare  of  their  flocks.  They  already  had  done  and 
were  doing  a  very  great  deal  of  gratuitous  labor  for  the  gov- 
ernment; and  it  ought  to  be  considered  that  in  their  own  pro- 
fession, which  was  in  the  very  highest  degree  important  and 
recommendable,  they  had  use  for  all,  and  more  than  all,  the 
means  at  their  disposal.  It  was  only  in  view  of  these  consid- 
erations that  they  were  able  to  bear  the  torture  into  which  the 
request  for  a  contribution  had  thrown  them.2  But  neverthe- 
less, in  view  of  the  justness  of  the  war  and  its  importance, 
involving  as  it  did  the  honor  and  safety  of  the  nation,  they 
were  willing  to  and  would  contribute  ail  that  they  were  able, 
that  is  to  say,  their  fervent  and  continued  prayers  to  the  God 
of  Battles  for  the  glorious  triumph  of  the  Spanish  arms/ 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Borica's  bravery  and  zeal,  aided 
by  Branciforte's  substantial  aid  and  comfort,  in  concert  with 
the  patriotism  and  hearty  good  will  of  the  people,  few  and 
weak  as  they  undoubtedly  were,  would,  in  case  of  an  invasion, 
have  availed  much  more  for  the  honor  and  triumph  of  the 
Spanish  arms  than  all  the  prayers  of  the  missionaries,  how- 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  V,  900-912. 

-  Lasuen  wrote,  October  18,  1795  "  I>ero  constituidos  los  P.  P.  en  esta  su  po- 
breza  de  profesion  y  los  hijos  en  la  suya  de  naturaleza,  empleados  unos  yotros  en 
im  servicio  que  le  es  a  nuestro  Catolico  Soberano  tan  grato,  considero  que  S.  M. 
no  quiere  de  nosotros  (y  es  lo  que  me  deja  respirar  en  la  tortura  en  que  me  ha 
puesto  la  presente  solicitud  untie  mis  ansias  de  vasal  lo  Espanol  y  mi  suerte  de 
pobre  Franciscano)  otra  temporal  contiibucion  que  la  que  estamos  franqueando." 

J  Cal.  Archives,  S.  I'.  IX,  498. 


DIEGO  DE  B0K1CA.  573 

ever  fervent  and  continued.  Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt, 
judging  from  the  character  of  the  man  in  other  respects,  that 
under  any  circumstances  Borica  would  have  made  a  gallant 
defense  and  acquitted  himself  with  personal  credit  and  per- 
haps with  glory,  had  he  been  called  upon  to  fight.  The 
reinforcements  sent  by  the  viceroy  arrived  in  due  time;  a 
small  vessel  of  war,  named  the  Concepcion,  was  dispatched 
from  San  Bias  to  guard  the  coasts;1  and  the  governor  vtas 
prepared,  as  the  emergency  might  require,  either  to  combat 
or  to  retreat  and  hang  threatening  like  Fabius  on  the  crests 
of  the  Sierra.  But  France  had  use  for  all  its  forces  in  Europe; 
and  none  of  its  ships  swooped  down  upon  the  coasts  of  Cali- 
fornia. The  war  itself  was  of  very  short  duration.  About 
the  beginning  of  1797,  Borica  called  his  soldiers  together;  but, 
instead  of  leading  them  to  battle,  he  announced  peace  and 
proclaimed  an  alliance  between  Spain  and  the  French  re- 
public." 

The  excitement  respecting  the  war  with  France  was  scarcely 
over  when  rumors  arose  of  war  with  England;  and  there  was 
talk  of  an  English  invasion.  In  view  of  possibilities,  Borica 
directed  a  strict  lookout  to  be  maintained  on  the  principal 
promontories,3  and  ordered  all  the  people  along  the  coast  to 
be  ready  at  short  notice,  in  case  of  a  descent  by  the  English, 
to  retire  into  the  interior;  drive  off  all  the  horses  and  cattle, 
and  as  far  as  possible  carry  the  grain  and  other  movable 
property  out  of  reach  or  destroy  it.  At  the  same  time  he 
directed  that,  if  by  any  mischance  he  himself  should  be  seized 
and  made  a  prisoner,  no  concessions  were  to  be  made  on  his 
account  and  no  attention  paid  to  any  orders  purporting  to 
come  from  him,  no  matter  how  urgent;  but  the  comandantes 
were  in  all  events  to  go  on  and  defend  the  province.4  But 
notwithstanding  these  precautions,  with  the  experience  he 
had  recently  gained  he  seems  to  have  soon  begun  to  look 
upon   an  invasion  of  any  kind  as  a  very  improbable  event. 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  634. 
3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  255. 
3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XV,  121- 123. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  354,  355. 


574  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

In  the  multitude  of  wars  and  rumors  of  war,  with  which  the 
eighteenth  century  closed,  there  was  also  considerable  talk  of 
an  American  invasion — that  is  of  an  attempt  by  the  rising 
young  giant  on  the  other  side  of  the  continent  to  take  not 
only  California  but  all  of  New  Spain.  At  another  time  such 
a  rumor  might  have  disturbed  him.  But  he  now  simply 
waved  it  aside  as  idle  and  vain  and  pronounced  the  notion  of 
such  an  invasion  "una  idea  platonica  que  se  deve  despreciar 
— a  platonic  idea  not  worthy  of  consideration."  l 
1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  V,  794. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

BORICA    (CONTINUED). 

AMONG  the  reinforcements  sent  by  the  Marques  de  Bran- 
ciforte  to  California  in  1795,  in  contemplation  of  a 
possible  invasion  by  France,  the  most  valuable  was  an  able 
engineer,  named  Alberto  de  Cordoba.  He  was  a  military 
officer  who  had  attained  the  high  rank  of  "  ingeniero  estra- 
ordinario,"  and  was  known  in  California  indifferently  by  his 
official  name  or  simply  as  "  the  engineer."  It  was  by  the  latter 
name  that  Governor  Borica  first  mentioned  him  in  returning 
thanks  to  Branciforte  for  the  interest  he  had  manifested  in 
California  affairs  and  the  aid  and  comfort  he  had  transmitted 
for  the  defense  of  the  country.1 

Cordoba  arrived  in  1796  and  at  once  put  himself  in  com- 
munication with  and  under  the  orders  of  Borica.  As  soon  as 
they  met,  each  recognized  the  other's  ability;  and  the  most 
friendly  and  cordial  relations  were  immediately  established 
between  them.  Upon  discussing  the  condition  of  affairs  and 
comparing  notes  as  to  what  ought  to  be  done  and  the  most 
practicable  mode  of  accomplishing  it,  they  found  themselves 
in  perfect  accord  and  both  eager  to  proceed  with  the  work 
without  delay.  The  first  object  was  of  course  to  distribute 
the  reinforcements  of  soldiers  who  had  recently  arrived,  so  as 
to  render  them  most  effective.  These  consisted,  as  before 
stated,  of  a  company  of  seventy-two  Catalonian  volunteers 
and  eighteen  artillerymen.  The  former  were  under  the  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant-colonel  Pedro  de  Alberni;  the  latter 
under  that  of  Sergeant  Jose  Roca.  Alberni  with  twenty-five 
men  and    a   few  of  the   artillerymen   was  stationed  at  San 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  40. 

(575) 


576  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

Francisco  and  the  others  distributed  among  the  other  presid- 
ios. The  next  object  was  to  make  surveys  for,  and  if  possible 
to  found,  new  pueblos  and  increase  the  Spanish  population  of 
the  territory.  It  had  always  been  a  prime  object  in  the 
settlement  of  the  country  to  build  up  pueblos.  This  had 
been  contemplated  in  the  original  instructions  of  Jose  de  Gal- 
vez,  the  visitador-general.  It  had  been  intended  from  the 
beginning  in  fact  that  the  mission  establishments  themselves 
should  eventually  be  converted  into  pueblos;  and  Governor 
Felipe  de  Neve  had  in  the  very  early  days,  in  carrying  out 
the  general  plan  of  colonization,  founded  San  Jose  and  Los 
Angeles.  Branciforte's  instructions  were  full  of  the  same 
subject;  and  he  urged  its  importance  as  second  only  to  the 
defense  and  preservation  of  the  domain  as  a  possession  of  the 
Spanish  crown. 

The  importance  of  San  Francisco  and  its  grand  bay  was 
wellknown;  and  it  was  determined,  if  practicable,  to  com- 
mence with  one  or  more  pueblos  at  or  near  that  point.  As 
soon,  therefore,  as  other  business  would  allow,  Borica  and 
Cordoba,  accompanied  by  Alberni,  proceeded  to  survey  the 
country  in  that  neighborhood  and  as  far  south  as  the  parallel 
of  Santa  Clara  with  the  purpose  of  selecting  suitable  sites. 
But  after  a  long  examination  they 'found  none  that  appeared 
adapted  to  their  purpose.1  As  Cordoba  and  Alberni,  who  con- 
tinued their  survey  after  Borica  had  been  obliged  to  return  to 
Monterey,  were  traveling  backwards  and  forwards,  however, 
their  eyes  fell  upon  a  spot,  which  seemed  to  offer  peculiar 
advantages  for  the  building  of  a  city  and  the  support  of  a 
large  population.  This  was  in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
of  the  mission  of  Santa  Cruz,  where  there  was  land  suitable 
for  building,  for  cultivation  and  for  pasturage,  water  in  abun- 
dance, timber  of  the  best  quality  and  unlimited  quantity,  and 
stone  and  lime  inexhaustible.  In  view  of  all  these  advantages 
they  proposed,  instead  of  the  pueblos  originally  contemplated, 
to  found  a  city  at  this  place  and  give  it,  in  honor  of  the  vice- 
roy, the  name  of  the  Villa  of  Branciforte.  They  communi- 
cated the  proposition  to  Borica,  who  in  turn  communicated  it 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  108. 


DIEGO  DE  BORICA.  577 

to  the  viceroy;1  and  he,  in  due  course  of  time,  approved  it; 
drew  up  his  instructions,  and  ordered  the  foundation  to  pro- 
ceed.2 The  spot  thus  selected  was  at  the  northern  extremity 
of  the  extensive  bay  of  Monterey,  at  a  distance  of  about 
thirty  miles  in  a  direct  line  a  little  west  of  north  from  the  cap- 
ital at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  same  bay  and  about 
sixty  miles  southwesterly  from  San  Francisco.  It  lay  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  San  Lorenzo  river,  opposite  the  mission  of 
Santa  Cruz.  The  port  or  anchorage  in  front  of  it,  which  was 
pronounced  a  good  one,  was  well  protected  from  northwest- 
erly winds;  and  vessels  could  lie  there  with  safety  during  the 
six  summer  months  of  the  year  and  easily  change  their 
anchorage  and  find  shelter  at  Monterey  during  the  six  winter 
months.  Taking  the  place  altogether,  it  was  supposed  to  be 
the  very  best  for  a  city  in  California — all  the  way  from  Cape 
San  Lucas  to  the  bay  of  San  Francisco.3 

In  drawing  up  his  instructions,  Branciforte  had  before  him 
the  old  instructions  of  Felipe  de  Neve,  under  which  the 
pueblos  of  San  Jose  and  Los  Angeles  had  been  founded 
and  governed.  But  these  were,  in  his  judgment,  entirely 
inadequate  for  the  new  enterprise.  They  had  been  suitable 
enough,  perhaps,  for  the  circumstances  of  those  early  times, 
when  the  country  was  a  wilderness  and  all  the  colonists  were 
obliged  to  come  up  overland,  with  infinite  toil,  from  Sonora 
and  Sinaloa.  But  it  was  plain  that  San  Jose  and  Los  Angeles 
had  not  advanced  as  could  have  been  wished.  With  all  their 
advantages  of  climates  as  fine  and  fields  as  rich  as  any  in  the 
world,  they  were  still  small  and  miserable  towns;  their  houses 
still  of  palisades  and  mud  thatched  with  tule,  and  their  inhab- 
itants so  poor  that  they  were  scarcely  able  to  support  and 
clothe  themselves.  The  villa  of  Branciforte,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  to  be  populated  by  colonists  already  in  the  country 
or  to  come  by  sea,  who  were  to  be  attracted  by  offers  of 
extraordinary  privileges.     Each  colonist  was  to  have  an  adobe 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  IV,  672-684. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  642-645. 

3  "  El  mejor  de  quantos  se  hallan  desde  el  Cabo  de  San  Lucas  hasta  San  Fran- 
cisco."— Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  642. 

37     Vol.  I. 


578  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

house,  roofed  with  tiles,  built  for  him  at  the  expense  of  the 
king,  besides  being  maintained  for  a  year  out  of  the  public 
treasury  and  furnished,  on  easy  conditions  of  repayment, 
with  two  horses,  two  mares,  two  cows,  two  sheep,  two  goats, 
a  yoke  of  oxen,  a  musket,  a  plow  and  other  agricultural  im- 
plements. Borica  in  his  communications  with  the  viceroy 
was  anxious  as  to  the  character  of  the  colonists  to  be  sent  up 
from  Mexico  and  requested  that  they  might  be  men  of  robust 
health  and  strength,  agriculturists,  carpenters,  blacksmiths, 
masons,  tailors,  shoemakers,  tanners,  hatters  and  other  artisans, 
not  excepting  a  few  fishermen  to  hunt  the  multitudinous 
whales  of  Monterey  bay.  He  was  also  particular  to  suggest 
that  sufficient  supplies  and  clothing  should  be  furnished  not 
only  for  the  voyage  but  for  a  reasonable  time  in  California.1 
All  these  suggestions  commended  themselves  as  judicious  and 
proper  to  the  mind  of  Branciforte;  and  in  his  instructions  he 
adopted  them,  thus  producing  a  combination  of  his  own  prop- 
ositions with  those  of  Borica,  Cordoba  and  Alberni,  each  of 
them  having  entered  into  the  project  with  all  his  enthusiasm 
and  energy. 

In  April,  1797,  the  viceroy's  instructions  having  arrived 
shortly  before,2  Borica  gave  notice  that  he  would  found  the 
villa  of  Branciforte  in  person;3  and  he  thereupon  issued  orders 
to  Cordoba  to  lay  it  out  on  a  scale  commensurate  with  the 
instructions,  so  as  to  include  a  church,  government  buildings, 
hospitals,  and  comfortable  houses  for  the  colonists,  and  also  to 
make  specifications  and  estimates.  In  addition  to  these  gen- 
eral directions,  and  in  view  of  the  admitted  inadequacy  of  the 
old  regulations,  he  enclosed  a  copy  of  a  set  of  regulations 
called  the  Plan  of  Pitic  and  directed  Cordoba  to  proceed  in 
all  respects,  except  where  specially  otherwise  ordered,  in 
accordance  with  its  provisions.4  Cordoba,  as  was  usual  with 
him,  fulfilled  his  orders  with  promptitude;  and  in  May,  Borica, 
being  furnished  with  the  engineer's  plat,  gave  notice  that  the 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  IV,  671,  672. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  M.  &  C.  I,  395. 
^Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  356. 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  644,  645. 


DIEGO  JDE  BORICA.  579 

new  villa  was  ready  for  population;  that  in  addition  to  other 
colonists,  any  inhabitants  of  Los  Angeles  or  San  Jose,  who  had 
had  no  lands  assigned  to  them,  would  be  accepted  as  settlers 
at  Branciforte  and  should  enjoy  all  the  priviliges  of  other  col- 
onists, and  that  no  obstacles  should  be  thrown  in  the  way  of 
their  changing  their  residence  to  that  place  if  they  so  desired.1 

The  Plan  of  Pitic,  a  famous  document  among  the  Spanish 
Americans  of  those  days,  originated  in  the  province  of  So- 
nora  and  was  promulgated  at  Chihuahua  on  November  [4, 
1789.  Its  object  was  the  establishment  of  a  pueblo  of  white 
people  as  a  barrier  or  protection  against  neighboring  Indians, 
who  were  hostile  or  might  at  any  time  become  so.  The  par- 
ticular occasion  for  such  a  pueblo  in  the  case  of  Pitic  was  the 
presence  of  a  fierce  and  warlike  tribe,  called  the  Seris,  who 
had  destroyed  a  mission  on  what  is  now  the  site  of  Guaymas 
and  were  threatening  further  devastations.  To  guard  against 
them,  the  presidio  of  San  Miguel  de  Orcasitas  was  moved  to 
Pitic,  now  known  as  Hermosillo;  and  under  its  protection  the 
settlement  of  a  new  pueblo  at  that  place  was  ordered  to  pro- 
ceed in  accordance  with  the  directions  contained  in  the  plan, 
the  main  idea  seeming  to  be  the  gradual  raising  of  a  popula- 
tion which  should  supply  the  presidio  and  by  degrees  occupy 
and  civilize  the  entire  neighborhood.  But  at  the  same  time, 
while  the  plan  was  principally  intended  for  Pitic,  its  authors 
contemplated  that  it  should  also  furnish  a  general  plan  for 
the  founding  of  pueblos  throughout  the  comandancia  of  the 
Internal  Provinces  of  the  West,  embracing  the  Californias, 
New  Mexico  and  New  Vizcaya  as  well  as  Sonora;  and  when 
it  came  finally  to  be  adopted  and  approved  by  the  king  of 
Spain,  which  was  before  its  promulgation  at  Chihuahua,  it 
was  with  the  express  declaration  that  its  main  provisions 
were  to  apply  in  other  cases  of  new  foundations  of  a  civil  or 
municipal  character  throughout  the  jurisdiction. 

The  chief  features  of  the  plan  were  that  whenever  a  new 
pueblo  was  to  be  founded,  which  was  in  all  cases  to  be  in 
accordance  with  law  and  so  as  not  to  cause  injury  or  detri- 
ment to  any  private  individual  nor  to  be  within  five  leagues 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  130;  VII,  663,  664. 


580  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

of  any  other  city,  town  or  village  of  Spaniards,  there  was  to 
be  granted  to  it  a  tract  of  four  square  leagues  of  land,  to  be 
selected  and  marked  out  by  definite  and  fixed  boundaries 
either  in  a  square  or  oblong  form  according  to  circumstances 
of  topography.  A  portion  of  this  tract  was  to  be  laid  out 
into  a  town  plat,  with  building  lots  and  streets  so  arranged  as 
to  be  as  straight,  regular  and  symmetrical  as  the  nature  of 
the  case  would  allow,  having  in  view  convenience,  cleanliness, 
health  and  adaptability  to  ornament  and  embellishment. 
Around  the  town  plat  commons  were  to  be  laid  out  for  the 
general  use  of  all  the  inhabitants  and  as  a  reserve  for  future 
building  lots,  and  streets;  and  beyond  the  commons  pasture 
lands,  in  the  same  manner.  Of  these  commons  and  pasture 
lands,  those  portions  which  were  best  calculated  for  cultiva- 
tion were  to  be  selected  and  reserved  for  distribution  as  culti- 
vable lands;  and,  if  necessary,  provision  was  to  be  made  for 
constructing  irrigating  canals  and  ditches.  Each  establish- 
ment of  this  kind  was  to  have  a  "  comisionado  "  or  chief  mag- 
istrate, who,  among  his  other  powers  and  duties,  was  to  have 
charge  of  the  distribution  of  the  building  lots;  and,  whenever 
the  population  reached  thirty  pobladores  or  settlers,  an  ayun- 
tamiento  or  town  council  was  to  be  elected,  consisting  of  two 
ordinary  alcaldes,  six  regidores  or  councilmen,  a  syndico  or 
prosecuting  attorney  and  certain  other  subordinate  officers. 
The  grants  of  lots  to  settlers  were  to  be  to  them  and  their 
descendants  forever,  but  on  condition  that  they  should  keep 
arms  and  horses  and  be  ready  to  march  against  an  enemy 
whenever  called  upon;  and  within  two  years  they  should  at 
least  commence  building  houses  on  their  town  lots  and  culti- 
vating their  agricultural  land.  After  four  years  of  residence, 
during  which  they  were  to  be  unable  to  alienate,  mortgage  or 
encumber,  if  in  the  meanwhile  they  complied  with  all  the  con- 
ditions imposed,  they  were  to  become  and  to  be  the  absolute 
owners  in  fee,  with  full  powers  of  sale  and  disposition  except 
to  a  church,  monastery  or  ecclesiastical  community.  There 
were  many  minor  provisions;  but  all  were  calculated  to  carry 
out  the  main  objects  and  purposes  indicated.1 

»  Cal.  Archives;  M.  &  C.  I,  853-868. 


DIEGO  DE  BORICA.  581 

The  first  importation  of  colonists  for  Branciforte  arrived  at 
Monterey  on  board  the  Concepcion  on  May  12,  1797.  There 
were  seventeen  of  them,  nine  of  whom  were  men.1  But, 
unfortunately,  instead  of  being  the  strong,  healthy  and  well- 
provided  settlers  desired  by  Borica,  they  were  all  miserable, 
half-naked  individuals,  and  some  of  them  afflicted  with  dis- 
ease.2 With  these,  such  as  they  were,  no  others  having  pre- 
sented themselves,  Borica  prepared  to  proceed  with  the  foun- 
dation; and  on  July  17,  after  appointing  Corporal  Gabriel 
Moraga  comisionado  of  the  proposed  establishment  and  issu- 
ing to  him  a  series  of  instructions  for  his  guidance  and  gov- 
ernment, he  set  out  from  Monterey  and  on  July  24,  1797, 
founded  the  new  villa.3 

It  was  not,  under  the  circumstances,  an  encouraging  begin- 
ning. But  the  colonists  had  been  clothed  and  provided  with 
necessaries  before  leaving  Monterey;  they  carried  along  with 
them  agricultural  implements;  they  found  shelter  furnished 
and  lands  assigned  for  cultivation;  and  Moraga  was  enjoined 
to  keep  them  at  work  and  watch  over  their  morals.4  As  soon 
as  they  were  established,  Borica  returned  to  Monterey;  and 
soon  afterwards  he  wrote  to  the  viceroy  that  it  was  impor- 
tant, among  the  new  importations  which  were  to  be  for- 
warded, to  send  enough  young  women  to  provide  the  unmar- 
ried men  with  wives.  There  were  among  the  colonists  then 
at  Branciforte  five  bachelors.  It  was  possible,  he  observed,  to 
supply  the  want  of  wives  in  part  from  the  Indian  women  at 
the  mission.  But  this  resource  could  not  be  relied  on.  One 
reason  was  because  it  was  difficult  to  induce,  the  Indian 
women  to  separate  themselves  from  their  relatives.  Another 
was  because  the  missionaries  objected  to  marriages  of  this 
kind,  unless  the  proposed  husbands  were  of  exemplary  habits. 
Under  the  circumstances  he  was  of  opinion  that  marriages 
between  the  colonists  already  at  Branciforte,  or  those  of   a 

1  Cal.  Archives,  M.  &  C.  I,  906. 

2  "  Todos  llegaron  cuasi  desnudos  y  algunos  enfermos  de  galico." — Cal.  Ar- 
chives, P.  R.  IV   359. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  383,  384. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  M.  &  C.  I,  869-871. 


582  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

second  importation  of  nineteen  petty  criminals  from  Guana- 
juato about  to  be  sent  up  from  San  Bias,  and  Indian  women 
of  the  missions  would  be  extremely  rare.  It  would  be  best, 
therefore,  for  the  interests  of  the  new  foundation  to  send  a 
sufficient  number  of  women  from  Mexico;  but  at  the  same 
time  he  suggested  that  if  they  came  as  illy  provided  as  the 
last  immigrants,  provision  should  be  made  for  clothing  them 
as  soon  as  they  arrived.1 

In  the  meanwhile  Moraga  put  the  colonists  at  work.  They 
occupied  houses  built  for  them  and  cultivated  fields,  which 
were  provided  with  irrigating  canals  laid  out  by  Cordoba. 
They  already  possessed  means  of  maintenance  for  a  year; 
and  all  they  had  to  do  to  secure  abundance  for  the  future  was 
to  turn  up  the  generous  soil  and  plant  it."  In  January,  1798, 
Moraga  reported  the  progress  of  affairs  as  entirely  satisfactory.^ 
In  September  the  second  importation  of  colonists  arrived,4 
increasing  the  population  to  some  thirty-five  or  forty.  The 
first  crops  had  turned  out  well;  everything  seeme.d  to  promise 
better  than  could  have  been  anticipated  from  the  character  of 
the  population;  and  Borica  felt  encouraged  in  believing  that 
the  objects  he  had  contemplated  in  the  foundation  would  be 
accomplished.5  But  the  establishment  was  not  destined  to 
be  a  success.  For  various  reasons,  notwithstanding  the  ad- 
vantages it  possessed,  it  was  not  fitted  for  a  large  town;  it  did 
not  become  a  popular  or  favorite  place  of  residence;  from  the 
very  start  there  grew  up  a  prejudice  against  it;6  and  conse- 
quently it  never  advanced  sufficiently  to  compare  either  with 
San  Jose  or  Los  Angeles.  When  the  Americans  came  to 
occupy  the  country,  fifty  years  after  the  foundation,  it  was 
almost  forgotten  that  such  a  place  as  the  villa  of  Branciforte 
had  ever  existed. 

When  Cordoba  and  Alberni,  in  their  surveys  for  new  pueb- 
los in  the  early  part  of  1796  examined  San   Francisco,  they 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  194,  195. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  653-655. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  749. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  403,  404. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  251   253. 

6  Cal.  Archives,  P.   R.  VII,  530. 


DIEGO  DE  HO  RICA.  583 

found  it  in  very  bad  condition.  The  entire  military  establish- 
ment consisted  of  less  than  a  dozen  small  adobe  houses 
thatched  with  tule  and  partially  surrounded  with  an  adobe 
wall  plastered  over  with  mud  They  were  all  in  a  ruinous 
state  and  liable  to  be  overthrown  by  every  storm;  nor  did  a 
winter  pass  without  damage  to  them.  Such  was  the  presidio. 
About  a  mile  distant,  on  the  bluff  overlooking  the  narrowest 
part  of  the  entrance  of  the  bay  since  famous  under  the  name 
of  the  Golden  Gate,  was  the  fort  or  battery,  also  known  as 
"el  castillo"  or  the  castle,  built  and  furnished  with  a  few  pieces 
of  ordnance  by  Governor  Arrillaga  in  1793.  Borica,  in  1795, 
upon  his  first  examination  of  the  place,  considered  the  dis- 
tance between  the  presidio  and  the  castillo  as  too  great  and 
proposed  that  the  presidio  should  be  removed  to  the  neigh- 
borhood of  some  springs  on  the  hill  just  back  of  the  castillo.1 
But  Cordoba  and  Alberni,  upon  the  proposition  being  re- 
ferred to  them,  found  that  the  springs  referred  to  by  Borica 
had  entirely  dried  up  and  they  reported  that,  on  this  and  other 
accounts,  it  was  impracticable  to  change  the  location.2  Both, 
however,  were  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  building  a  new 
presidio;  for,  as  Alberni  said,  the  actual  establishment  was  an 
imaginary  presidio  rather  than  a  real  one.s 

As,  however,  the  building  of  a  new  presidio  was  a  matter 
requiring  time  and  consideration,  Cordoba  set  himself  at  work 
to  make  such  repairs  and  improvements  as  were  immediately 
necessary.  He  devoted  his  attention  first  to  several  sentry 
boxes,  which  he  built  in  place  of  one  that  had  been  blown 
down  by  a  storm  the  preceding  February.4  He  also  repaired 
the  powder-magazine,  which  had  also  been  injured.5  He 
then  projected  and  commenced  a  number  of  repairs  to  the 
castillo  or  fort,  which  he  found  in  equally  bad  condition. 
There  were  thirteen  cannon. there,  three  of  them  twenty-four- 
pounders,  one  of   which  was   useless;    two    twelve-pounders, 

'   '  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  177-179. 

-  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  IV,  602-604. 

8  "EI  actual  presidio,  cuyo  titulo  es  imaginario," — Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  IV, 
60  j. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  IV,  591:   P.  S.   I'.  XIV,  548. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  IV,  597. 


584  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

and  the  others  smaller.  But  they  had  been  so  illy  mounted 
and  planted  that  they  could  have  afforded  little  or  no  protec- 
tion against  any  vessel  determined  to  force  an  entrance.1 
Even  the  twenty-four-pounders,  according  to  Alberni,  would 
not  carry  to  the  opposite  shore,  except  when  so  elevated  as  to 
render  anything  like  an  aim  altogether  impracticable.2  To 
make  the  fort  in  any  respect  useful  required  much  labor  and 
expense;  and  Cordoba  could  do  nothing  more  than  merely 
project  and  start  the  repairs,  when  he  was  called  off  to  lay 
out  the  villa  of  Branciforte,  after  which  he  set  out  for  Santa 
Barbara  and  San  Diego  to  plan  and  get  under  way  such  re- 
pairs and  improvements  as  were  necessary  in  those  places.3 
During  all  this  time  Borica  was  quite  as  busy  as  Cordoba, 
not  only  in  providing  for  and  assisting  in  the  work  actually 
going  forward,  but  also  in  writing  letters  to  the  viceroy  and 
urging  upon  him  the  importance  of  fortifying  every  exposed 
point  and  putting  the  territory  in  a  complete  state  of  defense. 
In  the  early  part  of  1797  Borica  directed  Cordoba,  who  in 
the  meanwhile  had  returned  from  his  trip  southward,  to  return 
to  San  Francisco;  push  forward  the  repairs  and  improvements 
at  the  Castillo,  and  also  to  build  a  battery  at  the  most  suitable 
point  to  prevent  enemies  from  anchoring  or  landing  at  Yerba 
Buena.  This  Yerba  Buena  was,  properly  speaking,  the  little 
valley  and  cove  between  Telegraph  Hill  on  the  north  and 
Rincon  Point  on  the  south,  now  the  central  portion  of  the 
water  front  of  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  though  what  is  now 
known  as  North  Beach  seems  also  to  have  been  sometimes 
included  in  the  general  designation.  It  was  then,  and  for 
many  years  afterwards  continued  to  be,  a  mere  waste,  the 
northern  and  western  portions  rough  and  deeply  gullied  and 
the  central  and  southern  portions  covered  with  sand  ridges. 
Most  of  it  was  overgrown  with  bushes,  chaparral  and  a  few 
scrubby  oak  trees.  There  were  no  human  inhabitants,  except 
now  and  then  a  few  strolling  Indians;  but  wild  cats  and 
coyotes  were  plentiful;  deer  were  often  seen,  not  unfrequently 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XIV,  255-261;  S.  P.  XVII,  144-148. 
aCal.  Archives,  S.   I'.  XVII,  148,  149. 
3  Cal.  Archives.  S.  P.  IV,  686-688. 


DIEGO  DE  BO  RICA.  585 

cougars,  and  sometimes  grizzly  bears.  Among  the  under- 
brush, there  was  to  be  found  in  great  quantity  the  little 
aromatic  or  mint-like  vine,  called  by  the  Spaniards  "  yerba 
buena "  or  good  herb;  and  from  its  abundance  the  place 
seems  to  have  derived  its  name.  It  is  uncertain  by  whom  it 
was  first  so  called;  for  though  Borica  appears  to  have  been 
one  of  the  first  in  whose  writings  the  name  is  found,  he  speaks 
of  it  as  if  familiarly  known.1  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
shelter  afforded  vessels  at  North  Beach  and  in  the  cove 
referred  to,  while  the  usual  anchorage  in  front  of  the  presidio 
was  more  or  less  exposed,  had  already  attracted  attention  to 
it.  But  the  first  structure  erected  there  was  the  battery  of 
eight  embrasures  and  five  cannons  projected  and  ordered  by 
Borica  in  the  spring  of  17972  and  afterwards  before  the  end  of 
the  year  built  by  Cordoba  at  what  is  now  known  as  Black- 
Point.3 

The  advantages  of  Yerba  Buena  as  a  place  of  anchorage 
appear  to  have  been  wrell  known  at  the  time  of  a  severe  and 
disastrous  storm  which  raged  at  San  Francisco  on  the  night 
of  March  23,  1797.  Much  damage  was  done;  but  the  greatest 
loss  was  that  of  the  ship  San  Carlos,  which  had  recently 
arrived  from  San  Bias  with  ordnance  and  stores.  This  was, 
however,  not  the  famous  old  "paquebot"  San  Carlos,  which 
had  brought  up  the  first  pioneers  in  1769  and  was  afterwards 
the  first  vessel  to  enter  the  bay  of  San  Fr"ancisco.  That  ship 
had  been  sent  to  the  Philippine  Islands  in  1779  with  news  of 
war  between  Spain  and  England.  It  accomplished  the  voy- 
age to  Manila  with  success;  but  that  was  substantially  the  end 
of  its  glory.  It  remained  there  while  a  new  vessel,  also  called 
the  San  Carlos,  sometimes  with  the  additional  name  of  "El 


1  The  mention  of  Yerba  Buena  referred  to  occurs  in  a  letter  of  Borica  to 
Cordoba,  dated  April  4,  1797.  After  directing  Cordoba  to  make  certain  improve- 
ments at  the  Castillo,  Borica  proceeds:  "Concluida  esta  operacion  como  mas 
urgente,  despondra  V.  MD.  la  omstruccion  de  otra  bateria  en  el  parage  mas  pro- 
posito  para  impedir  fondeen  losenemigos  en  la  Verba  Buena  y  hagan  su  desem- 
barco:  en  ella  se  colocaren  los  canones  sobrantes  de  la  de  San  Joaquin  y  los  que 
facilitar  el  teniente  de  fragata,  Don  Ramon  de  Saavedra." — Cal.    Archives,  P.    S. 

p.  xx  r,  629,  630. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  187. 

3  Cal.  Archives.  S.  P.    II,  429-431. 


586  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

Felipino,"  was  sent  back  in  its  place;  and  this  latter  was  the 
vessel  that  was  lost.  It  appears  to  have  been  lying  in  front 
of  the  presidio.  According  to  Vancouver,  the  invariable 
method  adopted  by  the  Spaniards  in  securing  their  vessels 
was  by  mooring  them  both  stem  and  stern  with  many  anchors 
and  cables,  never  less  than  four  and  seldom  less  than  six — a 
very  injudicious  practice,  as  he  observed,  where  the  tides  are 
strong  and  irregular,1  and  still  more  so  where  such  tides  are 
combined  with  violent  winds.  It  is  obvious  that  a  vessel  will 
ride  better  under  such  circumstances  when  fastened  by  the 
stem  alone,  so  as  to  allow  it  to  swing  like  a  weather-vane 
against  the  opposing  forces;  but  if  fastened  at  both  ends, 
with  its  broadside  against  the  wind  or  current  or  both  com- 
bined, the  difficulty  of  holding  fast  is  much  increased.  How- 
ever the  case  may  have  been  with  the  San  Carlos,  whether  it 
was  torn  from  its  moorings  or  was  caught  in  the  storm  after 
leaving  them,  as  seems  more  probable,  it  is  certain  that  the 
ship,  after  being  driven  on  the  rocks  somewhere  near  the  pre- 
sidio, attempted  to  run  for  the  assured  safe  place  of  anchor- 
age at  Yerba  Buena,  but  failed  to  reach  it,2  and  became  a 
total  wreck.3  Fortunately  most  of  the  cargo  had  been  previ- 
ously landed  and  among  other  things  the  ordnance,  which 
Borica  ordered  to  be  placed  in  the  new  battery.4 

There  was  still  another  work  at  San  Francisco,  besides  the 
presidio,  the  Castillo  and  the  battery  at  Yerba  Buena,  which 
engaged  Borica's  attention  in  1797.  This  was  what  was 
known  as  "el  rancho  del  rey"  or  the  royal  cattle  ranch.  For 
three  consecutive  years  a  drought  had  prevailed  and  the 
cattle  belonging  to  the  government  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Monterey  had  become  reduced  to  twelve  hundred  head,  so 
that  difficulty  was  anticipated  in  providing  for  the  needs  of 
the  troops  at  San  Francisco  and  the  crews  of  the  royal  vessels 
touching  there.  In  view  of  these  circumstances  Borica  re- 
solved to  found  a  separate  establishment  for  raising  cattle  on 

1  Vancouver,  III,  47. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  V.  S.  1'.  Ben.  XXIV,  878. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  328;   P.  S.  P.  XV,  561. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  629,  630. 


DIEGO  BE  BORICA.  587 

government  account  in  the  neighborhood  of  San  Francisco. 
Availing  himself  of  the  surveys  of  Cordoba  and  Alberni  he 
fixed  upon  the  rich  valley  and  grassy  hills  just  south  of  San 
Mateo  as  the  location  of  the  new  establishment,  and  sent 
thither  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  head  of  cattle  to  start  it.1 
It  was  the  fate  of  this  enterprise,  like  almost  even-thing  else 
that  was  done  in  those  days  on  behalf  of  the  civil  government, 
to  excite  the  opposition  of  the  missionaries.  The  founding  of 
the  villa  of  Branciforte  had  caused  a  controversy  as  to  juris- 
diction and  boundaries  with  the  mission  of  Santa  Cruz;2  a 
controversy  of  the  same  character  had  been  long  going  on  be- 
tween the  pueblo  of  San  Jose  and  the  mission  of  Santa  Clara; 
and  now  the  missionaries  of  San  Francisco  objected  strenu- 
ously to  the  government  cattle  ranch,  claiming  that  it  was  cal- 
culated to  unduly  interfere  with  their  rights  of  supplying  the 
troops  and  vessels  with  beef  at  their  own  prices.*  Borica  was 
prudent  enough  to  keep  on  as  good  terms  as  possible  with  the 
missionaries  and  did  not  allow  their  complaints  to  cause  a 
quarrel  or  rupture.  But  at  the  same  time  he  did  not  for  an 
instant  suspend  the  work  he  had  projected  or  in  any  respect 
alter  his  plans.  On  the  contrary  he  went  on  perfecting  his 
arrangements  at  San  Mateo;  and  the  next  year  he  had  the 
satisfaction  of  learning  that  the  viceregal  government  at 
Mexico  thought  as  he  did  of  the  missionary  complaints  and 
that  it  fully  and  unqualifiedly  approved  all  he  had  done.4 

The  narrative  thus  given  of  city-founding,  fortification- 
building  and  other  public  work  projected,  planned  and  more  or 
less  completely  carried  out  since  1795,  exhibits  only  in  part 
the  vast  amount  of  labor  performed  by  Cordoba.  There  was 
hardly  an  engineering  work  in  the  country  that  he  did  not 
inspect  and  where  practicable  improve.  He  thus  in  1796  made- 
surveys  and  valuable  improvements  in  the  system  of  irrigation 
for  agricultural    purposes  at  San   Jose.5     Besides    his    other 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  192,  193. 
?  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  247,  248. 
:i  Cal.  Archives  P.  R.  IV,  411-417. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  840,  841. 
5  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  465. 


588  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

work  at  Branciforte,  he  built  a  bridge  over  the  river  between 
the  villa  and  the  mission  of  Santa  Cruz,1  also  a  water-mill2 
and  lime-kilns.3  On  his  visit  to  Santa  Barbara  and  San 
Diego  he  made  various  repairs  and  improvements  in  those 
presidios  and  constructed  a  battery  at  the  latter  place/  He 
also  busied  himself  in  collecting  materials  for  a  new  map  of 
California,  which  after  his  return  from  San  Diego  he  com- 
pleted and  sent  to  Borica,D  who  in  November,  1797,  trans- 
mitted it  to  Mexico.6  He  also  undertook  to  give  the  Indians, 
and  particularly  those  of  Santa  Clara,  instructions  in  the  art 
of  building  houses.7  It  is  true  that  the  most,  if  not  all,  of 
this  work  was  suggested  and  pushed  forward  by  the  unceas- 
ing and  indomitable  energy  of  Borica;  but  it  was  Cordoba, 
more  than  any  one  else,  who  did  it;  and  without  him  little  or 
nothing  would  have  been  accomplished.  He  was  evidently  a 
man  of  capacity,  whom  it  would  have  been  a  happiness  for 
any  country  to  permanently  possess. 

Unfortunately  for  California,  Cordoba  was  only  a  sojourner. 
He  had  been  sent  up  with  special  reference  to  putting  the 
country  in  a  state  of  defense  on  the  Occasion  of  the  war  with 
France.  Almost  as  soon  as  that  was  over,  the  viceroy  di- 
rected his  return  to  Mexico.8  It  doubtless  caused  a  pang  to 
Borica  to  lose  him;  nor  was  it  pleasant  to  Cordoba  to  part 
from  a  friend  with  whom  his  relations  had  been  so  cordial 
and  for  whom  he  entertained  so  high  a  respect  as  is  evidenced 
by  the  tone  of  their  correspondence.  But  Cordoba  had  other 
and  more  powerful  ties  of  affection  in  Mexico  than  in  Califor- 
nia. He  had  left  his  wife  and  children  there;  and,  though 
favorable  news  of  their  health  reached  him  from  time  to  time,9 
his  absence  from  them  could  not  have  been  otherwise  than 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  655. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  241. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  250. 

4  Cal.   Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  671. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  671. 

6  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  223. 

"  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  681. 
8  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  6cS2. 
"Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  6S0,  693. 


DIEGO  DE  BORICA.  589 

painful.  The  viceroy  had  ordered  his  return  in  November, 
1797;  but  the  order  did  not  reach  him  until  the  following 
April.  He  left  California  in  October,  1798,  carrying  with  him 
the  well-merited  compliment  of  Borica,  that  he  had  with 
promptitude  and  exactness  in  all  respects  performed  all  the 
duties  with  which  he  had  been  charged.1 
1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  431. 


CHAPTER    V. 

BORICA   (CONTINUED). 

IT  is  almost  impossible  within  any  reasonable  compass  to 
describe  the  great  variety  of  subjects  to  which  Borica  felt 
called  upon,  during  his  administration,  to  direct  his  attention, 
and  to  explain  the  influence  he  exerted  and  the  effects  he 
produced.  Entirely  apart  from  what  may  be  called  his  polit- 
ical and  military  duties,  his  foundation  of  Branciforte,  the 
important  part  he  played  in  the  establishment  of  five  new 
missions,  the  repair  of  the  fortifications  at  the  four  presidios, 
the  erection  of  new  batteries  at  Yerba  Buena  and  San  Diego, 
and  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  Indians,  he  found 
other  matters  to  busy  himself  with  more  than  sufficient  in 
themselves  to  engage  the  time  of  an  ordinary  governor.  Few 
other  men  would  have  done,  or  could  have  done,  what  he  did. 
He  was  a  remarkable  man.  His  intelligence  and  ability,  his 
benevolence,  integrity  and  energy  were  uncommon.  In  view 
of  his  time  and  surroundings,  he  was  an  extraordinary  gov- 
ernor. 

Upon  his  arrival  in  California,  with  his  mind  full  of  proj- 
ects for  making  a  great  and  progressive  country  and  his 
enthusiasm  ablaze  with  the  idea  of  pushing  it  far  forward  in 
the  path  of  civilization,  the  first  and  greatest  difficulty  that 
stood  in  his  way  was  the  inherently  lazy,  ignorant  and  vicious 
character  of  the  Spanish  population.  There  were  among 
them  many  good  families;  even  among  the  earliest  pioneers, 
there  were  such  names  as  those  of  Alvarado,  Amador,  Ber- 
nal,  Carrillo,  Estrada,  Guerrero,  Noriega,  Vallejo  and  others 
of  respectability;1  but  as  a  general   rule  the  population  were 

>  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  577. 
(5<J0) 


DIEGO  DE  BORIC  A.  501 

idlers,  gamblers  and  drunkards;  poor  materials,  it  is  plain,  for 
the  constitution  of  a  state.  Borica  began  by  grappling  with 
the  abomination  of  aguardiente  or  Mexican  brandy.  There 
were  various  kinds  of  alcoholic  distillations  which  went  under 
the  name  of  aguardiente;  some  made  from  wine;  some  from 
fruit  or  grain;  some  from  sugar-cane,  and  some  from  the  juice 
of  the  maguey  plant,  which  latter  was  also  called  mescal. 
They  were  all  bad;  but  the  mescal  was  especially  deleterious. 
This  miserable  kind  of  liquor  had  been  introduced  into 
the  country  in  large  quantities  and  was  producing  sucn  scan- 
dalous effects  that  Borica  insisted  upon  a  stoppage  of  its 
importation  and  asked  the  viceroy  as  earl)-  as  April,  1795,  for 
confiscation.1  It  is,  however,  no  easy  thing  to  root  out  the 
vice  of  drunkenness  from  amongst  a  people  that  is  wedded  to 
it;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Borica  failed  to  a  great 
extent  in  his  efforts.  But  he  accomplished  something  in 
making  it  regarded  as  a  vice.  That  his  struggle  against  it 
had  some  influence  appears  from  the  fact  that  afterwards  in 
1798,  when  a  resident  of  San  Jose  desired  to  sell  a  barrel  of 
aguardiente  made  of  sugar-cane,  he  was  obliged  to  ask  the 
permission  of  Borica  to  do  so;  and  the  permission  was  given 
only  on  condition  that  the  liquor  was  such  as  was  represented 
and  not  mescal;  that  it  should  not  be  disposed  of  except  in 
very  small  quantities  at  a  time,  not  sufficient  to  intoxicate, 
and  that  it  should  be  drunk  in  the  house  and  presence  of  the 
seller.'2 

Idleness  was  even  more  difficult  to  reach  than  drunkenness. 
It  was  more  or  less  noticeable  everywhere,  but  especially 
among  the  pobladores  or  colonists  at  San  Jose.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1795,  the  comisionado  or  superintendent  of  that  pueblo 
made  a  report  of  the  agricultural  labor  that  had  been  done 
there  and  exhibited  a  state  of  affairs  which  justly  excited  the 
governor's  ire.  Borica  wrote  back  that  in  view  of  the  fertile 
land  and  abundant  irrigation  of  San  Jose,  the  scantiness  of 
the  harvest  was  a  shame  and  that  the  laziness  which  caused 
it,  being  a  sin  against   God,  the  king  and  the  government, 

1  Cal    Archives.  1'.  R.  IV,  145. 
2Cal.  Archives,  I".  R.  VI,  789. 


592  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS.. 

should  for  the  future  be  punished  by  fines  and  forfeitures.1 
This,  as  it  turned  out,  was  enough  to  accomplish  his  purpose. 
It  was  unnecessary  to  punish  any  one.  The  pobladores,  hav- 
ing learned  from  what  they  had  seen  of  his  character  in  other 
respects  that  he  was  in  earnest  and  really  meant  what  he 
said,  immediately  went  to  work  with  exemplary  industry; 
and  the  next  harvest  was  one  of  great  abundance,  upon  which 
he  took  pleasure  in  congratulating  them.'2 

Intimately  connected  with  drunkenness  and  idleness,  some- 
times as  causing  them  and  sometimes  as  caused  by  them,  was 
the  vice  of  gambling.  It  had  been  prevalent  from  the  time 
of  the  first  settlers;  and  nearly  all  classes  were  to  some  extent 
addicted  to  it.  For  the  reason,  however,  that  it  was  difficult 
to  draw  the  line  with  precision  between  gambling  on  the  one 
side  and  innocent  amusement  on  the  other,  little  had  been 
done,  and  nothing  effectually,  to  check  the  vice.  For  the 
same  reason  it  is  likely  that  Borica  would  have  passed  the 
matter  over  without  attempting  any  special  reform,  had  he 
not  in  time  come  to  ascertain  that  gambling  had  not  only 
already  interfered,  but  was  still  seriously  interfering,  with  the 
proper  administration  of  justice.  He  found  out  for  instance 
in  1798  that  the  alcalde  of  Los  Angeles  was  neglecting  his 
duties  on  account  of  his  proclivities  in  that  direction;  and  he 
ordered  the  comandante  to  put  an  immediate  stop  to  such 
scandalous  proceedings.  It  was,  to  use  his  own  forcible  ex- 
pression, a  cancer  that  should  be  at  once  eradicated/4  But 
bad  as  was  the  conduct  of  the  alcalde  of  Los  Angeles  in  this 
respect,  that  of  the  alcalde  of  San  Jose  in  1799  was  still  worse. 
He  was  said  to  have  engaged  in  play  with  a  convict  and  won 
ten  dollars  from  him.  The  alcalde  denied  the  charge;  but 
Borica  was  convinced  of  its  truth  and  ordered  him  to  return 
his  ill-gotten  gains.  At  the  same  time  he  scored  the  comis- 
ionado  of  the  pueblo  on  account  of  his  addiction  to  the  same 
vice;  remarked  that  he  had  been  surprised  to  hear  of  such 
excesses,  and  plainly  intimated  that  it  would  not  be  safe  for 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  557. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  468. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  194. 


DIEGO  DE  BORICA.  593 

either  him  or  the  alcalde,  if  he  heard  anything  further  of  their 
derelictions.1 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  vices,  there  were  various  oth- 
ers which  gave  the  governor  trouble  and,  on  more  than  one 
occasion,  evoked  sparks  of  fire  from  him.  Soon  after  his 
arrival  in  the  country  an  individual  named  Ballestero,  of 
San  Luis  Obispo,  undertook  to  talk  about  matters  which  did 
not  concern  him  and  to  seriously  interfere  with  the  regular 
administration  of  public  affairs  in  that  neighborhood;  and  it 
seems  that  his  wife  helped  in  spreading  his  slanders.  Borica 
sent  him  a  suggestive  letter  of  advice  to  correct  his  evil 
tongue,  with  a  sufficient  hint  in  reference  to  his  wife's;2  and 
not  long  afterwards  Ballestero  found  it  necessary  to  beg  to  be 
transferred  to  some  other  point,3  where,  it  may  be  hoped,  he 
and  his  wife  had  made  up  their  minds  to  talk  with  more  cau- 
tion. About  the  same  time  he  sent  word  to  a  couple  of 
derelict  soldiers  at  San  Antonio  that  their  conduct  was  un- 
satisfactory; that  he  should  feel  very  sensitively  anything 
further  of  the  kind  from  them,  and  that  they  might  expect 
to  feel  it  still  more  sensitively  than  he  would.4 

But  of  all  places  it  was  at  San  Jose,  by  way  of  pre-eminence 
in  those  days,  that  vice  ran  its  greatest  lengths  and  Borica 
had  most  trouble  in  effecting  improvement.  There  were  a 
great  many  disorderly  characters  there;  and  one  great  reason 
of  their  excesses  was  the  remissness  of  the  officials  who  were 
more  or  less  smirched  with  vice  themselves.  At  one  time 
Borica  ordered  the  comisionado  and  alcalde  to  lodge  a  dozen 
disturbers  of  the  peace  in  prison  for  a  short  period  as  an  ex- 
perimental mode  of  amendment,  at  the  same  time  notifying 
those  officers  that  he  would  hold  them  personally  responsible 
if  they  failed  in  their  duties.3  At  another  time,  apparently 
with  a  view  of  obtaining  positive  information  of  what  he  had 
as  yet  only  reason  to  suspect,  he  gave  public  notice  that  he 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  832. 
■>■  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  528. 
3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  556. 
1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  529. 
'  A  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  S22. 
38    Vol.  I. 


594  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

would  entertain  confidential  complaints  against  the  comis- 
lonado  and  alcalde  themselves.1  And  vnot  long  afterward-, 
having  apparently  succeeded  in  gaining  the  desired  informa- 
tion, he  wrote  to  the  alcalde  a  scathing  letter,  charging  him  in 
direct  terms  with  violations  of  his  duty  and  with  assisting 
crime  instead  of  preventing  or  punishing  it.  "  Ever  since 
you  have  exercised  the  office  of  alcalde,"  said  Borica,  "  noth- 
ing but  ill  reports  have  been  heard  from  San  Jose.  Proceed, 
henceforth,  with  prudence  and  j.ustice,  or  I  shall  feel  obliged 
to  take  such  measures  of  punishment  as  the  circumstances 
deserve." '  A  few  weeks  afterwards  he  accepted  the  alcalde's 
resignation  and  directed  him  to  turn  over  the  office  to  a  suc- 
cessor.3 

What  Borica  required  of  an  alcalde  is  to  be  seen  in  the 
charge  he  delivered,  apparently  to  the  same  individual,  who 
had  thus  fallen  so  far  short  of  his  expectations.  "  I  approve 
of  the  election  of  your  honor  by  the  inhabitants  of  San  Jose 
as  alcalde  for  the  ensuing  year  and  am  persuaded  that  you 
will  exercise  the  duties  of  your  office  with  the  integrity  of  .an 
honest  man.  You  will  present  in  your  own  person  an  exam- 
ple of  well  regulated  demeanor  and  application  to  business. 
You  will  consent  to  no  immoral  practices,  to  no  drunkenness, 
to  no  species  of  gaming  that  is  prohibited  by  law.  You  will 
encourage  and  stimulate  every  poblador,  who  does  not  enjoy 
military  exemption,  to  work  his  land  and  take  proper  care  of 
his  stock.  You  will  permit  no  idleness.  You  will  in  fine  be 
zealous  in  complying  with  all  the  obligations  of  your  employ- 
ment, treat  the  Indians  both  Christian  and  gentile  with 
kindness  and  consideration,  and  fulfill  the  orders  of  the  gov- 
ernment without  attempting  to  put  strained  interpretations 
upon  them."  4 

Borica  not  only  thus  endeavored,  by  wrestling  with  existing 
evils  among  the  adult  population,  to  bring  about  an  improved 
condition  of  affairs;    but  he  also,  with  wise  forethought  for 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  765,  766. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  772. 
s  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  777. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  750. 


DIEGO  DE  BORICA.  595 

the  future,  concerned  himself  about  the  youth  of  the  country 
and,  by  every  means  in  his  power,  encouraged  education. 
He  may  be  called  the  founder  of  secular  schools  in  California. 
The  first,  or  first  important,  document  found  in  the  California 
archives  upon  the  subject  is  a  letter  of  his  to  the  comand- 
ante  of  the  guard  at  San  Jose,  dated  December  17,  1794, 
relative  to  contributions  to  be  made  for  the  pay  of  a  school 
teacher,  named  Manuel  Vargas,  and  expressing  his  satisfac- 
tion at  the  fair  prospects  of  establishing  a  school  at  that 
place,  where  the  children  might  be  instructed  in  religion  and 
taught  to  read  and  write.1  But  promises  are  cheaper  than 
performance.  When  the  time  came,  the  people  of  San  Jose 
did  not  respond.  Borica,  however,  had  the  matter  at  heart 
and  was  determined.  In  July,  1795,  he  ordered  the  alcalde 
at  San  Jose  to  compel  the  colonists  to  send  their  children  to 
the  school  and  to  pay  the  teacher  two  and  a  half  reals 
monthly  for  each  child.  In  other  words  he  instituted  a  system 
of  compulsory  education.'"'  In  1796  he  ordered  the  comand- 
ante  of  San  Diego  to  call  together  the  parents  of  the 
Spanish  youth  of  that  place,  who  had  objected  to  having 
their  boys  apprenticed  to  mechanical  occupations,  and  to  con- 
vince them  that  they  were  acting  strangely  against  their  own 
interests.  It  was  plainly  advantageous,  he  directed  him  to 
say,  that  the  youth  should  be  enabled  to  support  themselves 
by  honest  labor  and  that  in  the  meanwhile  they  should  be 
kindly  treated,  well  fed  and  clothed  and  receive  a  regular 
education.  And  he,  therefore,  ordered  a  list  of  all  the  boys 
between  the  ages  of  seven  and  eighteen  years  to  be  sent  to 
him.3     A  few  months  afterwards,  he  wrote  to  the  same  com- 

1  This  interesting  document  is  as  follows:  "  Sefior  Comandante  de  la  Escolta 
del  Pueblo  de  San  Josef.  Monterrey,  17  de  Diciembre,  1794.  Por  el  parte  de 
V.  MD.  de  9  de  corriente  quedo  enterado  de  la  comformidad  con  que  todo  esse 
honrrado  vecindario  accedi6  d  prestar  la  troxe  al  maestro  de  escuela,  Dn.  Manuel 
Vargas,  respecto  k  no  necesitarse  de  ella  hasta  la  cosecha  proxima.  Hagale  V. 
MD  entender  lo  gusto  que  me  ha  sido  y  que  espero  contribuyen  todos  segun  sus 
facultades  &  sostener  un  establecimiento  tan  util  a  sus  hijos  y  por  el  qual  lograron 
instruirse  en  los  dogmas  de  Nuestra  Santa  Religion,  aprendiendo  al  mismo  tiempo 
k  leer  y  escrivir.  A.  V.  M.  encargo  el  cumplimiento  exacto  dequanto  se  previene 
en  las  instrucciones  que  le  goviernan;  sera  medio  para  que  sea  atendido  en  sus 
ascensos. " — Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  520,  521. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  V,  544. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  V,  400,  401. 


596  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

andante  that  the  progress  of  the  school  at  that  place  did  not 
correspond  with  the  pay  of  the  teacher  and  that  he  should 
hold  the  comandante,  who  had  charge  of  the  business,  respon- 
sible unless  there  was  speedy  improvement.1 

The  character  and  attainments  of  the  secular  school  teachers 
of  those  early  days  do  not  appear  to  have  been  of  a  very  high 
order.  The  teacher  at  San  Diego,  as  has  just  been  stated, 
was  not  up  to  his  work.  In  1797  the  comandante  of  Santa 
Barbara  wrote  that  the  school  teacher  of  that  place  and  a 
cabin  boy  of  the  ship  Princesa  then  there  had  exchanged 
places,  and  that  there  was  a  consequent  improvement  in  the 
school  department.2  In  1798  Manuel  Vargas,  the  old  teacher 
at  San  Jose,  seems  to  have  drifted  down  to  Santa  Barbara 
and  to  have  fallen  into  the  bad  habit  of  drinking  too  much 
aguardiente.  Borica  accordingly  wrote  to  the  comandante 
that  drunkenness  was  a  detestable  vice,  in  fact  a  forerunner  of 
all  other  vices;3  that  it  would  not  be  tolerated  in  a  school 
teacher  and  that  Vargas  should  be  turned  out  of  his  employ- 
ment, if  he  did  not  at  once  amend  his  conduct.4  Fortunately 
Vargas  was  open  to  reason.  No  second  order  from  Borica 
was  necessary.  There  was  a  sudden  and  complete  change  in 
the  manners  of  the  pedagogue;  and  six  months  afterwards 
Borica  was  as  profuse  in  his  encomiums  on  the  advances 
made  in  the  school  as  before  he  had  been  severe  in  his  cen- 
sures of  the  short-comings  of  the  teacher.3 

Besides  secular  schools  for  youth,  Borica  was  instrumental 
in  establishing  a  more  regular  system  of  instruction  for  the 
neophytes.  In  1795  he  issued  a  circular  to  the  presidents  of 
the  missions  of  both  Alta  and  Baja  California,  directing  them 
to  form  a  school  in  every  establishment  and  teach  the  Indians 
to  speak,  read  and  write  Spanish,  to  the  absolute  exclusion  of 
the  native  languages.  This  circular  was  based  upon  a  royal 
order  of  July  23,  1793,  in  which  the  Spanish  government 
undertook  to  destroy  and  abolish  the  Indian  languages  and 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  V,  407. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XV,  197. 

3  "  Un  vicio  detestable  que  sirve  de  guia  a  todos  los  demas." — Cal.  Archives, 
P.  R.  VI,  195. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  195. 
5  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  208. 


DIEGO  BE  B0R1CA.  597 

supplant  them  with  the  Castilian.  It  may  be  doubtful 
whether  Borica  entirely  approved  of  the  plan;  but  he  com- 
plied with  superior  orders  and  enclosed  a  copy  of  the  royal 
cedula  with  his  circular.1  He  evidently  felt  more  clear  in  the 
practicability  of  teaching'  the  Spanish  youth  in  their  own 
language,  and  also  in  teaching  the  soldiers,  which  he  likewise 
ordered  to  be  done."  While  his  care  for  his  own  people  was 
exemplary,  his  regard  for  the  Indians  was  no  less  so;  and  he 
invariably  spoke  of  them  and  acted  towards  them  with  the 
most  tender  and  commiserating  solicitude.  But  at  the  same 
time  it  is  clear  that  he  regarded  the  amelioration  of  their  con- 
dition in  respect  to  food  and  clothing  as  of  more  immediate 
importance  than  the  supplanting  of  their  language.3 

The  school  system,  as  a  means  of  stemming  the  tide  of 
existing  evils,  was  supplemented  by  Borica  with  the  encour- 
agement of  a  new  branch  of  agriculture,  which  promised  large 
returns.  This  was  the  cultivation  of  hemp  and  flax.  These 
articles  were  in  large  demand  for  cordage,  particularly  in  the 
marine  department  at  San  Bias.  California  seemed  pecu- 
liarly adapted  for  their  growth;  and  Borica  hoped  that  the 
love  of  gain,  to  be  anticipated  from  their  easy  and  abundant 
production  in  the  territory,  would  furnish  a  powerful  aid  in 
his  efforts  to  civilize  and  improve  the  country.  In  1795  he 
wrote  to  the  viceroy  that  he  had  recommended  the  cultiva- 
tion to  the  president  of  the  missions  and  comandantes  of  the 
presidios,  and  that  he  would  encourage  it  by  all  means  in  his 
power.4  In  1796  he  wrote  to  San  Bias  for  four  fanegas  ot 
seed,5  and  about  the  same  time  to  Ignacio  Vallejo  at  San 
Jose,  deploring  the  poor  condition  of  the  hemp  that  had  been 
grown  there  and  directing  him  to  come  to  Monterey  and  learn 
something  about  its  culture.6  In  1797  he  ordered  new  fields 
to  be  sown  at  San  Jose  and  Indians  to  be  employed  and  fairly 
paid  to  cultivate  them.7     He  made  arrangements  at  the  same 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  250,  251. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  VII,  462,  463. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  441-443. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  45. 
b  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  12. 

0  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  459. 

7  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  729,  737. 


598  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

time  that  the  product  should  be  carried  to  Monterey  and 
thence  transported  by  sea  to  San  Bias.1  Unfortunately  the 
first  year's  yield  was  spoiled  by  Mateo  Bello,  who  had  charge 
of  its  curing,  and  turned  out  when  it  reached  San  Bias  to  be 
worthless.  All  Borica  could  do,  under  the  circumstances,  was 
to  summarily  dismiss  Bello  and  order  better  care  to  be  taken 
next  year.2  Besides  hemp,  Borica  encouraged  other  branches 
of  agriculture  and  also  manufactures.  He  had  a  flouring-mill 
built  at  San  Luis  Obispo,  as  well  as  at  Branciforte,3  and  a 
soap  factory  near  Monterey.4  There  was  in  fact  hardly  any 
branch  of  industry  to  which  he  did  not  direct  more  or  less 
attention.  In  1799  he  wrote  out  a  lengthy  report  of  the  prog- 
ress of  the  country,  stating  that  the  harvests  of  wheat,  maize, 
barley,  beans  and  peas  had  been  abundant;  stock-raising  sat- 
isfactory; manufactures  of  blankets  and  coarse  cloths  in  good 
condition,  and  the  various  trades  in  manifest  advance.  Hemp 
culture  continued  to  be,  to  a  certain  extent,  an  experiment, 
but  with  fair  prospects  for  the  future.3 

Another  matter,  which  engaged  much  of  Borica's  attention, 
was  overland  communication  with  Sonora  and  New  Mexico. 
It  had  for  years  been  regarded  as  an  object  of  the  greatest 
importance.  But  various  causes  had  conspired  to  prevent  its 
accomplishment.  Chief  among  these  were  the  fierce  and 
intractable  character  of  the  Indians  inhabiting  the  interven- 
ing country  and  the  arid  and  desolate  character  of  the  inter- 
vening country  itself.  On  both  sides  of  the  Colorado  for 
hundreds  of  miles  above  its  mouth  extend  sandy  and  stony 
deserts,  hot,  waterless  and  comparatively  herbless.  Only 
cacti  and  other  thorny  vegetation,  characteristic  of  the  waste 
places  of  the  earth,  grow  there.  Along  the  beds  of  the 
streams  in  some  places,  however,  there  are  rich  alluvial  bot- 
toms, made  up  of  the  sediment  brought  down  a  distance  of  a 
thousand  miles  from  the  heights  of  the  middle  of  the  conti- 
nent; and  there  the  vegetation  is  rank  and  very  little  labor 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  730. 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  742,  743. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  K.  IV,  241. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.   IV,  569. 

■r>  Cal.  Archives,  P*.  R.  VII,  487-489- 


DIEGO  DE  BORICA.  599 

yields  abundant  returns.  In  all  these  places  there  were  In- 
dian populations,  most  of  them  warlike  and  treacherous  to  the 
last  degree.  Several  attempts  had  been  made  to  convert  them, 
and  to  render  the  passage  through  their  territories  practicable; 
but  all  had  failed.  The  most  conspicuous  of  these  attempts 
had  been  the  establishment  of  the  two  Franciscan  missions  on 
the  Colorado,  which  were  destroyed  on  the  occasion  when 
Captain  Rivera  y  Moncada  lost  his  life  in  1781.  But  that 
failure  did  not  prevent  other  attempts  from  being  made. 
Some  thirteen  years  afterwards  the  Dominicans  of  Lower 
California,  after  establishing  their  five  new  missions  along  the 
ocean  coast  south  of  San  Diego,  undertook  the  foundation  of 
several  new  missions  on  the  upper  gulf  coast;  and  in  doing  so 
they  had  in  view  the  same  general  objects  as  had  been  con- 
templated by  the  Franciscans;  that  is  to  say,  the  occupation 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Colorado  and  the  protection  of  overland 
communication  with  Sonora  and  the  countries  beyond. 

When  Arrillaga  in  September,  1794,  left  Alta  California  and 
hurried  southward,  one  of  his  objects  was  to  assist  in  the 
foundation  of  the  contemplated  new  missions.  He  accord- 
ingly put  himself  in  immediate  communication  with  the 
Dominican  missionaries  interested  in  the  subject  and  espe- 
cially Father  Jose  Loriente,  who  appears  to  have  been  the 
leading  spirit  in  these  new  enterprises;  and  on  April  27,  1795, 
they  founded  the  mission  of  San  Pedro  Martir  de  Verona  at 
a  place,  called  by  the  natives  Casilepe,  east  of  Santo  Domingo 
and  some  forty  or  fifty  miles  south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Col- 
orado.1 Two  years  afterwards,  on  November  12,  1797,  they 
founded  the  mission  of  Santa  Catalina  Virgen  y  Martir  at  a 
place,  called  by  the  natives  Xaca  Tabojol,  on  the  eastern  slope 
of  the  mountains  near  the  Colorado.2  Both  these  foundations 
took  place  under  the  general  supervision  of  Borica.  In  1796 
he  had  written  to  the  viceroy  that  he  contemplated  opening 
communication  with  the  people  of  New  Mexico  and  had  col- 
lected such  information  as  was  possible  in  relation  to  the  sub- 
ject; and  he  referred  in  terms  of  commendation  to  travels  in 

»Cal.   Archives.  P.  S.   P.  XII,  282:    XIII,  236. 
a  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  682;  P.  R.  V,  716. 


600  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

those  regions  made  by  Fathers  Dominguez  and  Escalante  and 
by  Father  Garces.  He  had  even  arranged  with  Felipe  de  Goy- 
coechea,  the  comandante  of  Santa  Barbara,  to  send  an  expe- 
dition into  those  countries;  but  his  plans  had  been  thwarted 
by  the  opposition  of  the  missionaries  and  the  difficulty  of 
procuring  the  necessary  soldiers.1  In  1797  he  wrote  to  Arril- 
laga  on  the  same  subject,  approved  his  views  as  to  the  most 
practicable  and  least  dangerous  means  of  accomplishing  the 
desired  communication  and  commended  the  prudence  he  had 
displayed  and  the  zeal  for  the  service  of  the  king  he  had 
manifested.''' 

As  a  magistrate  Borica,  so  far  as  any  account  of  his  ad- 
ministration remains,  appears  to  have  been  just;  but  his 
justice  was  always  tempered  with  kindness  and  consideration 
for  the  weakness  of  humanity.  Most  of  the  punishments  in 
aggravated  cases,  which  he  was  called  upon  to  inflict,  however, 
were  such  as  had  either  been  pronounced  or  were  approved 
by  the  viceregal  government  at  Mexico.  One  of  these  cases 
was  the  punishment  of  a  neophyte  of  San  Luis  Obispo, 
called  Silberio,  who  had  killed  his  wife  Rebecca.  He  was 
sentenced  to  labor  in  chains  for  eight  years  at  the  presidio 
of  San  Diego;  and  Borica  directed  that  if  practicable  he 
should  be  employed  on  board  the  launch  engaged  in  supply- 
ing the  fort  on  Point  Guijarros,  now  Loraa,  with  water  and 
provisions.  At  the  same  time  he  sentenced  an  Indian  woman 
accomplice,  named  Rosa,  to  domestic  labor  for  the  same 
length  of  time  in  the  family  of  Jose  Dario  Arguello  at  the 
presidio  *of  San  Francisco.  By  this  means,  he  remarked, 
better  results  might  be  accomplished  than  by  inflicting  the 
ordinary  punishment  murder  deserved.3  In  another  case  of 
murder  of  a  neophyte  of  San  Buenaventura  by  other  Indians 
of  the  same  mission,  the  punishment  was  one  hundred  lashes, 
twenty-five  on  each  of  four  days,  and  four  years  of  penal 
labor  at  the  presidio  of  Santa  Barbara.  In  inflicting  these 
sentences,    the    viceroy    had    evidently    been    influenced    by 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  IV,  683-686. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  I'.  K.  Y,  735. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  449,  450. 


DIEGO  DE  BORICA.  601 

Borica's  suggestions  that  the  ignorance  and  natural  brutality 
of  the  criminals  should  be  taken  into  account  and  their  lives 
spared.1  There  were  other  cases  of  murder  and  other  pun- 
ishments more  or  less  similar  to  those  stated;  but  no  capital 
executions.2  In  a  case  of  incest  committed  by  a  soldier 
named  Jose  Fernandez  at  Santa  Barbara,  the  chief  criminal 
was  condemned  to  ten  years  of  penal  labor  on  the  public 
works  at  San  Bias  and  was  accordingly  sent  out  of  the  coun- 
try, while  his  daughter  Mariana  was  sentenced  to  two  years 
of  domestic  servitude  in  California.3 

1  In  addition  to  criminal  jurisdiction,  Borica  was  also  called 
upon  to  act  judicially  in  various  civil  matters.  A  specimen  of 
his  manner  of  proceeding  was  afforded  in  1796  by  his  action 
in  reference  to  a  controversy  between  the  missionaries  and 
Manuel  Nieto  about  irrigable  lands  at  the  mission  of  San 
Gabriel.  As  the  litigation  between  the  parties  promised  to  be 
long  and  bitter  and  breaches  of  the  peace  and  disturbances  of 
public  order  seemed  likely  to  occur  unless  specially  prevented, 
he  deemed  it  proper  to  issue  a  preliminary  or  interlocutory 
decree.  He  therefore  directed  that,  as  it  was  important  not- 
withstanding the  controversy  that  the  lands  in  contest  should 
be  cultivated,  each  party  should  until  final  adjudication  con- 
tinue to  hold  and  cultivate  the  land  then  in  his  or  their  pos- 
session; and  he  charged  the  comandante  of  Santa  Barbara 
to  see  to  it  that  his  orders  in  this  respect  were  strictly  enforced 
and  respected.4 

The  variety  of  work,  to  which  it  was  thus  necessary  for  a 
zealous  and  conscientious  governor  of  both  the  Californias  to 
attend,  and  especially  the  difficulty  of  devoting  proper  atten- 
tion to  every  part  of  the  long  extent  of  territory  from  Cape 
San  Lucas  on  the  south  to  San  Francisco  on  the  north,  in- 
duced Borica,  at  an  early  period  of  his  administration,  to  favor 
a  division  of  government.  A  project  of  this  kind  had  been 
under  discussion  for  some  time,  owing  principally  to  the  fact 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  IX,  160-164. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XV,  S43-S45. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  472. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.   VI,  75. 


G02  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

that  in  accordance  with  the  existing  system,  it  took  entirely 
too  long  for  superior  orders  intended  for  Lower  California 
to  be  received  and  executed  there.  It  was  necessary  for 
them  to  pass  in  the  first  place  from  the  capital  at  Mexico  to 
Monterey  and  thence  back  again,  as  it  were,  to  his  subordinate 
at  Lorcto,  thus  requiring  about  two  thousand  miles  of  trans- 
mission which  would  be  unnecessary  if  there  should  be  sep- 
arate governments  of  the  two  Californias.  In  March,  1796, 
the  subject  being  again  mooted  among  the  authorities  at 
Mexico,  the  viceroy  requested  Borica's  views  upon  it.1  In 
September  he  replied  fully.  He  said  that  it  required  about 
three  months  for  dispatches  to  reach  him  from  Mexico  and  a 
month  or  more  longer  to  reach  the  comandante  at  Loreto 
through  him;  and  consequently  that  much  time  was  lost. 
There  were  many  matters  of  great  importance  relating  to  the 
affairs  of  Lower  California,  such  as  the  management  of  the 
missions  and  Indians,  the  government  of  the  whites,  the  regu- 
lation of  mines  and  pearl  fisheries,  the  administration  of  the 
military  and  revenue,  and  others,  which  could  be  much  better 
attended  to  by  a  governor  at  Loreto  than  by  one  at  Monterey. 
This  would  especially  be  the  case  if  a  man  of  such  great 
intelligence,  application  and  experience  as  Arrillaga  were 
charged  with  them.  It  was  to  be  further  noted,  he  went  on 
in  effect  to  say,  that  there  was  a  difference  between  the  two 
sections  arising  from  the  fact  that  the  missionaries  of  Lower 
California  were  all  Dominicans  while  those  of  Alfa  California 
were  all  Franciscans;  and,  as  there  was  a  diversity  in  the 
plans  and  interests  of  these  two  religious  orders,  it  would  not 
be  ill  to  have  a  diversity  of  governments.  Each  might  do 
better.  Under  a  distinct  governor  for  Lower  California,  the 
Dominicans  might  be  better  enabled  to  extend  their  estab- 
lishments around  the  head  of  the  gulf  and  clasp  hands,  so  to 
speak,  with  the  missionaries  of  Sonora.  Under  a  distinct 
governor  for  Alta  California,  the  Franciscans  might  be  better 
enabled  to  fill  up  the  country  north  of  San  Diego  between 
the  ocean  and  the  Sierra.  In  view  of  these  and  like  consid- 
erations, Borica  was  decidedly  of  opinion  that  the  govern- 
1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XIV,  4S0  48.3. 


DIEGO  DE  BO  RICA.  603 

ment  should  be  divided  by  a  line  drawn  below  San  Diego, 
the  most  southerly  of  the  Franciscan  missions,  and  above  San 
Miguel,  the  most  northerly  of  the  Dominican  establishments.1 

Though  the  proposed  division  of  government  did  not  then, 
nor  for  several  years  afterwards,  take  place,  Borica's  report 
upon  the  subject  is  interesting.  It  exhibits  in  a  remarkable 
manner  his  readiness,  his  frankness  and  his  honesty  of  pur- 
pose. He  was  plainly  a  man  who  regarded  his  duty  more 
than  himself.  He  was  clear  in  his  great  office.  It  is  pleasing, 
therefore,  to  know  that  the  viceroy  Branciforte  fully  recog- 
nized his  merits  and  did  himself  the  honor  of  publicly  express- 
ing his  satisfaction.  In  June,  1797,  he  complimented  him  in 
the  highest  terms  of  praise  for  his  efforts  in  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation and  in  the  encouragement  of  agriculture  and  manu- 
factures; for  the  various  improvements  which  he  had  effected; 
for  the  flourishing  state  to  which  he  had  brought  the  country, 
and  for  the  wise  measures  he  had  recommended;  and  he 
added  that  as  soon  as  an  opportunity  presented  he  would 
present  a  fitting  account  of  them  to  his  majesty,  the  king.2 
Whether  this  representation  was  made  or  not  is  uncertain. 
But,  as  Branciforte  retired  from  the  viceroyalty  and  returned 
to  Spain  in  1798,  it  is  more  than  likely  that  a  man,  who  had 
impressed  him  so  favorably  as  Borica,  must  have  been  fre- 
quently mentioned  and  with  great  commendation  in  his 
reports  on  American  affairs.  At  the  same  time  it  may  be 
added  that  he  could  not  well  have  been  mentioned  oftener  or 
praised  higher  than  he  deserved. 

The  immense  labor  he  did  from  the  time  he  landed  in  Cal- 
ifornia and  the  changes  wrought  by  his  transfer  of  residence 
from  Arispe  to  Monterey  produced  bad  effects  upon  his  phys- 
ical constitution.  He  seems  to  have  endeavored  to  preserve 
his  old  regimen  and  for  this  purpose  had  several  barrels  of 
wine,  such  doubtless  as  he  was  in  moderation  accustomed  to, 
sent  after  him  from  Mexico.3  In  November,  1797,  the  gober- 
nadora  presented  him  with  a  California  daughter;4  and  in  his 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  IV,  652-659. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XV,  782. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  Y,    ^77. 

<  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  688. 


604  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

good  humor  he  commended  her  for  augmenting  the  Christian 
population.1  But  his  health  began  to  fail.  In  May,  1798,  he 
wrote  to  Goycoechea  that  spectacles,  which  had  been  sent 
him,  did  not  suit;2  and  it  seems  likely  that  the  trouble  was  not 
in  the  spectacles  but  in  the  eyes,  which  had  been  over-taxed 
and  were  growing  dim.  Soon  afterwards  he  found  an  old 
injury,  caused  by  too  constant  and  too  severe  riding  on  horse- 
back, so  aggravated  as  to  prevent  him  from  attending  to  his 
duties  with  his  usual  celerity.  He  therefore  deemed  it  best, 
both  for  the  public  service  and  for  himself,  to  ask  to  be 
relieved  at  least  temporarily.  He  accordingly  on  April  1, 
1799,  addressed  a  letter  to  the  viceroy,  setting  forth  that  after 
thirty-five  years  of  active  service,  in  the  course  of  which  he 
had  ridden  over  ten  thousand  leagues,  his  constitution  was  so 
shattered  that  he  deemed  it  necessary  to  return  to  Mexico  for 
medical  or  surgical  treatment  and  he  consequently  asked  to 
be  relieved  of  his  government  or  at  least  allowed  leave  of 
absence  for  eight  months.3  About  the  same  time,  in  address- 
ing one  of  his  friends,  he  excused  his  brevity  by  saying  that 
it  was  as  difficult  for  him  to  dictate  a  letter  as  to  write  one — 
that  he  felt  old  and  had  lost  his  energy.* 

In  September,  his  request  to  be  relieved  having  been  com- 
plied with,  he  appointed  Arrillaga  to  act  as  gobernador  inter- 
ino  at  Loreto  until  a  regular  successor  should  be  appointed, 
and  ordered  Pedro  de  Alberni,  comandante  at  San  Francisco, 
to  take  charge  of  affairs  at  Monterey.5  He  then,  with  his  wife 
and  family,  which  at  that  time  consisted  of  three  children,6  set 
out  for  San  Diego;  and  on  January  16,  1800,  sailed  from  that 
port  on  board  the  Concepcion  for  San  Bias.7  As  the  vessel 
passed  out  into  the  ocean  and  he  looked  back  upon  the  dim 
form  of  Point  Loma  gradually  sinking  in  the  distance,  it  was 

1  He  wrote  to  Cordoba,  November  26,  1797:  "TieneV.  MD.  una  nifla  mas 
;i  quien  mandar,  por  que  Maria  Magdalena  no  quiere  ser  menos  que  otras  en  esto 
de  aumentar  la  Cristianidad." — Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI,  671. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  176. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  520,  523. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  761. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  566,  567. 

eCal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  522. 

7  Cal.  Archives,  1'.  S.  1'.  XXI,  91,  92. 


DIEGO  DE  BORICA.  605 

his  last  sight  of  Alta  California.  He  reached  San  Bias  and 
thence  managed  to  travel  as  far  as  Durango;  but  at  the  latter 
place  his  career  ended.  He  died  there  on  July  19,  1800.1  He 
had  been  governor  of  the  Californias  counting  from  his  arrival 
at  Loreto  in  May,  1794,  to  his  departure  from  San  Diego  in 
January,  1800,  five  years  and  eight  months. 
1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  JX,  157. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ARRILLAGA    AGAIN. 

JOSE  JOAQUIN  DE  ARRILLAGA  became  the  eighth 
governor  of  the  Californias.  He  had  already  acted  as  tem- 
porary governor  from  the  death  of  Romeu  in  1792  to  the 
arrival  of  Borica  in  1794.  He  had  then  gone  back  to  Loreto 
and  for  the  next  six  years  served  as  captain  of  the  presidio  at 
that  place,  to  which  office  he  had  been  originally  appointed 
in  1783.  During  these  six  years  he  did  much  traveling  from 
point  to  point;  made  many  explorations  and  surveys;  attended 
to  the  suppression  of  the  old  missions  of  Santiago  and  Guad- 
alupe and  the  foundation  of  the  new  ones  of  San  Pedro 
Martir  and  Santa  Catalina;  and  in  the  meanwhile,  as  the 
lieutenant  of  Borica,  managed  all  the  other  public  business, 
both  political  and  military,  of  Lower  California.  Towards 
the  end  of  1799,  when  the  resignation  and  retirement  of  Borica 
were  determined  upon,  he,  at  Borica's  suggestion,  wrote  to  the 
royal  government,  soliciting  the  office  of  gobernador  propie- 
tario  about  to  be  vacated.1  The  letter,  containing  his  peti- 
tion, he  sent  to  Borica,  who  was  then  about  to  embark  at  San 
Diego;  and  Borica  on  December  29,  1799,  wrote  a  marginal 
note,  setting  forth  Arrillaga's  long  and  able  services,  his 
knowledge  and  experience,  his  prudence  and  discretion,  the 
discipline  he  had  maintained  among  his  troops,  the  rectitude 
and  disinterestedness  with  which  he  had  fulfilled  all  his  duties; 
and,  in  the  highest  terms  of  praise,  recommended  his  appoint- 
ment.2 The  document  thus  strengthened  was  forwarded  to 
Mexico  and  thence  to  Madrid. 

lCal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ben.  XXVI,  450-452. 
1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ben.  XXVI,  450. 
(606) 


ARRILLAGA  AGAIN.  607 

In  the  meanwhile  the  old  proposition  of  separating  the 
governments  of  Alta  and  Baja  California  continued  to  be  dis- 
cussed in  official  circles;  and  in  view  of  its  speedy  settlement, 
the  appointment  of  a  gobernador  propietario  was  reserved. 
In  March,  1804,  it  was  determined  at  Madrid  to  make  the 
separation  and  substantially  as  had  been  recommended  by 
Borica;  and  a  royal  order  to  that  effect  was  issued  the  same 
month.1  By  the  same  royal  order,  Arrillaga  was  appointed 
"gobernador  militar  y  politico  "  or  permanent  governor  of 
the  upper  or  northern  province,  which  was  named  in  the 
paper  Nueva  or  New  California,  with  an  annual  salary  of 
four  thousand  dollars,  and  directed  to  serve  as  temporary 
governor  of  the  lower  or  southern  province,  which  was  called 
Antigua  or  Old  California,  until  such  time  as  a  gobernador 
propietario  of  that  province  also  should  be  appointed. 2  It 
was  not  long,  however,  before  that  event  took  place.  The 
choice  fell  upon  Felipe  de  Goycoechea,  the  comandante  of 
Santa  Barbara.  His  commission  was  made  out  and  trans- 
mitted from  Madrid  in  1805.3  Goycoechea  was  then  fifty- 
eight  years  of  age,  had  been  in  service  twenty-three  years, 
had  approved  himself  an  able  officer  and  in  consideration  of 
his  services  had  been,  in  1797,  promoted  to  the  rank  of  cap- 
itan.4  In  1806,  soon  after  his  installation  in  his  new  office, 
the  dividing  line  between  the  two  provinces,  thus  distinctly 
separating  his  jurisdiction  from  that  of  Arrillaga  in  Alta  Cal- 
ifornia, was  fixed  at  the  Arroyo  de  Barrabas  6  del  Rosario, 
some  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  south  of  San  Diego.5  At  the 
same  time  the  military  jurisdiction  over  the  Dominican  mis- 
sion of  San  Miguel  just  south  of  the  dividing  line,  which  had 
theretofore  been  exercised  by  the  presidio  of  San  Diego,  was 
transferred  to  the  presidio  of  Loreto; 6  and  thus  the  separa- 
tion of  the  two  governments   became  as  complete  in  military 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVIII,  441. 

»  Cal.  Arcnives,  P.  S.  P.  XVIII,  441-444;  P.  K.  IX,  604. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ben.  XXXIX,  493,  494;  P.  R.  X,  23,  33. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  VII,  248. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  X,  4,  8. 
«Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  XII,  120. 


G08  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

and  political  matters  as  it  had  for  many  years  been  in  ecclesi- 
astical matteis. 

When  Borica  left  California  in  1800  and  Arrillaga  became 
governor  for  the  second  time,  the  military  establishment  con- 
sisted of  about  four  hundred  persons,  who  were  maintained 
at  an  annual  cost  of  a  little  over  ninety-eight  thousand  dollars. 
Of  these  persons,  there  were  thirty-eight  regularly  attached  to 
San  P'rancisco;  sixty-five  to  Monterey;  sixty-one  to  Santa 
Barbara  and  San  Diego  respectively,  and  seventy-one  to 
Loreto.  There  were  thirty  belonging  to  the  marine  depart- 
ment stationed  at  the  latter  place.  Besides  these  there  was  a 
body  of  seventy  Catalonian  volunteers  and  eighteen  artillery- 
men, who  had  been  sent  from  San  Bias  in  anticipation  of  an 
attack  from  England  and  who  were  scattered  at  various 
points.1  There  were  a  few  batteries,  one  at  Yerba  Buena,  one 
at  San  Francisco,  one  at  Monterey  and  one  at  San  Diego; 
but  they  amounted  to  very  little  as  means  of  defense.  No 
one  of  them  could  have  successfully  resisted  an  assault  by  a 
single  ship  of  war.  The  only  protection  upon  which  the 
country  could  depend  was  its  remoteness,  its  weakness  and 
its  supposed  poverty.  The  only  defense  it  could  have  made 
was  that  planned  by  Borica,  of  abandoning  the  establish- 
ments along  the  coast  and  retiring,  carrying  as  much  property 
as  possible  and  driving  the  stock  into  the  interior.  The 
population  of  whites  was  so  sparse  that  there  was  little  or  no 
opportunity  of  recruiting  among  them;  and  the  Indians  were 
not  reliable  enough  for  soldiers.  A  few  attempts  had  been 
made  to  gather  recruits;  on  one  occasion  by  drafting  the 
young  reprobates  of  San  Jose,2  and  on  another  by  raising  a 
company  in  Lower  California.3  But  neither  attempt  yielded 
adequate  results,  while  in  the  natural  course  of  events  the 
ranks  were  being  rapidly  thinned  by  death. 

Two  officers  of  high  rank  died  about  this  time.  One  was 
Hermenegildo  Sal,  the  other  Pedro  de  Alberni.  The  former 
had    come  to  the  country  with  Anza  and  was    made  store- 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVII,  423,  424. 

2  Cal.  Archives,    V.  R.  VI,  738,  740. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.   P.  XVII,  S07-813. 


ARRILLAGA  AGAIN.  609 

keeper  at  San  Francisco  in  1776.  In  1782  he  was  a  sergeant, 
then  thirty-six  years  of  age.1  In  1792  he  was  an  ensign  and 
in  command  at  San  Francisco  when  Vancouver  landed  there 
in  November  of  that  year.  The  English  captain  spoke  in 
high  terms  of  Sal  and  particularly  of  the  decorous  and  pleas- 
ing behavior  of  his  wife  and  children  on  the  occasion  of  the 
navigator's  visit  to  their  mud  residence  at  the  presidio."  He 
was  in  fact  so  much  pleased  that  he  afterwards  gave  the  name 
of  Point  Sal  to  a  promontory  near  San  Luis  Obispo.  In 
1796,  Sal,  who  in  the  meanwhile  had  risen  to  the  rank  of 
teniente  or  lieutenant,  delivered  over  the  command  at  San 
Francisco,  with  a  very  full  report  on  the  condition  of  military 
affairs  at  that  place,  to  Jose  Dario  Arguello  and  removed  to 
Monterey,  where  he  also  became  comandante.3  In  the  early 
part  of  1800  he  complained  of  his  infirmities  and  asked  to  be 
retired  with  the  rank  of  capitan.*  In  September,  while  sit- 
ting with  his  family  in  his  own  house,  he  was  attacked  by  a 
settler  whom  he  had  been  obliged  in  the  course  of  his  official 
duties  some  months  previously  to  punish,  and  was  severely 
wounded  in  the  right  hand.5  The  hurt  was  not  mortal,  but 
it  seems  to  have  aggravated  his  failing  condition  of  health. 
He  died  on  December  8,  1800,  and  was  buried  in  the  mission 
church  at  San  Carlos.6  Pedro  de  Alberni  was  captain  of  the 
first  company  of  Catalonian  volunteers,  having  the  rank  of 
lieutenant-colonel,  and  at  Borica's  departure  was  left  in  mili- 
tary command  of  the  four  presidios  of  Alta  California.  He 
appears  to  have  been  afflicted  with  dropsy7  and  died  at  Mon- 
terey on  March  11,  1802.  Like  Sal,  he  received  extreme 
unction  and  made  an  exemplary  ending;  and  his  remains 
were  likewise  buried  in  the  church  of  San  Carlos.8 


1  Cal,  Archives,  S.  P.  I,  491. 

'-'  Vancouver,  III,  13. 

:|  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XIV,  57S-580. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  IV,  484. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.   IX,  165-168. 

u  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.    XVI II,  54. 

7  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVIII.  506. 

8  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVIII,  490,  491. 

39    Vol.  I. 


610  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

The  death  of  Alberni  left  the  chief  military  command  of 
Aha  California  in  the  hands  of  Jose  Dario  Arguello,  the  com- 
andante  of  San  Francisco;  and  he  continued  to  exercise  it 
until  the  separation  of  the  two  governments.  Up  to  that 
time  Arrillaga  had  remained  at  Loreto; '  but,  as  soon  as  he 
was  appointed  gobernador  propietario,  he  prepared  to  change 
his  residence  to  Monterey  and  arrived  there,  traveling  over- 
land and  making  various  stoppages  on  the  way,  at  the 
beginning  of  1806." 

Arrillaga's  first  care  on  assuming  his  new  government  of 
Alta  California  was  to  inspect  the  various  presidios  and  mili- 
tary establishments.  He  found  them  in  what  he  called  van 
unhappy  and  most  deplorable  state.  Five  years  had  elapsed 
since  the  departure  of  Borica;  several  severe  storms  had 
occurred,  causing  great  damage;  and  no  repairs  had  been 
made.  During  the  last  eight  days  of  1798  and  the  first 
twenty  days  of  1799,  there  had  been  a  hurricane  of  wind  and 
rain  at  San  Francisco,  which  battered  down  the  adobe  walls 
of  the  fortifications  there;3  and  in  February,  1802,  another 
furious  storm  at  the  same  place  blew  off  roofs  and  beat  down 
palisades,  completing  so  to  speak  the  destruction  of  pre- 
vious years.1  The  ordnance,  which  had  never  been  of  much 
account,  was  ruined.  At  Monterey  the  condition  of  affairs 
was  little  better.  At  Santa  Barbara  the  buildings  were  in  a 
somewhat  more  inhabitable  state;  but  there  wras  only  a  single 
cannon.  At  San  Diego  the  situation  resembled  that  at  San 
Francisco,  with  the  exception  that  the  guns  at  Point  Guijarros 
were  in  good  condition.  But  they  were  so  illy  mounted  as 
to  be  almost  useless.0  The  number  of  troops  was  also  con- 
siderably diminished  by  the  withdrawal  in  1805  of  the  Cata- 
lonian  volunteers.6  Such  troops  as  remained  were  in  general 
but  an  idle  and  spiritless  set  who  did  little  and  cared  less 
for  the  welfare  of  the  country.     The  missionaries  attributed 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  XI,  408-411. 

<  il.  Archives,  P.  R.  VIII,  80-190. 
a  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  499-501. 
'  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVIII,  519,  520. 

Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IX,  230-232. 
'•  1  ;il.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XVIII,  11S   120. 


ARRILLAGA  AGAIN.  611 

the  sad  state  of  affairs  to  the  remissness  of  the  soldiers  in 
performing  their  religious  duties.  The}'  especially  called 
attention  to  several  at  San  Francisco,  who  had  neglected 
their  Easter  obligations  to  the  church,  and  to  the  fact  that 
very  soon  afterwards  news  came  of  an  earthquake' at  that 
place,  showing  that  God  was  angry;  and  Arrillaga  seemed 
disposed  to  think  there  might  be  something  in  these  absurd 
notions.1  As,  however,  there  was  no  longer  any  expectation 
of  an  attack  from  foreign  powers  and  the  troops,  poor  as  they 
were,  were  still  sufficient  to  keep  down  the  miserable  Indians, 
the  military  were  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  the  times. 

The  population  of  Alta  California  in  1805,  counting  the 
Spaniards  and  mission  Indians  or  all  who  were  registered  at 
the  then  existing  nineteen  missions,  four  presidios,  two  pueb- 
los and  one  villa,  was  a  little  over  twenty-two  thousand  six 
hundred,  of  whom  only  about  two  thousand  were  whites  or 
gente  de  razon.*  In  18 10  it  was  a  little  over  twenty  thousand 
eight  hundred,  of  whom  over  two  thousand  and  fifty  were 
whites.3  The  whites  were  slowly  increasing,  while  the  Indi- 
ans were  rapidly  diminishing.  This  was  owing,  so  far  as  the 
Indians  were  concerned,  chiefly  to  two  causes:  first,  epidemics, 
and,  secondly,  desertions.  In  1798  Borica  wrote  that  the  small- 
pox, then  prevalent  at  San  Bias,  had  not  attacked  California 
notwithstanding  several  vessels  had  come  from  there;  and  he 
hoped  the  climate  was  inimical  to  it.4  Like  a  wise  and  pru- 
dent governor,  however,  he  had  taken  very  efficient  measures 
of  prevention,  ordering  a  complete  system  of  quarantine,  fumi- 
gation and  hospital  service,  and  thus  doubtless  kept  it  off:' 
But  there  were  other  epidemics,  affecting  the  head  and  throat; 
and  these  were  in  many  cases  fatal- especially  at  Soledad  in 
1802,6  and  at  Monterey  in  1805.7    /The  desertions  referred  to 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  XII,  727,  728. 
a  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  589-603. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  192. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  423,  424 

5  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  170,  171. 

,;  Cal.  Archives.  P.  S.  P.  XVIII,  500,  501. 
•  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IX,  178. 


612  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

were  the  result  of  cruelties  exercised  towards  the  neophytes, 
which  after  Borica's  time  became  as  frequent  as  they  had  been 
before. 

It  seems  clear  that  Arrillaga  was  altogether  in  too  much 
accord  with  the  missionaries  to  properly  protect  the  Indians. 
Expeditions  became  frequent — partly  in  search  of  fugitives 
and  partly  to  chastise  the  gentiles  between  whom  and  the 
neophytes  at  the  missions  there  grew  up  a  mutual  and  deadly 
hatred.1  In  1800  the  gentiles  in  the  neighborhood  of  San 
Juan  Bautista  threatened  that  mission  with  destruction.2  In 
1805  Father  Pedro  Cuevas,  while  on  a  visit  among  the  gen- 
tiles in  the  neighborhood  of  San  Jose,  was  attacked  and 
wounded  and  several  of  his  partv  killed;  and  there  might 
have  been  a  very  serious  uprising,  had  not  Sergeant  Luis  Pe- 
ralta  promptly  gone  out  with  eighteen  soldiers  and  about  as 
many  volunteers  from  the  pueblo  and  killed  a  dozen  and  cap- 
tured twice  as  many  more  of  the  Indians.3  In  1808  several 
Indian  women  were  publicly  flogged  with  twenty-five  lashes 
each  at  the  mission  of  San  Jose,  and  the  result  was  by  no 
means  a  quieting  one.*  Arrillaga  objected  strenuously  to  the 
publicity,  but  not  to  the  whipping; 5  and,  as  his  action  was 
of  a  piece  with  the  general  treatment  the  Indians  received 
throughout  the  country,  their  hostility  and  desperation  in- 
creased. In  1 8 10  there  was  an  outbreak  at  San  Gabriel, 
which  was  put  down  without  much  trouble  by  soldiers  from 
San  Diego; 6  but  another  uprising  the  same  year  near  San 
Jose  required  all  the  force  and  resources  of  the  famous  Ga- 
briel Moraga — who  was  noted  as  the  best'  Indian  fighter  of 
his  day — to  overcome.  He  and  his  soldiers  were  kept  at  bay 
for  five  or  six  hours;  and,  though  they  finally  triumphed  and 
overpowered  the  Indians,  it  was  not  without  a  desperate 
struggle  in  which  several  of  the  whites  were  wounded  and 
one  killed)7 

1  ( :.il.  Archives,  P.  R.  XII,  385. 
aCal.  Archives,  S.  P.  VIII,  623-626. 
»Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IX,  178,  179. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  XII,  728. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  XII,  732. 

6  Cal.  Archives,  1'.   R.  XI,  44,  45. 

7  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  XII,  565^;  P.  S.   P.  XIX,   1016-1019. 


ARRILLAGA  AGAIN.  613 

The  result  of  these  expeditions  and  castigations  was  to 
repress  uprisings  for  a  time;  but  the  bitter  feeling  of  the 
Indians  continued  much  the  same.  It  showed  itself  in  other 
ways.  In  1811  a  neophyte  of  San  Diego  attempted  to  poison 
the  missionary;1  and  in  1812  several  of  the  neophytes  of 
Santa  Cruz  murdered  Father  Andres  Ouintana  of  that  place." 
They  did  it  so  secretly  and  carefully  that  for  some  time  it  was 
uncertain  who  the  criminals  were;  but  they  were  at  length 
detected,  convicted  and  sentenced  to  two  hundred  lashes  and 
ten  years  at  public  labor.  On  being  asked  the  reason  of  their 
committing  so  heinous  a  crime,  they  answered  that  Father 
Quimana  had  ordered  a  scourge  of  iron  to  be  made  and 
caused  them  to  be  lashed  with  it. !  Whether  this  was  in  fact 
the  real  cause  of  the  murder  may  perhaps  admit  of  some 
doubt.  It  was  disputed  by  the  friends  of  the  dead  mission- 
ary, who  claimed  that  he  was  a  devout  man  and  of  good  char- 
acter. But  it  seems  certain  that  there  must  have  been  some 
special  reason  of  murderous  bitterness  against  him.  And  that 
there  were  many  cases  of  outrageous  cruelty  practiced,  suffi- 
cient to  excite  in  savage  breasts  the  thought  and  desire  for 
bloody  vengeance,  and  quite  as  likely  by  him  as  by  any  other, 
there  can  be  no  question. 

While  the  Indians  at  the  missions  were  decreasing  in  num- 
bers, the  whites,  including  the  offspring  of  soldiers  ana  other 
whites  who  had  married  Indian  women,  were  gradually  in- 
creasing. There  was  nothing  to  prevent  their  rapid  growth 
in  population.  The  climate  of  the  country,  as  was  noted  by 
Vancouver,  had  the  reputation  of  being  as  healthy  as  any  in 
the  world;4  and  this  reputation  became  stronger  and  stronger 
as  the  country  became  more  and  more  known.  The  great 
wonder  to  Vancouver  was  that  it  had  not  been  populated 
faster  and  turned  to  more  account  by  the  Spaniards,  instead 
of   being  neglected    as    it  was.5     For    many  years    the  chief 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ben.  XLIX,  101-121. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.   P.  XIX,  1048,  1049;  P.  R.  XII,  595. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IX,  451-474. 

4  Vancouver,  III,  72. 

5  Vancouver,  IV,  413. 


614  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

increase  was  by  births  and  very  little  by  immigration.  But 
the  births  in  most  of  the  families  were  numerous;  and  the 
children,  owing  to  the  open  air  and  freedom  in  which  they 
lived,  grew  up  strong  and  vigorous.  There  were  few  diseases, 
fewer  physicians  and  hardly  any  drugs.  In  1/99  a  very  im- 
portant bando  or  order,  which  doubtless  saved  many  lives  or 
at  least  prevented  the  loss  of  many,  was  published  by  Borica 
to  the  effect  that  barbers  should  not  exercise  the  art  of 
blood-letting.1 

Pablo  Soler,  the  most  noted  and  probably  the  best  surgeon 
in  the  country  during  Spanish  times,  had  arrived  as  an  officer 
in  the  royal  navy  about  1796  and  was  directed  to  remain  in 
the  country.  He  was  stationed  at  Monterey  and  for  a  while- 
seems  to  have  been  contented.  But  at  length  he  became 
very  weary  of  his  seclusion  from  learned  men  of  his  class. 
In  1798  he  wrote  to  the  king,  complaining  of  his  sad  and 
unhappy  fate  in  being  thus  confined  within  the  walls  of  a 
remote  presidio  surrounded  by  gentiles  and  comparatively 
deprived  of  society,  and  begged  to  be  relieved.  At  the  same- 
time  he  gave  an  account  of  his  services — his  gratuitous  at- 
tendance upon  officers,  missionaries,  soldiers,  pobladores  and 
Indians  both  gentile  and  Christian  when  called  on;  his  trav- 
eling sometimes  as  far  as  forty  leagues  to  visit  a  sufferer,  and 
the  difficult  operations  he  had  performed.  In  one  case  he- 
had  saved  an  Indian,  who  had  been  gored  by  a  bull  so  that 
his  entrails  protruded,  and  in  numerous  cases  cured  severe 
attacks  of  scurvy,  chronic  dysentery  and  dropsy.  He  also 
added  as  a  further  reason  for  relief  that  his  father  in  Spain 
was  old,  decrepit  and  blind,  and  needed  the  care  of  his  only 
son.2  It  was,  doubtless,  this  filial  solicitude,  much  more  than 
his  good  services  which  were  too  valuable  to  be  readily  dis- 
pensed with  and  were  so  recognized  by  his  superiors,3  that 
procured  a  favorable  reply  to  his  petition.  He  left  Califor- 
nia about  the  beginning  of  1800. 

All  the  whites  in  the  country  in  those  days,  with  the  ex- 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P   XVII,  500,  501;  P.  R.  VII,  548. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  V,  930-933. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.    VII,  527. 


A  RR  ILL  AG  A  AGAIN.  615 

ception  of  the  soldiers  and  missionaries  and  a  few  others 
who  were  at  the  presidios  and  missions,  lived  at  the  villa  of 
Branciforte,  the  pueblo  of  Los  Angeles  or  the  pueblo  of  San 
Jose.  Branciforte  had  been  intended  for  a  city,  to  be  popu- 
lated by  pobladores  or  colonists  from  New  Spain,  persons 
unprovided  for  at  the  pueblos  and  retired  soldiers.  But  the 
original  nine  pobladores  were  not  desirable  companions  and 
therefore  not  calculated  by  their  society  to  make  the  place 
attractive;1  and  retiring  soldiers,  notwithstanding  the  induce- 
ments held  out,  did  not  fancy  it  but  preferred  the  pueblos  or 
the  presidios."  In  1802,  both  Borica  and  the  viceroy  Branci- 
forte being  out  of  the  way,  the  public  works  projected  at  the 
villa  were  suspended.3  In  1806  the  number  of  pobladores 
had  dwindled  down  to  five,  only  one  of  whom  was  married 
and  his  wife  was  in  New  Spain  Besides  these,  there  were 
two  unmarried  new-comers  and  seven  invalid  soldiers  with 
their  families.  There  were  seven  houses  made  of  palisades  and 
mud,  badly  roofed  with  tules,  which  were  inhabited,  and  seven, 
one  of  adobe  formerly  occupied  by  the  comisionado,  which 
were  uninhabited.4  The  name  Villa  de  Branciforte  still  re- 
mained; but  besides  the  name  and  the  remembrance  of  vast 
projects  there  was  next  to  nothing. 

The  pueblo  of  Nuestra  Seiiora  de  Los  Angeles,  sometimes 
called  Santa  Maria  de  Los  Angeles 5  and  sometimes  La 
Reyna  de  Los  Angeles,6  founded  in  1781  by  Governor  Felipe 
de  Neve,  was  slowly  growing.  In  1790  its  population  was  one 
hundred  and  forty-one,  forty-four  of  whom  were  married  per- 
sons.7 In  1795  there  were  seventeen  houses.8  In  1796  there 
was  a  new  distribution  of  building  lots.9  In  1798  Borica  or- 
dered the  irrigating  canal  then  existing  to  be  extended  and 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P    IV,  624-632. 
aCal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VII,  530. 
3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IX,  651. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IX,  237. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  247. 

6  Cal.  Archives.  P.  R.  VI,  55. 

'  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S    P.  IX,  279. 

8  Cal.  Archives,  M.   II,  310. 

9  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  55,  56. 


616  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

more  fruit  trees,  vines,  and  gardens  to  be  planted.1  In  1799 
the  population  was  two  hundred  and  sixty-nine2  and  in  1805 
three  hundred  and  seventy-two,  of  whom  one  hundred  and 
forty-four  were  grown  persons.1  Between  the  last  named 
year  and  181 1  there  was  a  small  decrease;4  and  then  the  pop- 
ulation slowly  rose  again  to  six  hundred  and  twelve  in  1820.5 
The  character  of  the  inhabitants  was  little  if  any  better  than 
that  of  those  of  San  Jose,  which,  however,  was  more  noted 
for  its  wickedness.  Idleness,  gambling,  and  vice  of  all  kinds 
abounded.  In  1809  the  comisionado  wrote  that  drunkenness 
and  disorderly  conduct  had  risen  to  such  a  scandalous  height 
that  the  prison  was  full  and  the  stocks  always  occupied  and 
that,  though  he  had  ordered  the  sale  of  wine  and  aguardiente 
to  be  stopped,  there  was  need  of  stronger  authority  than  he 
possessed  to  preserve  the  public  peace.6 

The  pueblo  of  San  Jose  de  Guadalupe,  founded  by  Governor 
Felipe  de  Neve  in  1777,  contained  in  1795  a  population  of 
one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  persons.7  They  were  infamous 
for  laziness,8  and  theft.9  In  1796  irrigation  was  greatly  im- 
proved and  agriculture,  particularly  of  hemp,  encouraged," 
and  in  1797  sheep-raising  added  as  one  of  the  principal  oc- 
cupations of  such  of  the  people  as  would  do  anything.11  But 
a  large  portion  of  the  inhabitants  were  inherently  vicious; 
and  disorder  and  crime  continued  unabated.  The  old  records 
are  full  of  accounts  of  outrages  of  all  kinds.  It  was  not  to 
be  regretted  that  such  a  population  decreased  rather  than 
increased.  In  1800  it  was  one  hundred  and  sixty-six.1"  The 
harvest  the  same  year  amounted  to  about  fourteen  hundred 

1  Gal.  Archives,  F.  R.  VI,  184. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  179. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  592. 

4  Cil.  Archives,  M.  IV,  192. 
:"'  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  630. 

«  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ben.  XL.  5S8-590. 

7  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  315. 

8  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  557. 

9  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VI,  560. 

10  Cal.  Archives,  P.  K.  VI,  465,  46S.  480. 

11  Cal.  Archives,   P.  R.  VI,  716. 

12  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Will,  449,  450. 


ARRILLAGA  AGAIX.  617 

fanegas  of  wheat,  sixteen  hundred  of  maize  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  of  beans.1  In  1805  the  population  had  in- 
creased to  one  hundred  and  ninety-four;2  and  it  is  said  that 
during  that  year  the  beautiful  alameda  or  double  row  of  wil- 
low trees  about  three  miles  long,  connecting  the  pueblo  with 
the  mission  of  Santa  Clara,  was  planted.  As  these  trees,  in 
time  grew  large,  their  branches  interlaced  over  the  road 
which  was  kept  in  tolerable  repair;  and  for  man)-  years  it 
formed  and  in  fact  still  forms  one  of  the  most  charming  and 
delightful  drives  or  walks  in  all  California.  But  it  was  to 
Fathers  Magin  Catala  and  Jose  Viader,  the  missionaries  of 
Santa  Clara,  or  rather  the  Indians  under  their  direction  and 
orders,  and  not  to  any  public  spirit  on  the  part  of  the  popula- 
tion of  San  Jose,  that  the  country  was  indebted  for  this  mag- 
nificent vista  of  beauty  and  grateful  shade. 

Very  soon  after  the  original  foundation  of  the  pueblo  of 
San  Jose  it  was  found  that  the  site  was  subject  to  overflow  by 
the  Guadalupe  river;  and  in  1785  Jose  Joaquin  Moraga,  the 
comisionado,  recommended  that  it  should  be  removed  to 
higher  ground  on  the  other  side  of  the  stream.3  In  1797 
Cordoba,  the  engineer,  was  directed  to  make  the  necessary 
surveys  and  effect  the  proper  changes.4  In  1798,  a  dispute 
arose  between  the  authorities  of  the  pueblo  and  the  neighbor- 
ing missionaries  of  Santa  Clara  as  to  the  boundary  between 
the  two  places;0  and  the  controversy  caused  considerable  dis- 
sension until  1800,  when  the  dividing-  line  was  fixed  at  the  river 
Guadalupe,  giving  the  pueblo,  however,  certain  rights  on  the 
mission  side  of  the  stream.6  There  was  a  like  dispute  be- 
tween the  pueblo  and  the  mission  of  San  Jose,  which  was  not 
settled  until  1809. 7  In  181 1  the  population  of  the  pueblo 
was  only  one  hundred  and  ten,"  and  in  181  5  only  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-seven.9 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.   S.  P.  XVIII,  6. 

a  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  603. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  V,  25. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XXI   641. 
''Cal.  Archives.  P.  R.  VII,  459. 

'•  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  IX,  35;  P.  K.  IX,  638,  686. 

7  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XIX,  726,  727,  730. 

8  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  192 

*  Cal.  Archives,  I".  S.  P.  Ben.  XI  VI.  540. 


618  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

The  lists  of  population  of  the  entire  province  of  Alta  Cal- 
ifornia for  the  five  years  between  1810  and  1816,  including 
the  last  four  years  of  Arrillaga's  administration,  show  that  at 
the  end  of  that  period  the  gente  de  razon  numbered  twenty- 
five  hundred  and  thirty-eight  and  the  mission  Indians  nine- 
teen thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-seven.  During  the 
five  years  referred  to  six  hundred  and  fifteen  whites  had  been 
born  and  two  hundred  and  seventeen  had  died.  Of  Indians 
during  the  same  period  three  thousand  three  hundred  and 
twenty-three  had  been  born  and  seven  thousand  three  hun- 
dred and  ninety-four  had  died.1  But  these  figures  do  not 
include  the  gentile  Indians  north  of  San  Francisco  and  in  the 
San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento  valleys,  where  the  proportion 
of  births  and  deaths  was  perhaps  more  evenly  balanced. 

Arrillaga  was  not  often  called  upon  to  exercise  judicial 
functions  and  certainly  did  not  watch  over  the  general  welfare 
with  the  pains-taking  and  tender  solicitude  of  a  Borica.  In 
1805  some  of  the  pobladores  of  Los  Angeles  complained 
that  the  pasture  grounds  of  their  cattle  were  too  limited  or 
had  been  encroached  upon  by  others;  and  the  subject  was 
referred  by  the  comandante  of  Santa  Barbara  to  Arrillaga; 
but  he  sent  back  word  that  the  comandante  should  attend  to 
the  matter  and  everything  of  like  character  himself.'2  The 
only  notable  case  in  which  he  acted  was  in  reference  to  an 
unnatural  crime  committed  in  1800  near  the  mission  of 
San  Buenaventura  by  a  soldier  named  Jose  Antonio  Rosas  of 
the  presidio  of  Santa  Barbara.  He  was  detected  by  a  couple 
of  Indian  women  and,  after  trial  and  confession,  was  sen- 
tenced to  be  hung  and  his  body  burned.  The  case  was  then 
referred  to  Arrillaga,  who  sent  it  to  the  vice-regal  government 
at  Mexico,  by  which  the  judgment  was  approved  and  Arril- 
laga ordered  to  have  the  punishment  inflicted  as  adjudged 
and  a  like  punishment  upon  a  mule  which  was  charged  and 
declared  by  the  judgment  to  be  a  particeps  criminis;  and 
in  February  1801  both  man  and  beast  were  marched  out  by 
a  file  of   soldiers  a  short    distance  west    of   Santa    Barbara 


Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  390 
Cal.  Archives,  P.  k.  XI,  407. 


ARRILLAGA  AGAIN.  619 

and  the  horrid  sentence  carried  into  execution.1  In  1810  an 
insidious  attempt  was  made  by  the  guardian  of  the  college  of 
San  Fernando  in  Mexico  to  exercise  judicial  power  through 
one  of  the  missionaries  of  San  Diego;  but  Arrillaga  denied 
the  jurisdiction  and  put  his  foot  firmly  down  upon  the  pro- 
ceeding.2 By  this  action  he  showed  that  there  was  a  very 
marked  distinction  between  the  ecclesiastical  and  the  civil 
authority  and  that,  friendly  and  subservient  as  he  usually  was 
to  the  missionaries,  he  was  determined  to  prevent  the  former 
from  encroaching  upon  the  latter..  For  this,  if  for  nothing 
else  that  he  did  as  a  magistrate,  he  is  entitled  to  credit. 

During  Arrillaga's  time  the  Spanish  jealousy  of  foreigners 
was  manifested  on  various  occasions  and  especially  by  Arril- 
laga himself.  Even  in  1793,  while  he  was  gobernador  inter- 
ino,  on  the  occasion  of  Vancouver's  second  visit,  he  exhib- 
ited his  feeling  and  spirit  in  this  respect  in  a  very  marked 
manner.  He  gave  the  English  navigator  to  understand  that 
there  was  no  royal  order  for  his  reception,  as  there  had  been 
in  the  case  of  La  Perouse;  that  the  attentions  that  had  been 
paid  him  on  his  first  visit  were  for  that  time  only,  and  that  in 
fine  he  was  not  welcome  a  second  time.3  In  this,  however, 
he  may  not  have  acted  on  his  own  responsibility,  though  the 
Spanish  government  at  that  time  pretended  to  be  rather 
favorable  than  otherwise  to  the  English  and  in  1794  took  the 
trouble  to  ship  from  Cape  San  Lucas  to  San  Bias  and  from 
San  Bias  to  Alta  California  five  deserters  from  Vancouver's 
vessels  and  order  them  to  be  delivered  to  him.4  It  is  certain 
that  general  orders  had  been  received  to  admit  no  foreign 
vessel  except  in  case  of  urgent  necessity  and  to  prevent 
examinations  by  foreigners  into  the  state  and  condition  of 
the  country;0  and  similar  orders  were  received  in  I796.b 

This  feeling  against  foreigners  was  particularly  strong  against 
Americans.     In  1796  the  treaty  of  friendship,  boundaries  and 

»  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ben.  XXVIII,  488,  523-527. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  XII,  271,  272 

s  Vancouver,  IV,  297,  310;  Cal.  Archives,  1'.  S.   P.  XXI,  304. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  IX,  S2;   XII,  514. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XII,  4S5. 

6  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  72,  73. 


620  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

navigation  between  the  United  States  and  Spain  was  received 
and  proclaimed  in  California.1  Towards  the  end  of  the  same 
year  the  ship  Otter  of  Boston,  Captain  Ebenezer  Dorr,  the  first 
American  vessel  that  visited  California,  ran  in  to  Monterey 
and  surreptitiously  left  there  a  few  of  its  sailors,  some  Amer- 
icans and  some  English.  Borica  afterwards,  before  sending 
these  persons  out  of  the  country,  utilized  them  in  building  a 
launch,  a  mill,  and  some  much  better  wagons  than  were  in  gen- 
eral use  in  the  country;2  but  their  superior  mechanical  skill  does 
not  seem  to  have  had  any  effect  in  reconciling  the  Spaniards 
to  the  Yankee  nation.  The  impression  appears  to  have  been, 
and  it  was  perhaps  correct,  that  American  vessels  in  those 
days  were  mostly  engaged  in  contraband  trade.  In  May, 
1799,  another  American  ship,  named  the  Eliza,  Captain  James 
Rowan,  arrived  at  San  Francisco  and  asked  permission  to 
remain  for  a  time;  but  the  authorities  made  up  their  minds 
that  its  object  was  contraband  trade  and  compelled  it  to  leave 
without  delay3 

On  February  15,  1803,  the  American  brig  Lelia  Byrd, 
Captain  William  Shaler,  anchored  at  San  Diego.  Its  object 
was  to  purchase  otter  skins.  The  next  day  Manuel  Rodriguez, 
the  comandante  of  the  presidio,  appeared  with  a  company  of 
soldiers;  placed  a  guard  of  five  of  them  on  board;  forbade 
any  trading,  and  ordered  the  adventurers  to  leave  as  soon  as 
they  could  be  supplied  with  necessaries.  Shaler  was  also 
informed  that  the  American  ship  Alexander,  Captain  Brown, 
had  been  there  only  a  few  days  before  and  purchased  a  num- 
ber of  skins;  but  that  the  comandante  had  forcibly  seized 
them  and  sent  the  vessel  off  empty.  It  was  thus  very  apparent 
that  the  purpose  of  the  Lelia  Byrd  in  landing  at  San  Diego 
could  not  be  openly  accomplished.  On  March  21,  the  neces- 
saries were  supplied  and  paid  for;  and  the  brig  was  ordered 
by  the  comandante  to  leave  the  next  day.  But  that  night 
the  Americans  sent  off  several  boats  to  gather  up  such  skins 
as  could  be  purchased  by  stealth.      A  few   furs  were  thus  pro- 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  278. 
1   al.  Archives,  P.  R.   IV,  290. 
J  Cal.  Archives,   I'.   P.  VII,  53b,  537;   P.  S.   P.  XVII,  450. 


ARRTLLAGA  AGAIN.  621 

cured;  but  one  of  the  boats  being  discovered  by  the  alert  com- 
andante  was  seized  and  its  men  made  prisoners  and  bound. 
In  the  morning  a  party  of  the  Americans,  armed  with  pistols, 
after  finit  securing  the  guards  on  the  vessel,  landed  and  res- 
cued the  prisoners.  The  brig  then  weighed  anchor  and  got 
under  sail;  but  in  working  out  of  the  bay  it  had  to  pass  within 
musket  shot  of  the  battery  or  fort  on  Point  Guijarros,  to  which 
the  Spaniards  rushed,  hoisted  their  flag  and  loaded  their  three 
nine-pounder  cannons.  There  being  very  little  wind,  it  took 
the  brig  some  time  to  get  within  gun  shot;  but,  when  it  did 
so,  the  Spaniards  opened  fire  and  kept  up  a  cannonade  for 
three-quarters  of  an  hour.  The  Americans  in  the  meantime 
had  placed  the  Spanish  guards  in  conspicuous  positions  on 
the  side  of  the  vessel  towards  the  fort;  and  these  lustily 
implored  their  countrymen  to  desist  firing.  But  it  did  no 
good.  The  shot  that  struck,  however,  injured  only  the  rig- 
ging and  sails  until  the  brig  was  directly  in  front,  when  the 
hull  was  struck  several  times.  Up  to  this  conjuncture  the 
Americans  had  not  returned  a  shot,  though  they  had  moved 
their  six  three-pounders  into  position.  But  when  immediately 
abreast  the  battery,  they  too  opened  fire.  At  the  first  broad- 
side, they  observed  most  of  the  Spaniards  scampering  up  the 
hill  at  the  back  of  the  fort;  and  at  the  second  broadside  they 
saw  the  remainder  abandon  their  guns  and  run,  with  the 
exception  of  a  single  soldier  who  mounted  the  ramparts  and 
waved  his  hat  in  token  of  giving  up  the  fight.  The  Spanish 
guard  on  board  was  soon  after  put  ashore  uninjured,  at  which 
they  were  much  astonished  and  hurrahed  for  the  Americans; 
and  the  brig  went  on  its  way  rejoicing  that  no  one  had  been 
hurt  and  that  the  only  damage  of  any  moment  done  was  a 
hole  which  was  easily  plugged  with  a  wad  of  oakum.1 

After  the  adventure  of  the  Lelia  Byrd  the  visits  of  the 
American  traders  or  smugglers  were  not  uncommon.  Hardly 
a  year  passed  without  one  or  two  of  them  touching.  Yankee 
ingenuity  soon  learned  how  to  avoid  or  satisfy  the  Spanish 
authorities  and  at  the  same  time  make  immense  profits.     The 

1  Narrative  of  Voyages  and  Commercial  Enterprises,  by  Richard  J.  Cleveland, 
Boston,  1850,  194-198. 


622  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

vessels  usually  left  Boston  with  cargoes  of  miscellaneous  arti- 
cles, liquors,  cutlery,  cottons  and  soon,  costing  a  few  thousand 
dollars.  These  were  bartered  along'  the  coast  of  California 
for  otter  and  beaver  skins,  which  were  carried  to  China  and 
bartered  for  teas  and  silks.  The  cargoes  on  the  return  to 
Boston,  after  all  expenses  paid,  usually  netted  ten  or  twenty 
times  the  original  investment.  In  this  way  many  a  New 
England  fortune  of  those  days  was  built  up.  But  the  author- 
ities still  continued  jealous  of  the  American  people  and  would 
not  allow  any  of  them  to  remain  or  even  to  travel  in  the 
country.  In  1809  a  party  of  five  Americans  appeared  at  San 
Jose,  representing  themselves  as  shipwrecked  sailors  who  had 
been  wandering  about  the  country  for  three  weeks.  Arrillaga 
pronounced  them  deserters  and  sent  them  off  as  soon  as  an 
opportunity  presented  itself.1 

In  1 8 14  the  British  ship  Raccoon,  Captain  William  Black, 
touched  at  San  Francisco  and  was  better  treated  than  was 
usual  with  foreigners.  Considerable  correspondence  took 
place  between  Black  and  Arrillaga;  and  it  was  of  a  friendly 
character;  but  at  the  same  time  Black  found  it  necessary  to 
deprecate  the  feeling  of  antipathy  entertained  by  the  Span- 
iards against  the  English  and  especially  the  prejudice  caused 
by  their  difference  in  religion.2  In  one  of  his  letters  he  spoke 
about  eight  men,  who  had  deserted  from  the  British  ship 
Isaac  Todd  and  whom  he  asked  to  be  delivered  up  to  him. 
He  then  went  on  to  say  that  some  of  his  own  men,  who  con- 
templated desertion,  were  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  the 
Californians  favorable  to  their  project  pretending  to  be 
Catholics;  but  he  begged  that  no  encouragement  should  be 
given  them.  As  the  Spaniards  and  the  English,  he  observed, 
were  fighting  together  as  allies  and  friends  in  Europe,  they 
ought  to  be  ready  and  willing  everywhere  to  do  each  other 
reciprocal  favors.  Nor  was  there  any  good  reason  why  ani- 
mosity on  religious  grounds  should  separate  them.  On  the 
contrary,  he  continued,  "  we  have  had  sufficient  proofs  from 
many  glorious  victories,  gained  over  the  common  enemy  in 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  XII,  733-735- 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XIX,  1221-1246. 


ARRILLAGA  AG  A IX.  623 

the  Peninsula  by  the  Spaniards  and  English,  that  their  differ- 
ence in  religion  has  never  in  any  way  prevented  their  acting 
together  in  the  most  cordial  manner."1 

But  the  first  foreigners  who  were  received  with  sufficient 
favor  to  be  allowed  to  settle,  or  at  least  were  not  prevented 
from  making  a  settlement  -in  the  country,  were  the  Rus- 
sians. The  way  for  them  was  made  in  1806  by  M.  de 
Resanoff,  chamberlain  of  the  Russian  emperor.  Having 
been  sent  out  from  St.  Petersburg  in  the  interest  of  the 
Imperial  Russian-American  Fur  Company,  after  visiting  the 
stations  in  the  North  Pacific,  he  ran  down  the  American 
coast  with  the  object  of  founding  an  establishment  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia;  but  bad  weather,  want  of  pro- 
visions and  the  difficulties  of  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  that 
river  rendered  his  attempt  impracticable  and  he  continued 
his  voyage  to  San  Francisco.2  On  arriving  there  he  wrote  to 
Arrillaga  at  Monterey,  who  at  once  replied  in  a  very  gracious 
letter,  congratulating  him  upon  his  safe  arrival  after  the  severe 
equinoctial  storms  that  had  been  raging  and  informing  him 
that  he  had  received  instructions  from  the  court  of  Madrid  to 
offer  him  and  his  people  all  possible  aid  and  assistance.*  The 
hospitable  reception  thus  tendered  was  duly  appreciated  by 
the  Russians  and  by  none  more  so  than  by  their  commander 
Resanoff.  His  eyes,  long  unaccustomed  to  female  charms, 
had  fallen  upon  the  fair  Concepcion,  daughter  of  Jose  Dario 
Arguello,  comandante  of  San  Francisco,  and  his  heart  was 
enslaved.4  He  plighted  his  troth  to  her.  It  was  necessary, 
however,  before  he  could  marry  to  obtain  his  emperor's  con- 
sent; and,  as  soon  as  the  affairs  of  his  voyage  in  California 
were  settled,  he  departed  for  St.  Petersburg  to  solicit  the 
requisite  consent  and  then  return  and  claim  his  bride.      But 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XIX,  1241. 

2  Duflot  de  Mofras,  II,  1,  2. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  VIII,  194,  195. 

4  G.  H.  von  Langsdorff,  who  accompanied  Resanoff  and  afterwards  published 
an  account  of  his  voyages  and  travels,  described  Concepcion  Arguello  as  follows: 
"Dofia  Concepcion  was  lively  and  animated,  had  sparkling,  love-inspiring  ey<  -, 
beautiful  teeth,  pleasing  and  expressive  features,  a  fine  form  and  a  thousand  othei 
charms;  yet  her  manners  were  perfectly  simple  and  artless." — Voyages  and  Travels 
&c,  by  G.  H.  von  Langsdorff,  London,  1814,  II,  153. 


624  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

unfortunately,  on  his  way  through  Siberia,  he  was  killed  by  a 
fall  from  his  horse.  When  the  melancholy  news  reached 
California,  Dona  Concepcion  was  inconsolable;  and,  after 
years  of  mourning,  she  renounced  the  world  and  dedicated 
the  remainder  of  her  life  to  the  instruction  of  the  young  and 
the  care  of  the  sick.1 

The  plans  of  Resanoff  were  much  more  extensive  than 
would  at  first  sight  appear.  It  is  true  that  when  he  left  the 
Russian  possessions  in  the  far  north,  his  sole  purpose  was  to 
found  an  establishment  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river, 
and  he  had  no  eye  upon  California;  but  afterwards,  upon 
reaching  San  Francisco  and  beholding  the  magnificent  bay 
and  country  round  about  it,  his  views  enlarged  and  he  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  joining  hands  with  the  Californians  and 
uniting  the  Russian  and  Spanish  settlements  on  the  Pacific  in 
firm  bonds.  The  good  understanding  then  existing  between 
the  courts  of  St.  Petersburg  and  Madrid  was  favorable  to  his 
project.  The  former  had  given  notice  to  the  latter  of  the 
sailing  of  its  ships,  the  Nadeschda  and  Neva,  under  Captains 
Krusenstern  and  Lisiansky,  on  what  proved  to  be  the  first 
Russian  voyage  of  circumnavigation,  and  of  the  possibility  of 
their  touching  in  California;  and  the  Spanish  court,  in  view 
of  this  possibility,  had  sent  word  that  the  Russians  should  be 
treated  with  extraordinary  respect  and  consideration.  These 
vessels,  with  Resanoff  on  board  the  Nadeschda,  proceeded  by 
the  way  of  Cape  Horn  to  Kamtschatka  and  did  not  reach 
California;  but  Resanoff  sailed  thence  in  another  vessel  to 
Sitka  and  there  purchased  a  small  American  trading-vessel, 
called  the  Juno,  with  which  he  ran  down  as  has  been  stated 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  and  thence,  without  stopping, 
to  San  Francisco. 

His  object  being  to  provide  regular  supplies  of  grain  for 
the  Russian  establishments  in  the  north,  he  at  once  saw  that 
California  and  especially  San  Francisco  with  its  grand  bay 
was  the  very  spot  of  which  he  was  in  search.  He  immedi- 
ately bent  all  his  energies  to  the  establishment  of  such  rela- 

'  Narrative  of  a  journey  round  the  world  &c,  by  Sir  George  Simpson;  Lon- 
don, 1847,  I,  377-379- 


ARRILLAGA  AGAIN.  625 

tions  with  the  Californians  as  would  tend  to  accomplish  his 
newly-conceived  project.  While  he  was  at  San  Francisco 
Arrillaga  the  governor,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  him 
especial  honor,  rode  up  from  Monterey  to  pay  a  formal  visit; 
and  thereupon  Resanoff  endeavored,  with  all  the  eloquence  of 
which  he  was  master,  to  negotiate  an  agreement  to  open  an 
immediate  trade  between  the  Russians  and  the  Spaniards. 
Arrillaga  admitted  that  such  an  arrangement  would  be  highly 
advantageous;  but  he  was  afraid  to  take  the  responsibility 
and  could  only  promise  to  submit  the  proposition  with  rec- 
ommendations to  the  cabinet  at  Madrid. 

Resanoff,  though  he  failed  to  open  immediate  commercial 
relations  with  the  Californians,  by  no  means  abandoned  the 
project.  His  engagement  with  Dona  Concepcion  Arguello 
indicated  that  he  was  in  earnest.  When  he  left  California, 
after  a  delightful  sojourn  of  about  six  weeks  including  the 
whole  of  April,  1806,  he  went  with  the  intention  of  proceed- 
ing as  soon  as  practicable  to  St.  Petersburg,  obtaining  from 
his  emperor,  besides  a  license  to  marry,  a  commission  to 
Madrid,  and  there  negotiating  a  treaty,  which  would  bind  the 
Russians  and  Spaniards  in  the  North  Pacific  firmly  together. 
He  proposed  then  to  cross  over  to  Mexico,  proceed  thence  to 
California,  claim  his  bride  and  devote  himself  to  the  build- 
ing up  of  the  new  trade  and  Russian-Californian  interests  in 
genera!.1 

There  may  be  some  doubt  whether  any  very  great  amount 
of  trade  could  have  been  established  between  Russian  Amer- 
ica and  California  for  the  reason  that,  though  the  Russians 
required  grain  and  beef,  there  was  little  or  nothing  produced 
in  the  Russian  establishments  of  which  the  Californians  stood 
in  need.  It  is  likely,  however,  with  the  example  of  so  promi- 
nent a  man  as  Resanoff  taking  a  Californian  wife  and  devoting 
himself  to  Californian  affairs,  that  many  others  would  have 
followed  and  the  country  gradually  have  become  in  great  part 
if  not  entirely  Russianized.  But  when  Resanoff  died,  hi  -;  proj- 
ect died  with  him;^and  afterwards,  when  the  Russians  came 

1  Langsdorff,  II,  152-183. 
40    Vol   I. 


626  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

to  the  country,  it  was  only  as  temporary  sojourners — only,  so 
far  at  least  as  professions  went,  for  the  temporary  purpose  of 
hunting  and  fishing  and  not  as  permanent  settlers  or  for  the 
purpose  of  joining  and  amalgamating  with  the  Californians. 

Notwithstanding  Resanoff's  death  and  the  failure  of  his 
plans  for  the  want  of  some  one  to  take  them  up  and  carry 
them  out,  his  reports  of  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  coun- 
try and  the  immense  number  of  otters  and  seals  found  along 
the  coasts  attracted  the  immediate  attention  of  the  Russian 
court  to  the  neighborhood  of  San  Francisco.  Negotiations 
were  at  once  set  on  foot  with  the  Spanish  court  and,  in  the 
course  of  a  few  years,  permission  obtained  to  found  a  Russian 
establishment  on  the  coast  for  the  sole  purpose  of  hunting 
and  curing  skins  and  furs.  In  the  beginning  of  1812,  accord- 
ingly, M.  de  Baranoff,  the  governor  of  Russian  America,  dis- 
patched M.  de  Koskoff  with  one  hundred  Russians  and  one 
hundred  Kodiak  Indians  to  Bodega,  where  they  established 
themselves  and  commenced  their  hunting  and  fishing.  They 
brought  along  with  them  their  seal-skin  canoes,  called  cayu- 
cas  or  baidarkas,  with  which  they  explored  the  coasts  and 
islands  and  both  arms  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  with  all 
its  coves,  creeks,  sloughs  and  marshes,  and  gathered  great 
numbers  of  skins.  There  are  said  to  have  been  weeks  in 
which  they  killed  seven  or  eight  hundred  otters  in  the  bay  of 
San  Francisco  alone.  The  skins  were  at  that  time  worth  at 
Kiakta  or  Maimakin  on  the  borders  of  Russia  and  China,  to 
which  they  were  sent,  from  eighty  to  a  hundred  dollars  a 
piece;  so  that  the  profits  of  early  Russian  adventures  in  Cali- 
fornia were  enormous.  Meanwhile  they  found  that  they 
could  easily  procure  in  California  the  grain  necessary  to  sup- 
ply the  northern  establishments,  for  which  they  had  often 
been  obliged  to  go  as  far  as  Chili,  and  also  fat.  tallow  and 
dried  meats;  and  a  considerable  trade  in  these  articles  soon 
commenced.  At  first  the  Russians  paid  in  coin,  but  after- 
wards they  imported  merchandise,  which  the  Spaniards  were 
glad  to  get.  The  hunting  and  the  trade  thus  originated  rap- 
idly enlarged;  and  the  Russians  increased  in  numbers.     In 


ARRILLAGA  AGAIN.  627 

181 5  they  bought  cattle  of  their  own  and  established  a  few 
farms  near  Bodega,  where  they  began  to  raise  stock  and 
wheat  on  their  own  account. 

In  October,  1816.  the  Russian  ship  Rurick,  which  was  on  a 
scientific  voyage  into  the  North  Pacific,  dropped  anchor  at 
San  Francisco.  It  was  under  the  command  of  Otto  von  Kot- 
zebue,  a  lieutenant  in  the  Russian  imperial  navy,  and  had  on 
board  several  celebrated  naturalists,  among  them  Dr.  Esch- 
scholz,  from  whom  the  large,  orange-colored  Californian 
poppy  derived  its  scientific  name  of  "  Eschscholzia."  Kot- 
zebue  remained  in  California  about  a  month;  and,  as  the 
good  understanding  between  Russia  and  Spain  still  continued, 
he  was  received  and  treated  with  much  the  same  favor  as 
Resanoff  had  been.  Pablo  Vicente  de  Sola,  the  then  gover- 
nor, followed  the  example  of  Arrillaga  and  paid  him  a  cere-' 
monious  visit  from  Monterey;  and  everything  was  done  that 
could  be  thought  of  to  render  his  stay  interesting  and  pleas- 
ant. 

But  by  this  time  the  Californians  had  begun  to  grow 
alarmed  at  the  prosperity  and  rapid  growth  of  their  neigh- 
bors at  Bodega  and  especially  in  view  of  the  fortification  they 
had  set  up  at  Ross.  Sola  complained  of  the  apparantly  per- 
manent character  of  their  settlement;  and,  at  his  instance, 
Kotzebue  sent  for  Koskoff,  the  Russian  comandante  in  Cali- 
fornia, for  the  purpose  of  making  explanations  and  if  possible 
coming  to  some  satisfactory  understanding.  Koskoff,  or,  as 
he  was  more  commonly  known  among  the  Spaniards  on  ac- 
count of  his  having  a  wooden  leg,  old  "  Pie  de  palo — Timber- 
toe,"  came  down  from  Ross;  and  a  conference  was  held  on 
board  the  Rurick.  His  answer  to  all  complaints  was  that  he 
had  no  discretion;  that  he  was  acting  strictly  under  the  orders 
and  in  accordance  with  the  instructions  of  his  superior,  M.  de 
Baranoff,  who  was  head  of  all  the  Russian  settlements  in 
America,  and  that  all  he  could  do  was  to  refer  to  him.  Un- 
der the  circumstances,  nothing  satisfactory  could  be  agreed 
upon.  It  was  understood  that  the  governor's  complaints  would 
be  submitted  at  St.  Petersburg,  but  this  promised  no  very 


628  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

positive  and  certainly  no  very  speedy  relief.  On  the  other 
hand  the  superiority  of  the  Russian  settlement  to  any  made 
by  the  Spaniards  in  California,  which  became  more  and  more 
apparent  as  the  facts  became  more  and  more  known,  caused 
bitter  feelings;  and  from  that  time  forward  the  same  jealousy 
felt  against  other  foreigners  was  felt  against  the  Russians 
also.1 

In  1808  Charles  IV..  king  of  Spain,  abdicated  and  Fernando 
VII.  mounted  the  throne.  The  news  reached  California  about 
the  beginning  of  February,  1809,  and  Arrillaga,  as  directed  by 
Garibay,  the  incoming  viceroy  at  Mexico,  proclaimed  the  new 
king  and  ordered  a  salute  of  forty-five  guns,  fifteen  at  sunrise, 
fifteen  at  noon  and  fifteen  at  sunset,  to  be  fired  by  each  of  the 
presidios  and  forts  in  his  honor.2  A  subsequent  date,  August 
10,  1809,  was  appointed  as  the  time  for  the  governor  to  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  new  sovereign.  On  that  day,  at 
five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  Arrillaga  made  his  appearance 
in  the  hall  of  the  mission  of  San  Carlos.  There  were  present 
there  Father  Esteban  Tapis,  the  president  of  the  missions, 
Fathers  Vicente  Francisco  Sarria  and  Juan  Amoros,  Surgeon 
Manuel  Quixana  of  the  royal  navy,  Ensign  Jose  Mariano 
Estrada  and  others.  Arrillaga  advanced;  knelt  before  the 
crucifix;  placed  one  hand  upon  the  Holy  Evangels,  and,  hold- 
ing up  with  the  other  the  cross  of  his  sword,  swore  to  bear 
true  allegiance  to  king  Fernando  VII.;  to  uphold  and  maintain 
all  the  rights  of  his  dynasty  and  his  kingdom  of  the  Indies, 
and  to  obey  and  execute  all  the  orders  of  his  supreme  council 
as  depositary  of  those  rights,  pledging  the  last  drop  of  his 
blood  in  their  defense  and  preservation.3 

On  September  13,  18 10,  the  revolution  against  Spain,  which 
finally  resulted  in  Mexican  independence,  commenced  in  the 
province  of  Guanajuato.  The  uprising  was  at  first  regarded 
as  a  mere  riot  of  ignorant  and  drunken  Indians,  which  could 
easily  be  quelled  by  a  few  soldiers.     But,  there  being  disaf- 


1  Kolzebue's  Voyage  of  Discovery  &c.,  London,   1821,   I,  93-292;  Duflot  de 
Mofras,  II,  3-6;  History  of  Sonoma  County,  by  J.  P.  Munro-Fraser,  41. 
*  Cal.  Archives..  P.  R.  XII,  739. 
3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XIX,  702-704. 


ARRILLAGA  AGAIN.  629 

fection  everywhere,  the  revolution  spread  with  rapidity  and 
soon  assumed  serious  proportions.  A  motley  army,  illy 
armed  but  inspired  with  vengeance  against  the  Spaniards, 
collected.  The  patriot-priest,  Miguel  Hidalgo,  throwing  a 
military  jacket  over  his  priestly  cassock  and  hanging  a  sword 
next  the  crucifix  at  his  side,  put  himself  at  its  head  and 
began  his  march  towards  the  capital.  For  a  time  he  carried 
all  before  him.  But  in  March,  i Si  [,  he  was  defeated  at  the 
bridge  of  Calderon;  shortly  afterwards  he  was  betrayed  and 
captured;  and  in  July,  181 1,  at  the  city  of  Chihuahua,  he  was 
shot,  ejaculating  with  his  last  words  a  prayer  for  Mexican 
independence.  In  the  meanwhile,  and  during  all  the  troub- 
les in  Mexico,  nothing  was  further  from  the  thoughts  of 
Arrillaga  or  any  of  the  Californian  authorities  or  people  than 
revolution.  To  the  very  last  moment,  the  province  remained 
intensely  and  unreservedly  loyal  to  the  crown.  Soon  after 
Hidalgo's  rising,  a  wild  proclamation  against  his  projects 
issued  by  the  bishop  of  Michoacan  was  sent  to  Arrillaga;  and 
he,  in  September,  181 1,  published  it  to  the  people.1  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact  Hidalgo  was  then  in  his  grave  and  the  revolution 
for  the  time  being  repressed.  It  continued  repressed  for  sev- 
eral years.  But  the  time  was  fast  approaching  when  the 
Aztec  spirit  was  to  rise  triumphant  over  oppression  and  the 
richest  of  its  jewels  to  be  torn  forever  from  the  Spanish 
crown. 

Arrillaga  did  not  live  to  see  the  new  era.  He  died  at  the 
mission  of  Soledad  on  July  25,  1814.  He  was  at  the  time  of 
his  death  sixty-four  years  of  age.  He  had  been  gobernador 
interino  of  the  two  Californias  for  the  second  time  from  Jan- 
uary, 1800,  to  March,  1804,  a  period  of  four  years  and  two 
months,  and  gobernador  propietario  of  Alta  California  from 
March,  1804,  to  July,  18 14,  a  period  of  ten  years  and  four 
months.  He  had  never  married.  His  next  relatives  were  a 
brother  and  four  sisters,  three  of  them  married,  all  residing  in 
Spain.  Ten  days  before  his  death  he  made  a  will,  leaving  a 
few  bequests  to  his  servants  but  constituting  his  unmarried 
sister,  Maria  Josefa  de  Arrillaga  of  the  province  of  Guipuzcoa, 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  VII,  233. 


630  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

his  heir.  He  directed  that  various  masses  for  the  repose  of 
his  soul  should  be  said,  and  among  them  one  hundred  at  the 
mission  of  San  Antonio  and  one  hundred  at  the  mission  of 
San  Miguel.  He  had  been  in  service  and  office  continuously 
for  about  thirty-seven  years;  but  his  estate  at  the  time  of  his 
death  did  not  amount  to  over  three  thousand  dollars.1  His 
body,  in  accordance  with  his  will  was  buried  in  the  church 
of  the  mission  of  Soledad,  where  he  died.2  Two  years  after- 
wards Jose  Mariano  Estrada,  whom  he  had  appointed  his 
executor,  paid  out  five  hundred  and  ninety-nine  dollars  for 
masses  at  the  rate  of  a  dollar  apiece.  The  missionaries 
claimed  six  hundred  dollars  for  a  round  six  hundred  masses; 
but  on  counting  them  all  up  there  appeared  to  have  been  one 
less  than  the  number  claimed;  and  the  estate  consequently 
saved  a  dollar.3  It  might  have  been  better,  and  would  cer- 
tainly have  been  pleasanter  to  record,  if  the  dollar  saved  had 
gone  to  the  missionaries  and  the  five  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine,  paid  out,  to  Dona  Maria  Josefa. 

1  Cal.   Archives,  P.  S.   P.  Ben.    XXXVIII,  49S-503;    P.  S.    P.  XX,  842-548 
S.  P.  XVII,  522-524. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P    Ben.  XXXVIII,  49S;  P.  R.  X,  266. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ben.  XLV,  428. 


+/ 


CHAPTER    V  I  I . 

ARGUELLO   (THE    ELDER)   AND   SOLA. 

THE  death  of  Arrillaga  devolved  the  temporary  or  inter- 
ino  government  of  Alta  California  upon  Jose  Dario 
Arguello,  then  comandante  of  Santa  Barbara.  Arguello  was 
born  at  Queretaro  about  the  year  1755;  but,  being  of  pure 
Spanish  blood,  he  was  called  a  Spaniard.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  he  entered  the  military  service  as  a  soldier  and  in 
the  course  of  the  next  few  years  made  various  campaigns 
against  the  Indians  of  New  Vizcaya  and  Sonora  In  1776 he 
came  to  California  in  the  second  expedition  of  Juan  Bautista 
de  Anza.  In  1781,  being  then  an  ensign,  he  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Felipe  de  Neve  comisionado  of  the  pueblo  of  Los 
Angeles,  which  was  founded  that  year.  About  the  same  time 
he  married  Ignacia  Moraga;  and  out  of  this  marriage  arose 
one  of  the  most  prominent  and  respectable  of  the  old  Cali- 
fornian  families.  He  became  teniente  or  lieutenant  and  com- 
andante of  San  Francisco  in  1787.1  In  1797,  having  shortly 
before  made  a  campaign  in  the  Colorado  country."  he  was 
promoted  by  the  king  to  the  rank  of  capitan.3  In  1806,  on 
account  of  the  appointment  of  Felipe  de  Goycoechea  to  the 
governorship  of  Lower  California,  Arguello  was  transferred 
to  the  vacated  comandancia  of  Santa  Barbara  and  left  that 
of  San  Francisco  in  the  hands  of  his  son,  Luis  Antonio 
Arguello,  who  a  short  time  before  had  been  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  teniente. 

Upon    delivering    over    the    command    of   San    Francisco, 

1  Cal.  Archives.  M.  I,  327. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  Y,  735. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XV,  S17;  S.  P.  VIII,  159. 

(631) 


632  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

Capitan  Jose  Dario  Arguello,  as  was  usual  upon  such  occasions, 
made  out  a  list  of  instructions  for  the  new  comandante.  The 
first  and  principal  objects  of  the  latter's  attention,  he  said, 
should  be  the  preservation  of  peace  and  harmony  among  the 
troops  and  their  families,  the  proper  subordination  to  superior 
officers,  the  prevention  of  gambling  and  scandalous  conduct 
and  the  infliction  of  punishment  in  due  proportion  to  the 
grade  of  offenses  committed.  There  should  be  regular  and 
careful  periodical  inspections  ot  the  clothing,  arms,  equip- 
ments and  horses  of  the  soldiers,  and  sedulous  supervision 
exercised  over  the  guards  at  the  missions  and  especially  over 
that  at  San  Jose,  where  the  Indians  were  disposed  to  be  sedi- 
tious. The  presidio  should  be  repaired,  and  for  that  purpose 
Indian  workmen  of  the  missions  employed,  and  care  taken 
to  keep  correct  accounts  and  see  to  their  payment.  In  case 
American  vessels  should  arrive,  their  papers  should  be  in- 
spected and,  if  unsatisfactory,  permission  to  remain  should 
be  refused;  but  in  reference  to  this  subject,  in  order  to  avoid 
bad  results,  great  prudence  was  to  be  exercised  and  infor- 
mation transmitted  at  once  to  the  government.  To  these 
instructions  were  added  others  relating  to  the  religious  exer- 
cises of  the  troops,  the  commissary  department  and  precau- 
tions against  fire,  making  altogether  eighteen  articles  and 
furnishing  directions  for  action  in  almost  every  contingency.1 
When  Arguello  became  comandante  of  Santa  Barbara,  he 
transferred  his  residence  to  that  place  and  carried  with  him 
most  of  his  family,  among  whom  were  his  sons  Gervasio  and 
Santiago,  who  afterwards  became  prominent  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  province,  while  Luis,  having  become  comandante 
of  San  Francisco,  remained  in  the  north.  In  1814,  when 
Arrillaga  died,  Jose  Dario  Arguello  was  still  comandante  of 
Santa  Barbara;  but  on  becoming  temporary  governor  he  as- 
sumed the  command  in  chief  of  the  entire  province  and  held 
it  until  the  arrival  of  his  successor,  Pablo  Vicente  de  Sola,  in 
August  181 5.  In  the  meanwhile,  on  December  31,  18 14, 
he  was  appointed  gobernador  propietario  of  Lower  Califor- 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ben.  XXXVII,  492-494. 


PABLO   VICENTE  BE  SOLA.  633 

nia '  and,  upon  being  relieved  at  Santa  Barbara  soon  after 
Sola's  arrival,  he  proceeded  to  Loreto  where  he  remained 
until  1 82 1,  when  at  the  age  of  about  sixty-six  years,  find- 
ing his  health  broken,  and  feeling  that  he  could  no  longer 
properly  fulfill  the  duties  of  his  office.,  he  resigned. 2  Dur- 
ing his  incumbency  as  temporary  governor  of  Alta  California, 
which  lasted  about  a  year,  affairs  were  conducted  with  so 
much  quietness  and  regularity  that  there  is  nothing  of  spe- 
cial moment  in  the  account  of  his  administration  to  record. 
He  felt  called  upon  merely  to  preserve  peace  and  tranquillity; 
and  he  did  so  with  great  success. 

Pablo  Vicente  de  Sola,  the  tenth  governor  of  Alta  Cali- 
fornia, was  born  about  the  year  1760  in  the  province  of  Viz- 
caya  in  Spain.  He  entered  the  military  service  and  came  to 
America  about  the  year  1796.3  He  gradually  rose  in  rank;  in 
1805  was  captain  and  commissary/  and  afterwards  became  a 
teniente-coronel  in  the  royal  army  at  Guadalajara.  He  was 
a  staunch  royalist  and  bitterly  opposed  to  the  revolution  and 
revolutionary  ideas.  For  this  reason  perhaps,  as  much  as  any 
other,  he  was  on  December  31,  18 14,  appointed  by  Calleja, 
the  viceroy  of  New  Spain,  gobernador  propietario  or  political 
and  military  governor  of  Alta  California.  As  soon  as  his 
appointment  reached  him,  he  took  the  oath  of  office  before 
the  president  of  the  royal  audiencia  of  Guadalajara  and 
started  for  his  province.  It  required  eighty  days  of  naviga- 
tion from  San  Bias  to  reach  Monterey,  where  he  at  length 
arrived  on  August  30,  181 5;  and  a  few  days  afterwards  he 
issued  circulars  to  the  comandantes  of  the  presidios  and  fath- 
ers of  the  missions,  giving  notice  of  his  appointment,  his 
arrival  at  the  capital  and  his  assumption  of  office.5 

The  white  people  of  Alta  California  and  especially  the  mis- 
sionaries had  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  new  governor  with 
great  impatience.     There  had  already  been  much  feeling  in 

'Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  X,  312. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XX,  1236-123S,  1263-1265. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  545,  546. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ben.  XXXIX,  493,  494;  P.  R.  IX,  208. 
;'  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XIX,  1254,  1255;  P.  R.  XII,  280. 


634  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

reference  to  the  revolution  then  in  progress,  and  the  Califor- 
nians  were  intensely  loyal  to  the  crown.  Sola,  being  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  monarchical  or  anti-revolution  sentiment, 
was  popular  before  he  came;  and  his  arrival  was  therefore 
the  signal  and  occasion  of  extraordinary  celebration.  Never 
before  was  a  governor  of  California  inaugurated  with  so  much 
solemnity  and  so  much  rejoicing.  The  principal  missionaries 
collected,  with  Father  Esteban  Tapis  the  president  at  their 
head.  They  brought  along  all  the  best  Indian  musicians  to 
take  part  in  the  grand  mass  to  be  celebrated  in  his  honor 
in  the  church  of  the  presidio  at  Monterey.  At  the  same  time 
the  chief  military  men  of  the  province  gathered  together  at 
the  capital;  and  there  were  not  wanting  most  of  the  residents 
of  the  country  within  reach  and  great  numbers  of  Indians, 
who  came  from  far  and  near  to  witness  a  ceremonial  so  unac- 
customed and  to  partake  of  festivities  so  much  talked  about 
in  advance  and  so  magnificent  as  these  were  to  be. 

The  presidio  of  Monterey  at  that  time  consisted  of  a  square 
of  adobe  buildings,  roofed  with  tiles,  opening  upon  an  inclosed 
court-yard  on  the  inside.  Each  of  the  four  walls  on  the  out- 
side was  two  hundred  varas  or  five  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long 
On  the  inside,  running  along  the  fronts  of  the  buildings  all 
the  way  around  the  court-yard,  was  a  grand  corridor,  ten  feet 
wide,  the  tile  roof  of  which  was  continuous  with  the  roofs  of 
the  buildings  and  supported  next  the  plaza  on  great  pillars  of 
redwood.  The  principal  wall  of  the  structure,  which  was 
towards  the  west,  consisting  partly  of  stone  and  ten  or  twelve 
feet  high,  had  a  large  gate-way,  which  was  the  only  entrance 
and  exit  to  and  from  the  interior.  There  was  only  one  great 
door  or  gate,  which  as  a  general  rule  was  closed  and  locked 
every  evening  at  sunset  and  not  opened  again  until  the  next 
morning  at  dawn.  The  key  was  usually  kept  by  the  com- 
andante.  On  the  south  side  of  the  court-yard  and  consti- 
tuting a  part  of  the  southern  wall  of  the  enclosure  was  the 
presidio  church,  a  structure  of  stone  and  mortar,  which  still 
remains  in  a  tolerably  good  state  of  preservation  as  a  monu- 
ment of  times  long  gone  by. 


PABLO   VICENTE  DE  SOLA.  635 

Upon  the  occasion  of  Sola's  inauguration  all  the  inside  of 
the  inclosure  and  particularly  the  pillars  of  the  corridor  were 
ornamented  with  evergreens  from  the  neighboring  woods;  and 
among  these  were  distributed  great  numbers  of  lamps  or 
cruets  consisting  of  little  pots  of  suet  with  cotton  wicks,  such 
as  were  generally  used  for  lights  in  those  days.  Almost  the 
whole  of  the  previous  day  had  been  spent  in  preparations; 
and  when  evening  came  on  and  it  began  to  grow  dark,  the 
lamps  were  all  lighted  and  the  festivities  commenced.  All 
the  people  gathered  in  social  reunion  to  meet  and  speak  with 
the  governor,  to  promenade  along  the  corridors;  to  romp  in 
the  court-yard,  and  to  witness  the  illumination.  It  was  a 
pleasant  and  romantic  spectacle,  and  whatever  may  have  been 
lacking  in  splendor  and  refinement  was  more  than  made  up  in 
harmony,  good-feeling  and  enjoyment.  Alvarado,  afterwards 
governor,  then  a  boy  of  six  years,  born  and  bred  on  the  spot, 
was  present  and  carried  through  his  long  life  a  remembrance 
of  the  scene  as  one  of  the  most  vivid  recollections  of  his 
childhood. 

The  next  morning  high  mass  was  celebrated  on  a  grand 
scale  in  the  church.  The  missionaries  dressed  in  their  sacer- 
dotal vestments  took  their  places  at  the  altar  and  the  Indian 
musicians,  thirty  or  forty  in  number,  ranged  themselves 
near  by  to  act  as  choir.  They  were  all  dressed  in  bright 
colors  and  carried  viols,  violins,  flutes,  drums  and  other  musi- 
cal instruments,  with  which  they  accompanied  the  chants  of 
the  priests.  The  troops,  both  cavalry  and  artillery,  were 
drawn  up  in  front  of  the  church,  the  former  in  the  form  of 
infantry  with  their  muskets,  and  the  latter  further  off  with  a 
few  pieces  of  flying  ordnance.  All  being  arranged,  the  gov- 
ernor and  chief  officers  made  their  appearance;  and,  as  soon 
as  they  had  marched  through  the  files  of  soldiers  and  entered 
the  church,  the  intonation  of  the  Te  Deum  Laudamus  com- 
menced, emphasized  with  discharges  of  musketry  and  can- 
nons which  were  kept  up  until  the  religious  ceremony  was 
concluded.  This,  "la  gran  funcion  "  as  it  was  called,  being 
finished,  the  cavalry  mounted  their  horses  and  put  themselves 


636  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

in  position  for  parade.  They  were  dressed  in  their  cueras  or 
sleeveless  jackets  of  four  or  five  thicknesses  of  buckskin. 
On  their  shoulders  were  loose  cloaks  which  covered  their 
bodies,  and  on  their  heads  small  low-crowned  hats,  fastened 
with  yellow  straps  tied  under  their  chins.  Upon  their  left 
arms  were  rough  shields,  made  of  the  thickest  portions  of 
bull-hides,  and  in  their  right  hands  stout  lances  of  wood 
tipped  with  steel.  Their  muskets  or  carbines  were  carried  in 
leather  cases  attached  to  the  saddles  of  their  horses  and  at 
their  sides  hung  sheath  knives.  The  horses  were  the  largest, 
strongest  and  hardiest  in  the  province,  chosen  in  view  of 
severe  campaigns  over  rough  places  for  their  endurance  and 
obedience  to  the  slightest  touch  of  the  rein. 

As  soon  as  the  governor,  chief  officers  and  priests  left  the 
church,  they  proceeded  to  the  foot  of  the  flag-staff  in  the 
center  of  the  court-yard,  and  the  mounted  soldiers,  after  a 
few  evolutions,  formed  in  a  circle  around  them.  Over  all  at 
the  mast-head  floated  the  royal  colors  of  Spain.  Sola  then 
opened  his  lips  and  spoke  of  California  and  the  admiration 
with  which  he  greeted  it  and  its  people.  When  he  had 
addressed  the  crowd  for  a  half  hour  or  more,  and  all  were 
listening  with  breathless  attention,  he  turned  to  the  troops 
and  cried,  "  Soldiers  of  Cortes,  you  have  conquered  a  vast 
territory.  To  your  valor  and  discipline  and  to  the  counsels 
of  these  venerable  fathers,  who  have  accompanied  you  in  all 
your  dangers  and  participated  equally  with  yourselves  in  all 
the  difficulties,  privations  and  inquietudes  of  forty-six  years 
of  labor  and  fatigues,  are  owing  the  abundance  and  plenty 
which  we  see  around  us.  Behold  them  on  every  side.  Be- 
hold the  missions  with  their  thousands  of  Indians  living  in 
peace  and  in  willing  subjection  to  the  sacred  sway  of  the 
evangel  of  Christ.  Behold  the  desert  places  smiling  under 
cultivation.  Behold  the  establishment  of  industry  and  in 
every  direction  the  promise  and  proof  of  general  prosperity." 
Closing  with  these  words  the  address  was  greeted  with  loud 
acclamations  of  "Long  live  the  king!  Long  live  the  gov- 
ernor!   Loner  live  the  fathers  missionaries!" 


PABLO   VICENTE  DE  SOLA.  637 

A  banquet,  as  magnificent  according  to  the  ideas  and 
means  of  the  time  and  place  as  it  was  unexpected.,  awaited 
the  governor,  officers  and  missionaries  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  harangue.  This  had  been  prepared  with  great  secrecy  by 
the  ladies  of  Monterey  and  consisted  of  the  best  that  the 
country  afforded.  There  were  olives  from  San  Diego;  grapes 
and  wines  from  San  Gabriel;  cakes  and  pastry  of  the  wheaten 
flour  of  San  Antonio,  celebrated  for  its  exquisite  taste,  and 
dishes  without  number,  such  as  had  been  made  by  mothers 
in  earlier  days  and  were  remembered  by  sons  as  among  the 
triumphs  of  the  culinary  art.  As  the  guests  entered  the  ban- 
quet hall,  a  new  surprise  awaited  them.  They  were  met  by  a 
troop  of  young  girls  dressed  for  the  occasion,  who  greeted 
them  with  the  ceremony  of  kissing  of  hands;  and,  upon  the 
governor's  expressing  his  astonishment,  one  of  the  number 
stepped  forward  and  in  the  name  of  all  said  that  they  had 
come  to  congratulate  his  excellency  upon  his  inauguration 
and  wished  him  many  happy  and  fortunate  years  in  his  ad- 
ministration. The  governor,  highly  delighted,  made  a  gra- 
cious reply  and  gave  to  each  a  present.  This  scene,  like  the 
others  which  had  preceded  and  the  banquet  which  followed, 
was  long  remembered;  and  a  few  old  men  still  living  remem- 
ber and  speak  with  lingering  enthusiasm  of  the  grace  of  Mag- 
dalena  Vallejo,  Magdalena  Estudillo  and  Josefina  Estrada, 
who  took  principal  parts  in  the  occurrences  of  the  festive 
occasion. 

After  the  banquet,  the  governor  was  invited  by  the  com- 
andante  to  witness  a  bull-fight  in  the  same  court-yard  decked 
with  evergreens,  where  the  parade  of  the  morning  had  taken 
place.  A  portion  of  the  corridor  had  been  safely  railed  off 
and  prepared  for  the  use  of  the  spectators.  As  soon  as  they 
were  seated,  two  mounted  horsemen  dressed  in  the  customary 
brilliant  array  of  the  Spanish  bull-ring  made  their  appear- 
ance; and  as  they  advanced  strings  of  bells  attached  to  the 
trappings  of  their  horses  kept  up'  a  jingling  accompaniment 
to  all  their  movements.  There  was  nothing  in  these  to  spe- 
cially attract  the  governor's  attention,  nor  was  there   in   the 


638  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

fierce  and  savage  bull  that  was  soon  afterwards  brough  ; 
forward,  tossing  his  huge  front  and  pawing  the  ground.  Such 
spectacles  he  had  often  seen  in  Spain  and  Mexico.  But  he 
opened  his  eyes  wide  with  wonder  when  he  saw  a  grizzly  bear, 
held  by  four  mounted  vaqueros  each  with  a  reata  fastened 
to  a  separate  leg,  bound  into  the  arena,  struggling  against 
his  captors  and  snapping  with  such  fury  as  to  cause  terror 
even  in  those  accustomed  to  the  sight.  The  governor  turned 
with  an  inquiring  look  to  the  comandante,  who  replied  that 
the  bear  was  a  specimen  of  the  animals,  abundant  in  the 
neighboring  mountains,  which  often  came  down  to  regale 
themselves  upon  the  cattle  in  the  valleys. 

Meanwhile  the  bear  and  the  bull  were  fastened  together  by 
the  feet  with  a  stcut  chain  of  sufficient  length  to  allow  them 
considerable  freedom  of  action;  and  then  the  reatas  were 
thrown  off,  and  the  beasts  confronted  each  other.  The  bull 
lowered  his  head  and  looked  threatening,  and  the  bear  rose 
upon  his  haunches  as  if  awaiting  the  onset.  But  for  ten 
minutes  neither  advanced.  The  spectators  began  to  grow 
impatient.  The  vaqueros  rode  up  and  prodded  the  bull;  and 
with  a  roar  of  pain  he  rushed  upon  his  adversary.  The  bear, 
with  a  quickness  and  agility  astonishing  in  a  body  so  appar- 
ently unwieldy,  avoiding  the  horns,  threw  himself  with  a 
grasp  upon  the  bull's  neck  and  both  rolled  over  and  over  in 
desperate  struggle  upon  the  ground.  The  noise  was  terrific 
and  the  dust  rose  in  clouds,  while  the  onlookers  shouted  and 
yelled  as  they  saw  that  the  fight  was  deadly  and  witnessed 
the  flow  of  blood.  Presently  the  bull,  fatigued  with  exertion 
and  hot  with  thirst,  protruded  his  tongue,  and  the  bear  made  an 
attempt  by  a  change  of  position  to  seize  it.  But  the  attempt 
cost  him  his  life.  The  bull  was  wary  and  on  his  guard  and 
with  a  sudden  plunge  transfixed  his  enemy  and  with  a  tre- 
mendous effort  threw  him  into  the  air.  As  the  bear  fell  with 
a  ghastly  wound,  the  bull  infuriated  with  his  own  injuries 
pursued  his  advantage;  and  with  a  second  and  deadly  plunge 
closed  the  combat. 

In  the  evening  there  was  a   ball  in  the  apartments  of  the 


°ABLO   VICENTE  DE  SOLA.  639 


comandantc.  It  was  grander  than  any  that  had  taken  place 
in  the  territory.  The  dresses  were  for  the  times  elegant: 
those  of  the  men  were  close-fitting"  coats  of  dove  color, 
short  breeches  fastened  at  the  knee  with  silver  buckles,  and 
white  stockings;  those  of  the  women  white  skirts  of  fine 
muslin  covered  with  gilt  spangles,  and  colored  jackets;  hair 
elaborately  done  up  in  waves  and  curls  partly  confined  in 
silken  nets;  necklaces  of  pearls  from  the  gulf,  which  were 
plentiful  in  those  days,  and  pendants  of  the  same,  and  slippers 
of  white  satin  with  heels  of  a  hard  wood,  which  clacked  as 
they  danced.  The  same  Indians,  who  had  assisted  in  the 
mass  of  the  morning,  furnished  the  music  for  the  dances;  and 
they  did  it  well,  being  much  more  accustomed  even  for  their 
church  music  to  lively  and  inspiriting  operatic  airs  and  danc- 
ing tunes  than  to  slow  and  lugubrious  elegies  and  dirges. 
The  programme  consisted  of  contradanzas,  minuets,  Aragonese 
jotas  and  various  other  dances  usual  among  the  Spanish  pop- 
ulation; and  the  entertainment  lasted  all  night,  though  the 
governor  withdrew  in  time  to  set  out  early  the  next  morning 
for  San  Carlos. 

This  was  to  attend  a  celebration  in  his  honor  .by  the  Indi- 
ans of  the  mission.  A  part  of  the  road  from  Monterey  to 
Carmel  was  called  that  of  Calvary.  Along  it  at  equal  dis- 
tances were  planted  twelve  crosses,  representing  the  twelve 
stations  of  the  "via  crucis;"  and  here  on  every  Good  Friday 
religious  ceremonies,  appropriate  to  the  season,  were  cele- 
brated. On  entering  upon  this  part  of  the  road,  the  governor 
and  those  who  accompanied  him  from  Monterey  were  met  by 
the  missionaries  in  their  ecclesiastical  robes,  church  officers, 
incense  bearers  and  great  multitudes  of  Indians,  who  all 
formed  in  procession  and  escorted  their  guests  to  the  church, 
where  another  high  mass  was  performed.  This  over,  the 
whites  repaired  to  the  corridors  and  seated  themselves  while 
the  Indians  gathered  in  parties  and  exhibited  their  various 
games,  ending  with  a  sham  battle  for  which  the  braves 
painted  and  adorned  themselves  with  feathers.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  the  mock  fight,  the  chiefs  of  the  respective  parties 


640  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

brought  all  their  arms  and  deposited  them  at  the  feet  of  the 
governor,  who  as  he  rose  and  mounted  his  horse  to  return  to 
Monterey  remarked  that  he  felt  honored  with  all  that  had 
been  done  and  pleased  with  all  he  had  seen.  But  there  were  two 
things  that  had  attracted  and  deserved  his  especial  attention. 
One  was  the  grizzly  bear  at  Monterey,  and  the  other  was  the 
mimic  battle  of  the  Indians  of  San  Carlos,  the  like  of  which 
he  had  never  before  witnessed.1 

These  long  ceremonies  of  inauguration  being  at  last  ended, 
Sola  turned  to  the  more  serious  business  of  his  administration. 
His  first  care  was  to  ascertain  the  exact  condition  of  the 
country;  and  he  spent  much  time  in  tours  of  examination 
and  inspection,  He  traveled  from  point  to  point  as  he  found 
opportunity,  and  in  the  course  of  a  couple  of  years  visited  and 
studied  every  part  of  the  territory  2  He  found  the  four  pre- 
sidios in  tolerable  condition  as  head-quarters  for  soldiers  who 
were  merely  designed  for  guards  at  the  missions  and  for 
Indian  expeditions.  But  none  of  them  was  any  more  suitable 
than  it  had  ever  been  for  resisting  an  invasion  or  making  a 
defense  against  a  single  war-ship  of  any  civilized  nation. 
There  were  only  forty-two  cannons,  all  told,  in  the  territory, 
and  half  of  them  were  of  substantially  no  use.  Of  these 
cannons  there  were  three  twenty-four-pounders,  one  sixteen- 
pounder,  five  twelve-pounders,  thirteen  eight-pounders  and 
the  others  were  smaller.  There  were  fifteen,  including  the 
twenty-four-pounders,  at  San  Francisco,  twelve  at  Monterey, 
two  small  ones  at  Santa  Barbara,  seven  at  San  Diego;  and 
the  other  six,  which  were  very  small,  were  at  missions.3  The 
population  of  whites  was  nearly  twenty-four  hundred  and  of 

1  Alvarado  MS.  The  manuscript,  from  which  the  foregoing  account  of  Sola's 
inauguration  and  the  festivities  connected  with  it  is  taken,  was  written  by  Don 
Juan  B.  Alvarado,  Governor  of  California  from  1836  to  1842.  A  few  years  after 
the  American  occupation  he  moved  from  Monterey  to  San  Pablo  and  lived  there 
until  his  death  in  1882.  At  the  request  of  the  author,  who  became  acquainted 
with  him  in  1S6&  he  wrote  out  a  number  of  his  reminiscences  of  Sola,  Arguello 
and  Echeandlaand  would  probably  have  gone  further,  had  he  not  oeen  prevented 
by  the  infirmities  of  his  last  sickness.  Though  irged  especially  to  write  about 
his  own  administration,  he  expressed  an  unwillingness  to  do  so  or  to  speak  about 
himself.  The  manuscript  is  in  Spanish,  consists  of  some  sixty  pages  of  closely 
written  legal  cap  and  will  be  cited,  when  referred  to,  as  the  "  Alvarado  MS." 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IX,  583. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IX,  444. 


PABLO   VICENTE  DE  SOLA.  641 

mission  Indians  a  little  over  twenty-two  thousand.1  There 
were  nineteen  missions  and  all  were  flourishing.  Most  of 
them  had  their  great  churches  built;  others  were  building, 
and  new  structures  of  some  kind  were  going  up  at  all  of  them. 
All  or  nearly  all  were  cultivating  grounds  of  greater  or  less 
extent  and  carrying  on  manufactures  of  coarse  cloths  and 
other  articles  for  wearing  apparel.  The  herds  of  cattle  and 
flocks  of  sheep  had  increased  so  largely  that  it  had  been  found 
necessary  to  kill  off  a  number  of  the  superabundant  horses 
which  interfered  with  the  pastures  of  the  more  useful  animals. 
The  harvests  of  wheat,  maize,  beans,  barley,  peas  and  other 
grains  and  vegetables  were  plentiful,  though  sometimes  in- 
jured by  grasshoppers,  locusts,  smut  or  rust.  The  Indians 
were  quiet,  though  there  were  occasional  forays  or  cattle- 
stealing  expeditions  by  "  cimarrones  "  or  fugitive  apostates  and 
gentiles  from  the  coast  range  of  mountains  between  San  Jose 
and  San  Antonio  and  from  the  San  Joaquin  and  Tulare 
countries." 

On  account  of  the  low  state  of  the  royal  treasury  and  the 
diversion  of  its  funds  to  other  purposes,  there  had  been  no 
new  foundations  for  upwards  of  ten  years;  nor  had  any  per- 
manent settlement  as  yet  been  made  to  the  north  of  San 
Francisco.  At  the  same  time  it  seemed  plain  to  Sola  that 
there  was  danger  in  that  direction,  not  only  from  the  Rus- 
sians who  were  continuing  to  extend  and  strengthen  their 
establishments  at  Bodega  and  Fort  Ross,  but  also  from  the 
Americans  who  had  settled  themselves  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia.3  Sola  was  more  suspicious  and  jealous  of  the  Rus- 
sians than  Arrillaga  had  been.  In  January,  1816,  he  received 
a  letter  from  Luis  Antonio  Arguello,  the  comandante  of  San 
Francisco,  announcing  the  arrival  there  of  Alexander  Koskoff, 
the  comandante  of  Fort  Ross,  who  had  come  down  for  the 
purpose  of  settling  a  commercial  transaction;  and  in  his  reply 
he  spoke   bitterly  of  the  Russians  and  the  insult  their  pres- 


1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ben.  XLVI,  546. 

il    Archives,  M.  IV,  303. 
;  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  303. 
41     Vol.  I. 


642  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

ence  in  the  country  was  to  the  Spanish  flag.1  In  October  of 
the  same  year  when  the  Russian  explorer  Kotzebue  was  at 
San  Francisco,  a  conference  was  held  on  his  vessel,  as  has 
been  already  stated,  between  himself,  Koskoff  and  Sola  with 
the  object  of  coming  to  some  satisfactory  understanding  in 
reference  to  the  Russian  settlements.  But  nothing  could  be 
accomplished,  for  the  reason  that  Koskoff  was  a  mere  subor- 
dinate and  could  not  act  without  the  concurrence  of  his  supe- 
rior Governor  Baranoff  of  Sitka;  and  the  result  of  the  meeting, 
by  calling  attention  to  the  subject,  was  rather  to  increase  the 
prejudices  already  existing  than  to  allay  them.  In  May,  1817, 
Father  Mariano  Payeras,  who  was  then  president  of  the  mis- 
sions and  represented  the  ecclesiastical  government,  issued  a 
manifesto  against  the  Russians  still  further  fanning  the  flame 
of  bitter  feeling;  and  at  the  end  of  the  same  year  the  mission 
of  San  Rafael  was  founded  as  a  kind  of  rampart  or  bulwark 
against  them.  In  April,  181 8,  Sola  wrote  confidentially  that 
he  had  received  a  communication  from  government  as  to  ways 
and  means  of  seizing  the  establishments  at  Bodega  and  Ross, 
expelling  their  possessors  from  the  territory  and  founding 
several  new  missions  in  those  regions  to  secure  the  Indians;2 
and  it  is  probable  that  some  attempt  of  this  kind  would  have 
been  made,  if  other  occurrences  had  not  supervened  which 
engaged  all  the  governor's  attention  and  put  him  on  the 
defensive,  instead  of  allowing  him  to  think  of  becoming  an 
aggressor. 

In  the  progress  of  the  revolt  of  the  American  provinces 
against  Spain,  Buenos  Ayres  had  thrown  off  its  allegiance. 
In  the  war  of  independence  which  followed,  the  revolted 
province  sent  out  a  number  of  privateers  to  prey  upon  Span- 
ish commerce  and  Spanish  possessions  and  especially  upon 
the  exposed  ships  and  coasts  still  loyal  to  the  crown  on  the 
Pacific  side  of  the  continent.  In  the  early  part  of  1816  sev- 
eral of  their  privateers  under  the  command  of  an  American, 
named  William  Brown,  made  their  appearance  on  the  coasts 
of  Chili  and  Peru,  captured  a  number  of  vessels;   took  a  few 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  Ben.  XLVI,  6o5;  606. 
■•Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IX,  612. 


PABLO   VICENTE  DE  SOLA.  343 

towns  including  Guayaquil;  threatened  the  entire  coast  as  far 
north  as  California,  and  spread  terror  over  the  whole  country.1 
News  of  these  events  reached  Sola  by  letters  from  the  gover- 
nors of  Mazatlan  and  Lower  California  in  June.  He  at  once 
set  about  making  preparations  for  a  vigorous  defense  in  case 
of  an  attack;  issued  a  circular  announcing  his  determination, 
and  directed  the  missionaries,  upon  the  appearance  of  hostile 
vessels  in  their  neighborhood,  to  drive  their  cattle  into  the 
interior.  At  the  same  time  he  ordered  each  of  the  missions 
to  furnish  and  send  to  the  comandantes  of  the  nearest  presid- 
ios from  fifteen  to  twenty  Indian  vaqueros,  well-mounted  and 
armed  with  their  best  reatas,  to  be  used  as  occasion  might 
require.'2 

The  Buenos  Ayres  privateers  were  most  commonly  known 
by  the  name  of  "  insurgentes "  or  insurgents,  but  almost 
equally  as  well  by  that  of  corsairs  or  pirates.  They  were 
officered  and  manned  in  general  by  mere  adventurers,  bent 
only  upon  plunder,  and  differed  little  except  in  sailing  under 
the  Buenos  Ayres  flag  from  the  outcast  robbers  and  rovers  of 
the  seas,  known  in  earlier  times  as  buccaneers  or  pichilingues, 
enemies  of  all  mankind.  Their  very  name  was  synonomous 
with  rapine  and  cruelty;  and  the  possibility  of  a  visit  from 
them  was  a  matter  of  terror  to  the  people  of  California. 
Such  being  the  case,  strict  watch  was  kept  from  the  various 
lookouts  along  the  coast;  couriers  were  always  in  readiness 
to  carry  dispatches,  so  that  timely  notice  might  be  given  in 
the  event  of  an  invasion;  and  every  new  and  unfamiliar  sail 
was  looked  upon  with  suspicion. 

One  morning,  while  the  excitement  was  about  its  height,  a 
mounted  sentinel,  who  had  been  on  the  watch  at  Point 
Pinos,  came  galloping  furiously  into  Monterey  and,  without 
stopping  to  answer  inquiries  on  the  outside,  rushed  through 
the  gateway  of  the  presidio  to  the  house  of  Jose  Maria  Estu- 
dillo,  the  comandante.  Throwing  himself  from  his  horse,  he 
ran  in;  and  in  a  few  minutes  afterwards  the  comandante  came 
out  and  ordered  the  "  generala  ''  to  be  sounded.     This  was  a 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XX,  379-384. 
J  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  XII,  335. 


644  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

general  alarm  upon  the  drum,  intended  to  call  together  all  the 
soldiers  and  men  of  arms  within  hearing  and  indicating  news 
or  exigency  of  very  great  importance.  At  its  sound  every- 
body dropped  his  or  her  work  and  rushed  to  the  comandante's 
house;  and  even  the  little  children  in  the  primary  school, 
heedless  of  their  teacher,  cast  aside  their  primers  and  copy 
books  and  followed  their  elders  to  learn  the  cause  of  the 
startling  summons.  It  was  soon  found  that  the  guard  had 
seen  the  sails  of  a  strange  vessel  a  great  way  out  at  sea,  and  it 
seemed  heading  for  the  port.  In  a  short  time  all  was  bustle 
and  preparation.  The  artillerymen  went  off  to  the  batteries, 
manned  their  cannon  and  lighted  the  ovens  for  heating  their 
balls  red-liot;  the  soldiers  donned  their  uniforms,  mounted 
their  horses  and  placed  themselves  in  readiness  for  action;  and 
the  governor,  who  had  taken  his  position  at  their  head,  after 
making  such  dispositions  as  he  considered  necessary  at  head- 
quarters, seized  a  large  speaking  trumpet  and  a  map  or  chart 
of  the  various  national  colors  and  marched  down  to  the  beach 
followed  by  the  soldiers.  There  was  a  certain  large  rock  at 
the  water's  edge  near  the  fort,  from  which  communications 
were  usually  made  with  vessels  riding  at  anchor  in  the  harbor, 
Upon  this  the  governor  stationed  himself.  It  was  not  long 
before  the  vessel  approached  and  it  turned  out  to  be  a 
schooner  of  about  two  hundred  tons.  It  ran  in  and  dropped 
anchor  near  the  rock  where  the  governor  stood,  who  de- 
manded, through  his  trumpet,  what  vessel  it  was.  A  man 
on  deck,  who  seemed  to  be  the  captain,  answered  in  very  bad 
Castilian  that  he  did  not  understand  Spanish.  The  governor 
then  spread  out  his  chart  of  colors  to  ascertain  the  nationality 
of  his  visitor,  but  could  find  nothing  corresponding  with  the  flag 
at  the  mast-head  of  the  vessel.  He  immediately  announced 
that  the  stranger  was  a  suspicious  character,  not  only  because 
its  flag  was  not  on  his  chart  but  also  because  it  was  a  for- 
eigner; and  he  ordered  the  captain  to  present  himself  at  once 
and  give  an  account  of  himself  at  head-quarters. 

While  the  governor  retired  to  his  apartments  in  the  pre- 
sidio, where  the  alarm  had  very  sensibly  decreased  as  soon  as 


PABLO   VICENTE  DE  SOLA.  645 

it  was  seen  that  the  cause  of  it  was  but  a  small  schooner 
which  a  few  well  directed  shots  could  shiver  to  atoms,  the 
comandante  and  soldiers  made  their  way  to  the  usual  landing 
place  and  waited  the  arrival  of  the  captain  of  the  schooner 
who  had  put  off  in  a  small  boat.  He  brought  with  him  an 
interpreter,  who  could  speak  a  little  Spanish.  As  soon  as 
they  landed  they  \vere  surrounded  by  the  troops  and  marched 
off  to  the  presidio.  The  captain  was  a  man  of  small  stature 
and  wore  a  black  coat  with  very  long  skirts  and  a  fur  hat 
with  a  very  high  crown.  His  costume  seems  to  have  been 
similar  to  the  typical  "swallow-tail''  and  "beaver"  of  Brother 
Jonathan;  but  to  the  Californians  of  Monterey  it  was  ridic- 
ulous in  the  last  degree.  As  he  passed  along  he  was  laughed 
at  by  the  whole  population.  Arrived  in  the  presence  of  the 
governor,  he  declared  that  he  had  sailed  with  a  cargo  of 
merchandise  from  China  bound  for  the  Sandwich  Islands; 
but  had  been  compelled  for  want  of  water  to  put  into  Cali- 
fornia. In  attestation  of  his  statement  he  presented  ship's 
papers;  but  no  one  was  able  to  read  them  except  the  inter- 
preter, and  he  knew  so  little  Spanish  that  he  could  not 
explain  them.  Sola  was  not  entirely  satisfied;  but  he  was 
prudent;  thought  it  a  vessel  with  which  he  had  better  not 
interfere,  and  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  not  treat  it  as 
a  pirate.  Nevertheless  he  called  a  council  of  officers  and 
ordered  the  captain  to  be  detained  until  its  determination 
should  be  known.  Thereupon  the  stranger  was  placed  in 
charge  of  a  soldier  with  a  long  lance,  who  inarched  him  out 
into  the  center  of  the  court-yard  at  the  foot  of  the  flag-staff; 
and,  as  he  did  so,  the  school  children  gathered  in  a  sufficiently 
distant  circle  and  looked  and  laughed  at  a  sight  so  strange 
and  unaccustomed.  The  women,  more  cautious,  merely 
peeked  and  peered  out  of  the  doors  and  windows  to  catch  a 
glance  Some  said  that  the  captain  was  the  Wandering  Jew 
and  had  a  tail;  others  that  he  was  the  man  come  down  from 
the  moon.     Every  one  had  a  gibe  or  a  jeer  for  him. 

At    12    o'clock,    when    the    church    bells    struck,  the    chil- 
dren, according  to  the  religious  customs  of  the  times,  threw 


646  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

themselves  upon  their  knees  and  recited  their  prayers.  The 
soldiers  did  likewise  and  ordered  the  captain  to  do  the  same. 
But  just  then  a  messenger  came  from  the  governor,  who 
ordered  the  stranger  again  into  his  presence  and  told  him  to 
return  to  his  vessel;  send  his  launch  to  a  certain  point  near 
the  fort  for  water,  and,  as  soon  as  he  was  supplied,  to  hoist 
his  sails  and  proceed  on  his  voyage.  The  stranger  thereupon 
took  his  departure,  watched  by  the  soldiers;  did  as  he  was 
directed,  and  immediately  afterwards  hoisted  his  anchor, 
spread  his  canvas  and  sailed  out  into  the  wide  ocean.  The 
Californians  were  never  entirely  certain  who  he  was;  but  it 
afterwards  came  to  be  believed  very  generally  that,  instead  of 
being  engaged  in  lawful  trade,  he  was  a  spy  of  the  insurgents 
and  had  visited  the  country  to  look  up  points  for  attack  and 
plunder.1 

In  the  following  year  a  second  great  excitement  was  pro- 
duced by  the  appearance  of  another  strange  sail  heading 
towards  Monterey.  The  alarm  and  preparations  for  defense 
were  much  the  same  as  they  had  been  in  the  case  of  the 
schooner.  But  when  the  vessel  drew  near,  it  could  plainly  be 
seen  that  it  flew  English  colors,  which  were  clearly  indicated 
in  the  governor's  chart  of  national  flags.  There  was  still 
much  suspicion.  Nevertheless,  when  an  officer  came  off  from 
the  ship  to  pay  the  respects  of  the  commodore  in  command 
to  the  governor,  he  was  received  with  politeness  and  urbanity. 
Upon  being  told  that  the  vessel  had  been  sent  out  by  the 
British  government  bound  on  a  scientific  expedition  and  that 
the  commodore  in  person  would  visit  the  governor  the  follow- 
ing morning,  Sola  ordered  the  customary  salutes  to  be  fired. 
The  next  day,  according  to  notice,  the  commodore  made  his 
formal  visit,  but  the  soldiers  and  especially  Sergeants  Ignacio 
Vallejo  and  Dolores  Pico  continued  to  suspect  the  visitors  of 
treacherous  designs,  and,  having  already  persuaded  themselves 
that  the  strangers  were  only  another  party  of  Buenos  Ayres 
insurgents,  they  thought  they  saw  enougn  in  the  winks  and 


1  Alvarado  MS.  It  is  probable  that  the  excitement  was  caused  by  an  American 
trader,  named  James  Smith  Wilcocks,  who  was  at  Monterey  in  June,  1S17.  See 
Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  I'.  XX,  696-726. 


PABLO   VICENTE  DE  SOLA.  647 

nods  of  the  foreign  sailors,  when  they  were  offered  cigar- 
ritos  to  smoke  and  aguardiente  to  drink,  to  convince  them  of 
the  fact. 

Sola  did  not  fully  share  in  these  suspicions  when  they  were 
communicated  to  him.  But  still  he  was  excessively  cautious. 
When  the  commodore  invited  him  on  board  his  ship  to  inspect 
it  and  hear  his  band  of  musicians,  he  declined  upon  the  plea 
that  his  stomach  was  capriciously  squeamish  upon  salt  water 
and  that  he  was  unable  to  put  his  foot  in  a  boat  without  suffer- 
ing violent  sea-sickness.  At  the  same  time,  however,  not  to 
be  outdone  in  courtesy,  he  asked  the  commodore  to  dine 
at  his  table  the  next  day.  The  commodore,  who  had  or  pre- 
tended to  have  no  idea  of  the  suspicions  with  which  he  and 
his  people  were  watched,  readily  accepted;  and  the  next  day 
he  came  off  with  several  of  his  officers  and  his  band  of  musi- 
cians; and  while  the  dinner  progressed,  the  musicians  treated 
the  inhabitants  of  Monterey  to  the  first  music  of  a  full  brass 
band  they  had  ever  heard  In  the  evening  the  strangers 
returned  to  their  vessel  and  the  following  day  set  sail  in  pros- 
ecution of  their  voyage,  apparently  in  ignorance  of  the  fact 
that  every  hour,  both  day  and  night  during  their  stay,  can- 
nons were  kept  ready  shotted,  soldiers  under  arms  and  extra 
guards  stationed;  and  that  every  step  they  took  and  move- 
ment they  made  was  under  the  strictest  and  most  suspicious 
surveillance.1 

1  Alvarado   MS. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

SOLA   AND   MEXICAN    INDEPENDENCE. 

THE  fear  of  an  attack  by  the  Buenos  Ayres  insurgents, 
which  during  the  years  1816  and  1817  caused  general 
and  violent  excitement  throughout  California,  gradually  sub- 
sided. Various  circumstances  contributed  to  weaken  it.  The 
false  alarms  occasioned  in  18 16  by  the  appearance  of  a  little 
schooner,  which  had  run  into  Monterey  in  search  of  fresh 
water,  and  in  1817  by  the  appearance  of  what  was  generally 
supposed  to  be  a  scientific  explorer  bound  on  a  most  unwar- 
like  expedition,  began  to  be  regarded  as  ridiculous.  A  long 
length  of  time  also  had  elapsed  since  the  privateers  under  the 
American  Brown  had  made  themselves  felt  on  the  coasts  of 
Chili  and  Peru;  and  since  then  there  had  been  no  news  of 
them  or  of  any  appearance  by  them  at  any  of  the  ports  of 
New  Spain.  The  Californians  had  at  length  come  to  believe, 
and  supposed  they  had  reason  to  believe,  that  they  were  safe. 
But  they  were  mistaken,  as  the  sequel  proved. 

In  the  middle  of  the  summer  of  181 8  Sola  had  visited  San 
Francisco  and,  taking  advantage  of  an  unusually  fine  and 
quiet  afternoon,  had  reviewed  and  harangued  the  troops  there, 
complimenting  them  upon  their  efficiency  and  hoping  they 
would  continue  to  receive  and  merit  the  praises  of  their  com- 
andante.  He  had  then  returned  slowly  and  leisurely  to  Mon- 
terey, stopping  at  the  various  intervening  missions,  examining 
their  progress  and  condition,  establishing  intimate  relations 
with  the  missionaries  and  strengthening,  if  that  were  possible, 
their  attachment  to  monarchy  and  loyalty  to  King  Fernando 
VII.  He  had  scarcely  got  back  to  his  head -quarters  and 
(G48) 


SOLA  AND  MEXICAN  INDEPENDENCE.        649 

commenced  enjoying  rest  and  tranquillity,  when  news  came 
that  two  of  the  Buenos  Ayres  privateers  were  fitting  out  at 
the  Sandwich  Islands  for  an  attack  upon  California  and  that 
their  arrival  might  be  at  any  time  expected.  In  view  of  this 
intelligence,  he  ordered  that  all  the  plate  and  valuables  of  the 
missions,  except  those  indispensable  for  every-day  use,  should 
be  packed  up  and  deposited  in  places  of  safety;  those  of  San 
Francisco  and  the  most  northerly  missions  at  the  pueblo  of 
San  Jose,  and  the  others  at  various  designated  points  in  the 
interior.  At  the  same  time  he  ordered  all  the  families  at 
Monterey  to  be  prepared  to  retire  on  short  notice  and  the 
horses  and  cattle  to  be  collected  and  driven  into  the  back 
country.  He  also  gave  orders  for  a  strict  lookout  to  be  kept 
along  the  entire  coast;  for  speedy  communication  of  informa- 
tion, and  for  the  rapid  collection  of  reinforcements  at  any 
point  that  might  be  attacked.  In  case  he  should  fall  or  be 
disabled,  he  directed  that  Jose  de  la  Guerra  y  Noriega  of 
Santa  Barbara  should  become  temporary  governor  and  assume 
command ;  and  he  finally  hoped  that  everybody  in  the  prov- 
ince would  manifest  his  love  for  his  king  and  country  and 
fulfill  his  duty  with  alacrity  and  honor  in  every  respect.1 

The  foregoing  orders  were  issued  in  October  and  in  accord- 
ance with  them  the  Californians  were  prepared  to  receive  the 
enemies  or  at  least  to  suffer  as  little  as  possible  from  an  attack 
by  them.  They  did  not  have  long  to  wait.  On  November 
22,  1 8 1 8,  the  two  privateers  appeared  in  front  of  Monterey. 
They  were  comparatively  small  vessels,  but  looked  large  and 
formidable  to  the  threatened  people  on  shore.  One  of  them, 
called  the  Argentina,  carried  thirty-eight  guns,  and  the  other, 
called  the  Santa  Rosa,  twenty-eight;  and  the  two  together 
had  over  five  hundred  men.  As  soon  as  they  rounded  to, 
they  sent  off  a  captain  with  a  flag  and  a  message  to  the  gov- 
ernor, stating  that  they  belonged  to  Buenos  Ayres  and  were 
under  the  command  of  General  Hypolite  Bouchard  of  France; 
that  the  king  of  Spain  had  declared  a  bloody  war  against  the 
American  colonies,  and  that  California  should  throw  off  its 
allegiance  to  Fernando  VII.  and  join  in  the  common  defense: 
1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XX,  1090-1093. 


650  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

otherwise  see  itself  ravaged  and  its  towns  reduced  to  ashes. 
Sola  answered,  in  brief  words,  that  the  sovereign  had  de- 
clared war  only  against  rebels  in  arms  against  his  authority 
and  not  against  his  colonies;  that  he  would  consider  himself 
beneath  contempt  to  be  influenced  by  the  threats  that  had 
been  sent  him,  and  that  the  only  guide  of  conduct  which  he 
and  his  people  recognized  was  that  of  honor  and  loyalty. 
So  he  answered  though  he  had  only  twenty-nine  regular 
soldiers,  four  of  them  artillerymen,  and  eight  cannons,  two 
eight-pounders  of  them  in  good  condition  and  the  others  com- 
paratively useless.1  Besides  these  he  had  twenty-five  militia- 
men levied  and  drilled  within  two  years — making  fifty-five 
soldiers  against  five  hundred  of  the  enemy.  But  notwith- 
standing the  inequality,  he  determined  to  fight." 

As  soon  as  the  curt  and  defiant  reply  to  the  summons  to 
join  the  insurgents  was  dispatched,  the  military  men  were 
sent  to  their  respective  posts;  and  the  governor  took  his  sta- 
tion in  the  tower  of  the  presidio  church,  having  the  two  ser- 
geants Ignacio  Vallejo  and  Dolores  Pico  mounted  on  active 
horses  to  serve  as  aides-de-camp  and  communicate  between 
him  and  the  fortifications.  Lieutenant  Manuel  Gomez  com- 
manded the  castillo  or  principal  fort;  Jose  de  Jesus  Vallejo  a 
separate  battery  recently  constructed  near  the  presidio  and 
Jose  Maria  Estudillo  the  cavalry.  At  the  same  time  the 
governor  issued  an  order  that  the  families  living  at  Monterey 
should  look  out  for  their  own  safety;  and  in  a  few  minutes 
afterwards  they  began  leaving  the  place  with  great  precipita- 
tion and  hurrying  towards  the  neighboring  hills — all  except 
a  few  of  the  women,  who  being  well  mounted  and  expert 
riders  approached  the  fort  under  cover  of  the  trees  growing 
near  it  to  animate  the  troops  and  encourage  them  to  make  a 
heroic  defense.  While  these  occurrences  were  taking  place 
on  shore,  the  smaller  of  the  vessels  was  seen  to  separate  from 
the  other  and  draw  near  the  fort.  The  governor  had  given 
orders  that  the  enemy  should  be  left  to  fire  the  first  gun  but 
that,  as  soon  as  it  should  do  so,  the  fort  and  battery  should 

1  Cal.  Archives,  I*.  R.  X.  304. 
'  Alvarado  MS. 


SOLA  AND  MEXICAN  INDEPENDENCE.        651 

open  and  continue  firing  without  interruption  until  further 
order.  In  consequence  of  this  direction  and  the  silence  of  the 
Californians,  those  in  charge  of  the  privateer  seem  to  have 
regarded  them  as  badly  frightened  and  accordingly  ran  in 
close  to  the  fort  before  delivering  their  fire — so  close  in  fact 
that  their  balls  overshot  their  mark  and  did  no  execution. 

The  attack  was  immediately  answered  not  only  from  the  fort 
but  also  from  the  battery  in  charge  of  Jose  de  Jesus  Vallejo 
and  his  raw  Californian  levies,  who  like  himself  were  young 
men  and  ardent  combatants.  Though  their  guns  with  the 
exception  of  two  were  of  little  account,  they  kept  firing  them, 
according  to  Sola's  order,  as  fast  and  continuously  as  they 
could.  The  shot  of  the  fort  on  account  of  the  close  proxim- 
ity of  the  vessel,  like  those  of  the  vessel  for  the  same  reason, 
passed  over  their  mark  and  did  no  damage;  but  those  of  the 
battery  were  effective  and  every  one  of  them  told.  Under 
these  circumstances,  the  battle  lasted  for  two  hours,  when 
the  privateer  suddenly  stopped,  ran  out  a  white  flag  in  token 
of  surrender,  and  its  people  called  for  a  suspension  of  hostil- 
ities. Sola  from  his  post  of  observation,  seeing  the  white 
flag  and  supposing  the  battle  won,  sent  orders  for  the  firing 
to  cease.  The  fort  obeyed.  But  Jose  de  Jesus  Vallejo  and 
his  -companions  in  the  battery,  excited  with  the  work  they 
saw  they  were  effecting,  continued  their  firing  until  Sergeant 
Ignacio  Vallejo,  Jose  de  Jesus'  father,  acting  as  the  gover- 
nor's aid-de-camp  as  before  stated,  rode  up  to  his  son  and 
threatened  him  with  severe  punishment  if  he  did  not  instantly 
desist.  Thus  commanded,  young  Vallejo  very  unwillingly 
stopped;  but  at  the  same  time  remarked,  according  to  the 
account  current  among  the  Californians,  that  it  would  cause  the 
loss  of  all  that  had  been  gained.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  certain 
that  the  privateer,  availing  itself  of  the  cessation  of  the  firing, 
hastily  embarked  its  men  in  boats;  and  they  escaped  to  the 
other  vessel  which  was  far  enough  away  to  be  out  of  range 
of  the  guns  on  shore.  Once  there,  the  plan  of  attack  was 
immediately  changed.  Instead  of  attempting  anything  fur- 
ther from  the  vessels,   Bouchard  disembarked  four  hundred 


652  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

of  his  men,  fully  armed  and  having  with  them  several  field- 
pieces,  in  one  of  the  coves  of  Point  Pinos  which  was  shel- 
tered by  the  intervening  heights  from  the  fort  and  battery. 
As  soon  as  the  landing  was  effected,  the  insurgents  imme- 
diately formed  and  commenced  their  march  for  the  fortifica- 
tions and  the  presidio. 

Sola,  perceiving  too  late  that  he  had  been  deceived  by  his 
enemy  and  seeing  that  there  was  little  or  no  use  with  his  few 
men  attempting  to  dispute  the  approach  of  so  large  a  force, 
ordered  a  retreat;  and  he  and  his  men,  after  spiking  their 
guns  and  setting  fire  to  the  powder  magazine,  taking  with 
them  only  such  ammunition  and  articles  as  they  could  con- 
veniently carry,  mounted  their  horses  and  retired  to  the 
Rancho  del  Rey  or  government  rancho  on  the  site  of  what  is 
now  the  city  of  Salinas,  whither  their  families  had  preceded 
them.  The  enemy  meanwhile  advanced  and,  finding  Monte- 
rey abandoned,  took  possession  and  then  commenced  exam- 
ining and  as  well  as  they  could  repairing  the  damages  they 
had  sustained.  Their  ship,  the  Santa  Rosa,  was  badly  injured; 
but  they  set  to  work  and  patched  it  up.  As  for  the  Califor- 
nians,  the  battle  had  been  bloodless;  but  five  of  the  insur- 
gents had  been  killed  and  many  wounded  by  the  fire  from 
Jose  de  Jesus  Vallejo's  battery.  The  dead  were  buried  and 
the  wounded  cared  for  on  the  vessel.  There  was  little  or 
nothing  of  value  in  Monterey  for  them  to  plunder;  but  what 
there  was  they  seized,  and  what  they  did  not  take  with  them 
they  destroyed.  At  the  end  of  five  days,  having  finished  the 
repairs  of  their  vessel,  they  set  fire  to  the  presidio  and,  betak- 
ing themselves  to  the  ships,  hoisted  their  sails  and  stood  out 
to  sea. 

During  the  time  the  enemy  held  Monterey,  Sola  was  active 
in  collecting  auxiliary  forces  in  the  interior.  The  families, 
which  had  temporarily  stopped  at  the  place  which  he  made 
his  camp,  were  distributed  in  the  nearest  missions  of  Soledad, 
San  Antonio  and  San  Juan  Bautista;  and  as  soon  as  they 
were  gone  the  auxiliaries,  who  had  been  summoned  from  all 
quarters  by  special  messengers,  began  to  come  in.     Among 


SOLA  AND  MEXICAN  INDEPENDENCE.       653 

others  Luis  Antonio  Arguello,  the  comandante  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, as  soon  as  he  received  notice  of  the  attack,  gathered 
all  his  available  men  and  hastened  by  forced  marches  for  the 
scene.  The  comandante  of  Santa  Barbara  did  the  same. 
The  nearest  missions  also  sent  such  of  their  soldiers  as  could 
be  spared  and  a  number  of  Indians  armed  with  bows  and 
arrows.  Upwards  of  two  hundred  whites  and  a  large  number 
of  Indians  were  soon  collected;  and  with  them  Sola  prepared 
ta  march  back  to  Monterey  and  either  openly  attack  the 
enemy  or  harass  him  by  cutting  off  the  stragglers  of  his 
forces,  who  were  roaming  about  hunting  and  plundering  in 
the  neighborhood.  By  the  time  the  governor  was  ready  to 
march,  however,  the  enemy  had  set  sail.  As  he  approached, 
he  saw  the  flames  of  the  presidio  and  the  ships  with  their 
canvas  spread  far  out  at  sea  and  lessening  in  the  distance. 
The  sight  quickened  his  advance  and  he  hastened  as  rapidly 
as  possible,  in  hopes  of  putting  out  the  fire  and  saving  at  least 
a  portion  of  the  buildings.  But  nearly  everything,  except 
the  stone  church  and  the  adobe  walls  of  the  houses  which 
resisted  the  flames,  was  destroyed  or  ruined. 

Upon  getting  back  to  Monterey  Sola  found  two  men  of  the 
enemy,  who  had  been  hiding  in  flie  neighboring  woods  and 
as  soon  as  he  approached  made  their  appearance  and  sur- 
rendered themselves.  One  of  them  named  Echevarria,  a 
native  of  Buenos  Ayres  who  acted  as  spokesman,  said  that 
they  had  voluntarily  deserted  and  concealed  themselves  until 
after  the  ships  had  sailed.  Upon  being  interrogated  fully,  he 
affirmed  that  the  schooner,  which  had  visited  Monterey  two 
years  previously  and  pretended  to  be  a  trader  on  a  voyage 
from  China  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  was  in  fact  a  spy  of  the 
insurgents  and  that  the  frigate  of  the  previous  year,  which 
pretended  to  be  an  exploring  expedition  sent  out  by  the 
British  government,  was  no  other  than  the  vessel,  now  called 
the  Santa  Rosa,  which  had  been  handled  so  roughly  in  the 
recent  battle.  He  further  affirmed  that  the  real  object  of  the 
frigate  s  visit  on  that  occasion  was  to  enveigle  the  governor 
and  his  officers  on  board  and,  after  seizing  them,  to  proclaim 


654  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

the  independence  of  the  province  and  set  up  a  revolutionary 
government — all  of  which  had  been  prevented  by  the  gov- 
ernor's prudence.  He  still  further  affirmed  that  Bouchard 
and  his  motley  crew  of  adventurers,  when  they  sailed  for 
California,  believed  the  country  to  be  rich  in  gold  and  silver 
and  expected,  upon  taking  possession  of  Monterey,  to  gain 
great  plunder;  but  that  they  had  retired  satisfied  that  their 
expectations  in  this  respect  had  been  false,  as  the  country 
was  purely  an  agricultural  one;  and  that,  in  view  of  their 
disappointment  in  this  regard,  they  would  not  return.  As 
for  himself  and  his  companion,  he  said  they  had  become 
heartily  sick  of  the  pirates  and  wished  to  have  nothing  further 
to  do  with  them;  but  that,  if  allowed,  they  would  settle  in 
the  country  at  their  regular  business  of  agriculturists  and  live 
peaceful  lives  in  obedience  to  the  laws. 

The  stories  told  by  Echevarria  about  the  schooner  of  1816 
and  frigate  of  1817  do  not  look  very  probable;  but  it  seems  to 
have  been  pleasant  to  the  governor  to  hear  a  good  reason 
given  to  justify  his  great  caution  and  suspicions  on  previous 
occasions  as  well  as  to  have  a  good  reason  for  believing  that 
the  insurgents  would  not  return.  These  were  so  satisfactory 
that  the  men  were  ordered  to  be  released  and  allowed  to 
settle  in  the  country.  Sola  then  turned  to  examine  the  pre- 
sidio in  all  its  parts;  and,  finding  no  portion  of  it  suitable  for 
his  residence,  he  removed  to  the  mission  of  San  Carlos  and 
immediately  commenced  repairing  the  damages  caused  by  the 
insurgents.  For  this  purpose  he  called  upon  the  neighboring 
missions  for  aid  and  assistance;  and,  as  they  willingly  con- 
tributed and  sent  all  the  Indian  workmen  who  could  be  put 
to  use,  the  work  progressed  rapidly.  In  a  few  months  the 
presidio  and  other  buildings  were  rebuilt;  the  governor  and 
all  the  families  returned;  and  Monterey  was  in  better  condi- 
tion than  before  the  attack.1 

The  insurgents  meanwhile  sailed  down  the  coast  and  ran  in 
to  the  Rancho  del  Refugio  nine  leagues  west  of  Santa  Bar- 
bara.    This  ranch   belonged   to   the    Ortega    family.     Those 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  X,  295-306;  S.  P.  XXII,  625-627;  P.  S.  P.  XX,  1049, 

1050;  Alvarado  MS. 


SOLA  AND  MEXICAN  INDEPENDENCE.        655 

who  were  then  there,  having  had  notice  of  what  took  place  at 
Monterey,  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  vessels  approach,  sent 
information  of  the  fact  to  the  neighboring  presidio  and  them- 
selves set  off,  driving  their  horses  and  cattle  before  them,  for 
the  interior.  The  enemy  upon  drawing  near,  sent  a  few  boats 
to  procure  wood  and  water  and  at  the  same  time  disembarked 
a  party  of  fifty  armed  men  to  visit  and  to  plunder  the  ranch 
buildings  which  were  a  couple  of  miles  from  the  shore.  This 
party,  upon  reaching  the  buildings,  found  little  or  nothing  to 
seize;  but  they  rested  awhile  and  then,  setting  fire  to  every- 
thing, started  back  for  their  boats.  But  they  had  scarcely 
got  halfway  on  their  return,  when  they  saw  thirty  horsemen 
galloping  towards  them  from  the  direction  of  Santa  Barbara. 
These  were  soldiers  of  the  presidio,  who,  upon  receiving  infor- 
mation of  the  landing,  had  thrown  themselves  upon  horseback 
and  rode  as  fast  as  possible  for  the  scene.  Their  horses,  how- 
ever, were  jaded;  and,  as  the  marauding  party  ran  as  soon 
as  they  appeared  in  sight,  they  were  unable  to  intercept 
them.  Two  of  the  insurgents,  nevertheless,  were  captured, 
and  a  few  shots  were  exchanged  before  the  boats  rowed  out 
of  range,  the  results  of  which  were  the  wounding  of  a  number 
of  the  retreating  party  and  of  four  of  the  Californian  horses. 
From  Refugio  Bouchard  sailed  to  Santa  Barbara,  where, 
under  a  flag  of  truce,  he  appears  to  have  gained  possession  of 
the  prisoners  that  had  been  taken  from  him.  To  effect  this 
he  delivered  up,  and  was  probably  glad  of  the  opportunity,  a 
citizen  of  Monterey,  whom  he  had  found  in  a  state  of  stupid 
intoxication  when  he  took  that  place;  and  he  also  promised, 
without  landing  at  any  other  point  on  the  coast,  to  abandon 
California  forever.  From  Santa  Barbara  he  sailed  to  San 
Pedro,  where  he  anchored  a  short  time  and  then  ran  down  to 
the  mission  of  San  Juan  Capistrano,  where,  notwithstanding 
his  promise  at  Santa  Barbara,  he  landed  a  number  of  his  men. 
They  were  met,  however,  by  Ensign  Santiago  Argucllo  and 
thirty  men  from  the  presidio  of  San  Diego,  who  disputed 
their  advance;  and,  being  thereby  prevented  from  doing  any 
further  damage  than  burning  the  brush  houses  of  the  Indians, 


656  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

they  retreated  to  their  ships,  all  excepting  a  Scotch  drummer, 
two  soldiers  and  a  negro  servant  who  were  disgusted  with 
the  service  and  like  Echevarria  and  his  companion  at  Monte- 
rey deserted  and  delivered  themselves  up  to  the  Californians. 
While  these  events  were  happening,  reinforcements  were 
gathering  and  among  others  Jose  Antonio  de  la  Guerra  y 
Noriega,  the  comandante  of  Santa  Barbara,  came  up  with  his 
soldiers  and  a  body  of  Indians.  With  De  la  Guerra  y  Nori- 
ega was  a  missionary  who  manifested  an  extraordinary  spirit. 
This  was  Father  Luis  Antonio  Martinez  of  San  Luis  Obispo- 
When  he  heard  of  the  attack  of  the  insurgents  at  the  Refugio 
rancho,  although  ill  and  confined  to  his  chamber,  he  instantly 
rose;  gathered  a  body  of  thirty-five  of  his  stoutest  Indians; 
armed  them  with  the  best  weapons  he  could;  placed  himself 
at  their  head,  and  marched  with  them  to  Santa  Barbara.  He 
there  joined  the  comandante  and  his  soldiers  and  with  them 
marched  all  the  way  to  San  Juan  Capistrano,  willingly  and 
enthusiastically  undergoing  all  the  fatigues  cf  the  hard  cam- 
paign. Such  a  man  would  have  fought  well  and  in  a  conge- 
nial sphere  of  action  might  have  done  great  deeds.  But 
Bouchard  did  not  afford  him  an  opportunity  of  distinguishing 
himself.  That  night  he  put  to  sea;  and  in  the  morning  he  and 
his  vessels  were  entirely  out  of  sight  of  land.1 

Sola  wrote  in  February,  1819,  that  he  had  heard  of  the 
insurgents  being  seen  in  January  at  the  bay  of  San  Quentin 
off  the  mission  of  Rosario  in  Lower  California,  and  that  it 
was  likely  they  were  bound  for  the  mouth  of  the  gulf  with  the 
object  of  preying  upon  the  commerce  of  San  Bias.2  In  the 
latter  conjecture  he  was  correct.  It  appears  that  Bouchard 
had  obtained  information  of  a  Spanish  ship  called  the  Maria, 
then  lying  at  San  Bias,  laden  with  silver  and  about  to  sail  for 
Manila.  For  this  ship  he  lay  in  wait  with  the  largest  of  his 
vessels  near  some  small  islands.  At  the  same  time  he  heard 
that  a  Spanish  cruiser  called  the  Fidelidad  had  been  ordered 
to  run  out  in  advance  of  the  Maria  for  its  protection  and  to 
convoy  it  at  least  a  part  of  its  way  across  the  ocean.     This 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  627,  628,  66i,  672,  673. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  630. 


SOLA  AND  MEXICAN  INDEPENDENCE.         657 

was  true.  But  as  it  happened,  the  chief  pilot  of  the  Maria 
was  exceedingly  anxious  to  proceed  on  his  voyage  and 
induced  the  captain  and  owner  to  consent  to  sail  a  short  time 
before  the  cruiser  was  ready,  it  being  however  understood 
that  it  would  follow.  Bouchard  was  entirely  ignorant  of  the 
appearance  of  cither  vessel.  Accordingly  when  he  saw  the 
Maria  sailing  out  with  all  canvas  spread  and  coming  directly 
towards  the  islands  where  he  lay,  he  crowded  his  sails  and  ran 
off  in  another  direction,  with  the  remark  that  the  vessel  he 
saw  was  not  the  one  he  sought  but  the  one  that  was  seeking 
him.  The  Maria  continued  its  course,  without  apparently 
taking  much  notice  of  Bouchard's  vessel,  and  was  soon  out  of 
sight. 

The  next  morning  the  Fidelidad  sailed  out  of  San  Bias. 
The  commander  Jose  Martiga  soon  perceived  Bouchard  and, 
immediately  understanding  the  condition  of  affairs,  saw  that 
his  enemy  had  a  swifter  sailer  than  his  own  and  that  he 
would  have  to  use  strategy  to  bring  about  an  encounter. 
He  at  once  closed  his  port  holes  and  sent  most  of  his  men 
below;  partly  changed  his  coursre  as  if  trying  to  avoid  a  meet- 
ing, and  manceuvered  as  if  anxious  to  keep  out  of  the  way. 
The  more  he  did  so  the  more  anxious  was  Bouchard,  who 
felt  certain  that  it  was  the  Maria  with  its  precious  cargo,  to 
come  up.  After  a  short  chase  Bouchard  approached  close, 
when  the  Fidelidad,  suddenly  wheeling  broadside  to,  lifted  its 
ports  and  delivered  a  raking  fire,  which  did  great  execution 
and  came  near  sinking  the  Buenos  Ayres  vessel.  With  this 
Bouchard's  eyes  were  opened  and,  having  the  advantage  of 
wind  and  sailing  qualities  as  well  as  of  headway  caused  by 
his  chase,  he  managed  to  run  ahead  of  his  adversary  and  get 
out  of  range,  though  with  the  loss  of  many  men  and  very 
great  damage  to  his  ship.  The  Fidelidad  pursued;  but  Bou- 
chard, being  now  thoroughly  convinced  that  he  had  made  a 
serious  mistake  as  to  which  of  the  vessels  it  was  that  he 
sought  and  which  sought  him,  threw  out  all  his  canvas  and 
escaped.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  last  of  his  ventures. 
The  loss  of  a  million  of  Mexican  dollars  carried  by  the  Maria 

42    Vol   I. 


658  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

and  the  broadside  of  the  Fidelidad,  delivered  under  such 
circumstances,  disgusted  him  with  privateering  and  probably 
with  Buenos  Ayres  independence  along  with  it.  In  the 
earlier  part  of  his  career  he  had  considered  himself  rich  and 
lucky;  but  of  late  fortune  had  been  against  him.  He  retired 
to  Lima  and  is  said  to  have  died  there  some  five  years  after- 
wards in  great  penury  and  misery,  supported  in  his  last  days 
only  by  charity.1 

Soon  after  the  attack  on  Monterey,  Sola,  besides  giving  a 
full  account  of  it,  wrote  for  reinforcements  and  asked  the 
viceroy  for  at  least  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred 
more  men,  together  with  money  to  pay  them,  and  for  arms 
and  munitions.  It  was  not  at  all  impossible,  he  said,  that  the 
insurgents  would  return.  But  whether  they  did  or  not,  there 
was  in  view  of  the  small  number  of  troops  in  California,  the 
large  extent  of  territory,  the  great  preponderance  of  Indians 
whose  fidelity  could  not  be  relied  on  and  the  proximity  of 
the  Americans  at  the  Columbia  river,  an  absolute  need  of  an 
increased  military  force  in  the  country.2  In  answer  to  this 
earnest  call,  the  Conde  del  Venadito,  then  viceroy  of  New 
Spain,  bestirred  himself;  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  months 
a  force  of  one  hundred  Mazatlan  troops  under  command  of 
Pablo  de  la  Portilla  was  dispatched  in  the  brigantine  Cossack 
for  San  Diego,  and  an  equal  number  of  San  Bias  troops 
under  command   of  Jose  Antonio  Navarrete  in  the  brigan- 

'Osio  MS.  Many  of  the  circumstances  in  the  foregoing  account  of  Bouchard, 
and  especially  in  reference  to  his  adventure  at  San  Bias  and  his  retirement  at 
Lima,  are  taken  from  an  unpublished  manuscript  written  by  Don  Antonio  Maria 
Osio  and  by  him  bequeathed  to  Don  Juan  Malarin,  to  whose  courtesy  the  author 
is  indebted  for  an  examination  of  it.  Osio  was  a  prominent  man  in  his  day  and 
occupied  various  high  offices  in  the  country,  being  at  one  time  a  member  of  the 
old  departmental  assembly,  at  another  in  charge  of  the  custom  house  and  at 
another  a  minister  of  the  superior  tribunal  of  justice.  In  his  later  years  he 
amused  himself  with  writing  in  Spanish  a  historical  sketch  of  California  from 
about  1815,  but  more  particularly  of  what  he  himself  had  known  and  seen  of 
California  from  1825  down  to  the  American  occupation  in  1846.  His  work  con- 
sists of  upwards  of  two  hundred  pages  of  closely  written  legal  cap,  entitled 
"Memorias  de  la  Alta  California,"  and  contains  a  dedication,  dated  Santa  Clara, 
April  4,  1851,  to  Father  Jose  Maria  Suarez  del  Real,  at  whose  suggestion  and 
solicitation  it  purports  to  have  been  written.  It  embraces  some  interesting  par- 
ticulars not  found  in  other  works.  When  referred  to,  it  will  be  cited  as  the 
"Osio  MS." 

*  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  625-628;  P.  R.  X,  295,  306. 


SOLA  AND  MEXICAN  INDEPENDENCE.        659 

tine  San  Carlos  and  ship  Reyna  de  Los  Angeles  for  Monte- 
rey. They  arrived  at  their  several  destinations  in  August, 
1 8 19.  With  the  San  Bias  vessels  Sola  also  expected  the 
money,  arms  and  munitions  for  which  he  had  written  and 
which  had  been  promised.  But  nothing  of  the  kind  came. 
There  was  not  a  real  in  money;  there  was  no  clothing;  there 
were  no  muskets,  nor  any  arms  whatever  except  four  hundred 
old  and  worn-out  sabers  with  wooden  handles  and  without 
scabbards.  They  were  unfit,  as  Sola  said,  even  for  sickles; 
and  he  immediately  ordered  them  to  be  carried  back  to  the 
comandante  of  San  Bias  who  had  sent  them.  Nor  was  this 
failure  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  in  New  Spain  to  send 
what  was  requisite  for  the  reinforcement  and  defense  of  Cali- 
fornia the  worst,  of  which  Sola  and  the  Californians  had  to 
complain.  It  soon  appeared  that  the  troops  from  San  Bias, 
then  stationed  at  Monterey,  had  been  collected  just  previous 
to  their  sailing  partly  from  the  prisons  of  that  place  and 
Tepic  and  partly  by  impressment.1  Taken  as  a  class  they 
were  a  set  of  convicts  and  incorrigible  scoundrels;  and  they 
had  hardly  landed  before  robberies,  stabbings,  assassinations 
and  every  species  of  d'isorder  and  crime  became  common. 
The  conduct  even  of  most  of  the  officers  was  by  no  means 
exemplary;  and,  as  was  said  of  them  afterwards,  they  knew 
not  honor  because  they  were  unacquainted  with  honesty,  out 
of  which  it  springs.'2 

With  these  soldiers,  however,  such  as  they  were,  Sola  was 
obliged  to  get  along.  He  did  so  as  best  he  could.  He  en- 
forced discipline  as  far  as  he  was  able  and  managed  for  a 
time  to  restrain  their  excesses  to  a  much  greater  degree  than 
could  have  been  expected.  The  missionaries,  who  had  con- 
tributed liberally  for  the  rebuilding  of  Monterey  when  it  was 
destroyed  by  the  insurgents  and  more  than  repaid  the  losses 
sustained,3  continued  to  furnish  all  the  supplies  that  were 
needed;  and,  as  there  was  always  an  abundance  of  provisions 
and  no  severe  service,  the  rascally  troops  of  San  Bias,  with 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  X,  345,  349,  358,  359. 

■  Osio  MS. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  661. 


660  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

the  exception  of  private  brawls  and  occasional  murders  among 
themselves,  were  for  a  while  kept  in  a  tolerable  state  of  sub- 
jection. On  the  other  hand  there  was  some  satisfaction  for 
the  governor  to  hear  from  the  viceroy  that  his  actions  had 
been  approved  at  head-quarters;  that  in  recognition  of  his 
services  he  had  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  "  coronel  de 
milicias  provinciales,"  and  that  his  name  had  been  published 
with  the  thanks  of  the  government  in  the  official  gazette. 
At  the  same  time  he  was  pleased  to  find  that  his  old  handful 
of  troops,  to  whom  as  partners  in  the  defense  of  Monterey 
he  had  become  attached,  had  also  been  duly  complimented; 
that  his  subordinates  Manuel  Gomez  and  Jose  Maria  Estrada 
had  been  promoted  from  the  rank  of  ensigns  to  that  of  lieu- 
tenants,1 and  that,  while  the  thanks  of  the  king  had  been  sent 
to  the  Father  President  Mariano  Payeras  and  all  the  mission- 
aries for  their  contributions  of  aid  and  assistance,  special 
thanks  for  the  gallant  conduct  and  extraordinary  exertions  of 
Father  Luis  Antonio  Martinez,  the  warrior-priest  of  San  Luis 
Obispo,  had  not  been  forgotten.2 

But  notwithstanding  these  causes  of  satisfaction,  Sola  re- 
garded and  represented  California  as  in  a  very  bad  condition; 
and  in  letter  after  letter  he  bitterly  complained  that  it  had 
been  shamefully  neglected.  In  April,  1819,  he  wrote  of  the 
favorable  situation  of  the  province,  its  great  natural  fertility 
and  what  it  might  have  become  if  it  had  been  properly  fos- 
tered and  cared  for.  It  might  be  called,  he  said,  the  key  on 
the  Pacific  side  of  all  New  Spain;  and  if  it  had  been  popu- 
lated with  six  or  eight  hundred  families  of  sober,  honest  and 
industrious  European  artisans  and  laborers,  as  it  ought  to 
have  been,  it  would  have  become  the  most  productive  and 
flourishing  of  the  American  possessions  of  the  Spanish  crown. 
Instead  of  this,  however,  it  was  in  fact  a  poor,  weak  and  com- 
paratively useless  country,  exposed  to  attack  on  every  side 
and  inhabited  chiefly  by  Indians  of  low  grade  and  of  aban- 
doned character,  who  were  entirely  ignorant  of  patriotism  or 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XX,  245;  S.  P.  XVII,  663. 
a  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XX,  186,  187. 


SOLA  AND  MEXICAN  INDEPENDENCE.       661 

loyalty  and  full  only  of  "el  mal  Galico."1  In  July  he  wrote 
that  he  had  received  information  that  the  comandante  of 
Jalisco  had  been  ordered  to  send  him  cannons  and  other 
arms."  In  September  he  again  complained  of  the  miserable 
and  degraded  state  to  which  the  country  was  reduced;3  and 
he  begged,  in  view  of  the  bad  results  that  might  at  any  time 
be  anticipated,  that  not  an  instant  should  be  lost  in  applying 
the  proper  remedy.4  Later  in  the  same  month,  when  he  had 
become  still  better  acquainted  with  the  outcasts  called  troops 
who  had  been  sent  him  from  the  jails  of  Tepic  and  San  Bias, 
he  wrote  that,  as  their  vices  caused  continual  disorders  and 
their  evil  example  debauched  the  minds  of  the  Indians,  they 
had  been  a  great  injury  instead  of  a  benefit  to  the  country; 
and  that  therefore  the  costs  that  had  been  incurred  in  their 
collection  and  transportation  had  been  worse  than  thrown 
away.0  In  October  he  wrote  that  in  order  to  place  the  unhappy 
plight  of  California  before  the  viceroy  and  make  him  fully 
sensible  that  something  must  be  done,  it  had  been  determined 
in  a  council  of  all  the  chief  officers  of  the  province  to  send 
Jose  Antonio  de  la  Guerra  y  Noriega,  the  comandante  of 
Santa  Barbara,  to  Mexico.6  In  March,  1820,  he  wrote  again 
and  still  more  complainingly,  stating  that  it  would  take  the 
pen  of  a  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  to  adequately  depict  the 
miseries  of  the  country  a's  they  actually  existed,  and  repeat- 
ing that  serious  consequences  were  to  be  anticipated,  if  any 
further  time  were  lost  in  granting  the  relief  which  was  not 
only  needful  but  indispensably  necessary.7 

The  vice-regal  government  sent  replies  to  Sola's  complaints; 
but  nothing  except  replies.  The  relief  which  he  asked,  and 
in  fact  implored,  was  not  forthcoming.  All  he  could  do, 
therefore,  was  to  repeat  his  complaints.  In  April,  1820,  he 
wrote  that  fault  had  been  found  by  the  government  with  the 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  638. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  657. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  679,  6S0. 

4  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  682. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  684. 
«Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  686. 
7  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  707. 


662  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

sale  of  California  grain  to  the  Russians,  and  that  an  order  had 
been  received  to  put  a  stop  to  the  trade  and  to  forward  all  the 
surplus  produce  of  the  harvests  to  New  Spain.  This  might 
all  be  very  well,  he  continued,  except  for  one  difficulty;  and 
that  was,  that  there  were  no  ships  in  which  to  forward  it.  It 
was  a  rare  thing  for  a  vessel  to  sail  from  California  to  New 
Spain  at  all;  and  when  one  did  sail,  the  only  thing  it  was 
willing  to  carry  was  suet  or  tallow,  purchased  on  account  of 
and  for  the  benefit  of  its  owners  at  the  very  lowest  prices. 
Such  had  been  the  case  with  the  ship  Reyna  de  Los  Angeles, 
one  of  the  vessels  that  had  brought  up  soldiers  from  San  Bias, 
which  had  sailed  on  its  return  the  previous  November.  He 
had  urged  upon  the  missionaries  the  utility  of  having  vessels 
of  their  own;  but  hitherto  all  his  representations  had  been  in 
vain;  and  they  therefore  saw  themselves  compelled  to  sell,  if 
they  sold  at  all,  at  the  lowest  prices  and  to  buy  such  articles, 
as  they  were  obliged  to  buy,  at  the  highest  prices.  He  was 
well  aware  that  the  strict  letter  of  the  law  prohibited  the  trade 
with  the  Russians;  but  the  law  of  necessity  obliged  it;  and  he 
suggested  that  some  allowances  ought  to  be  made  in  favor  of 
a  people,  among  the  most  faithful  and  loyal  of  all  the  subjects 
of  the  crown,  who  had  not  received  their  pay  or  any  substan- 
tial aid  or  relief  for  ten  years.1 

In  another  letter  of  the  same  date,  Sola  wrote  in  substance 
that  fault  had  also  been  found  by  the  government  that  a 
country,  so  rich  in  pearls,  in  fisheries  and  in  ad  kinds  of  nat- 
ural productions  as  California,  should  still  be  so  backward. 
As  to  the  pearls,  he  remarked  that  there  were  none  in  Alta  Cal- 
ifornia; and  as  to  the  fisheries,  that  the  people  of  the  province 
were  not  fishermen  but  on  the  contrary  had  an  unconquerable 
repugnance  to  that  kind  of  occupation.  It  was  true  that  the 
country  was  or  rather  might  be  made  exceedingly  productive; 
but  without  means  and  conveniences  of  exportation  and  im- 
portation, surplus  production  would  not  furnish  such  articles 
from  abroad  as  were  necessary  and  was  therefore  entirely  use- 
less. There  had  been,  it  was  also  true,  in  early  days,  a  start 
made  in  the  cultivation  of  hemp  and  a  commerce  initiated  for 
1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  710,  711. 


SOLA  AND  MEXICAN  INDEPENDENCE.        66^ 

its  utilization  by  the  marine  department  at  San  Bias;  and  the 
cultivation  and  commerce  were  both  for  a  time  prosperous 
and  promising.  But  they  had  been  interrupted  by  what  he 
was  pleased  to  term  "  la  desgraciada  insurreccion  " — meaning 
Hidalgo's  revolt — and  came  to  a  sudden  close  in  1810;  and 
since  then  nothing  had  been  done  to  reinstate  them,  or  to  pro- 
vide any  method  by  which  the  people  could  make  use  of  or  get 
a  return  for  the  fruits  of  their  labor  over  and  above  the  grain 
and  cattle  they  needed  for  their  own  subsistence.1  In  other 
words,  Sola,  after  a  few  remarks  upon  the  general  character 
of  the  people  of  California  and  their  unfitness  for  anything 
but  agriculture,  stock-raising  and  other  kindred  pursuits, 
showed  that  their  advance  in  these  pursuits  was  of  little  bene- 
fit to  them  for  the  reason  that  they  had  no  commerce,  and 
without  commerce  they  had  no  market.  In  what  was  nat- 
urally one  of  the  richest  and  most  productive  countries  in  the 
world,  the  people  were  miserably  poor  and  suffering  and  must 
continue  so  until  relief  came;  and  this  relief  must,  under  the 
circumstances  in  which  the  country  was  placed,  come  from 
the  government  and  only  from  the  government. 

But  during  all  the  time  that  Sola  was  thus  praying  for 
assistance,  and  affairs  were  growing  worse  and  worse,  the 
government,  as  has  been  stated,  did  nothing.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  it  could  have  done  much.  There  was  at  least  a  good 
reason,  besides  its  claim  that  California  was  or  ought  to  be 
rich  enough  to  maintain  itself,  why  it  afforded  no  relief.  The 
revolution,  which  had  been  raging  with,  more  or  less  violence 
in  various  parts  of  New  Spain  ever  since  18 10,  had  diverted 
its  funds  and  almost  exclusively  preoccupied  its  attention. 
In  1 82 1,  when  the  royal  army  seemed  to  have  almost  entirely 
crushed  out  opposition,  a  great  change  was  on  the  eve  of 
taking  place.  Little  as  Sola  and  the  loyal  people  of  Califor- 
nia imagined,  the  revolution  was  about  being  consummated 
and  the  vice-regal  government  destroyed  forever.  In  Febru- 
ary of  that  year  Agustin  Iturbide,  a  colonel  in  the  royal 
army  who  had  shortly  before  been  commissioned  by  the 
viceroy  to  proceed  with  a  division  of  troops  from  Mexico  to 
1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  715  717. 


fi64  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

Acapulco  to  put  down  the  revolutionists  in  that  direction,1 
suddenly  himself  raised  the  revolutionary  flag;  promulgated 
his  famous  "  Plan  of  Iguala,"  and  almost  immediately  made 
New  Spain  independent  of  the  Spanish  crown.  In  Septem- 
ber Sola,  who  had  just  heard  of  what  was  going  on,  wrote 
that  his  information  was  of  great  gravity  and  much  to  be 
deplored,  as  its  effect  would  be  to  plunge  the  country  into 
the  calamities  of  renewed  wars.  It  was  doubtless,  he  said,  in 
chastisement  of  the  sins  of  the  people  that  these  misfortunes 
were  visited  upon  them;  but  he  prayed  God  to  have  mercy 
and  in  effect  to  save  the  Spanish  dominion.2  His  prayers, 
however,  as  well  as  his  loyalty,  were  in  vain.  In  the  same 
September  Iturbide,  who  had  forced  the  viceroy  to  sign  the 
treaty  of  Cordova,  took  possession  of  the  capital;  established 
the  empire,  and  instituted  the  regency  with  himself  at  its 
head;  and  in  May,  1822,  he  mounted  the  throne  as  Agustin 
I.,  emperor  of  the  new,  sovereign  and  independent  empire  of 
Mexico. 

Meanwhile  in  March,  1822,  Sola  received  information  from 
Jose  Dario  Arguello  the  governor  of  Lower  California  that 
a  hostile  force  belonging  to  the  insurgent  or  revolutionary 
squadron  of  Chili,  commanded  by  Lord  Cochrane,  had  on 
February  18  attacked  the  mission  of  Todos  Santos  near  Cape 
San  Lucas,  killed  some  of  the  soldiers,  captured  others,  and 
committed  various  excesses;  and  that,  according  to  report, 
three  ships  of  the  hostile  squadron  were  on  their  way  to 
attack  Alta  California.  Sola  immediately  issued  orders  to 
the  various  comandantes  similar  to  those  issued  by  him  in 
18 1 8,  on  the  occasion  of  the  previous  visit  of  insurgents,  and 
directed  as  then  that  the  coasts  should  be  watched;  property 
as  far  as  practicable  be  placed  in  places  of  safety,  and  the 
families  be  ready  on  short  notice  to  remove  to  the  interior/ 
All  was  excitement  again.  It  was  feared  that  there  was  to 
be  a  repetition  of  the  disasters  and  sufferings  of  18 18,  only 
increased  and  aggravated  by  the  superior  number  and  strength 

1  Cal.  Archives,  Y.  R.  XI,  258. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  XI,  265. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  I,  36. 


SOLA  AND  MEXICAN  INDEPENDENCE.       665 

of  the  enemy  and  the  weaker  condition  of  the  province  to 
resist  the  attack. 

While  affairs  were  in  this  posture  and  the  most  fearful 
apprehensions  were  entertained,  a  war  vessel  sailed  into  the 
port  of  Monterey  and  dropped  its  anchor  just  beyond  range 
of  the  guns  of  the  fort.  The  alarm  it  created  was  even 
greater  than  that  caused  by  the  appearance  of  the  insurgents 
in  1 8 1 8.  A  strange  flag  fluttered  at  its  mast-head,  composed 
of  three  distinct  parts  of  green,  white  and  red,  with  an  eagle 
and  a  crown  in  the  center.  It  was  not  noted  in  the  gover- 
nor's chart  of  national  colors;  and  Jose  Maria  Estudillo,  the 
comandante,  insisted  that  the  stranger  was  plainly  an  enemy 
and  to  be  welcomed  only  with  bloody  hands.  The  soldiers 
rushed  to  their  guns  and  prepared  for  desperate  conflict.  But 
Sola,  who  had  shortly  before  received  confidential  advices  from 
friends  in  New  Spain  which  he  had  communicated  to  no  one, 
seeing  that  the  new  flag  was  no  other  than  that  of  independ- 
ent Mexico,  ordered  the  troops  to  calm  their  apprehensions 
and  patiently  await  the  actions  of  the  visitors  who  doubtless 
brought  important  intelligence.  The  vessel  proved  to  be  the 
San  Carlos  from  San  Bias.  In  a  short  time  a  boat,  manned 
by  twenty-four  oarsmen  dressed  in  gay  colors,  put  off  from 
its  side  and  made  for  the  shore.  Besides  the  sailors,  it  car- 
ried a  personage  of  seeming  very  great  dignity.  It  took  its 
course  directly  to  the  landing  place,  where  Comandante  Estu- 
dillo  and  the  soldiers,  one  hundred  and  fifty  in  number,  had 
collected.  Upon  reaching  the  shore,  the  personage  rose  and, 
stepping  forward  and  presenting  himself  to  the  comandante, 
said  in  a  firm  voice  sufficiently  loud  to  be  heard  by  all:  "  I 
am  the  Canon  Agustin  Fernandez  de  San  Vicente.  I  have 
come  from  the  imperial  Mexican  capital  with  dispatches 
directed  to  the  governor  of  this  province,  Don  Pablo  Vicente 
de  Sola.  I  demand  to  be  conducted  to  his  presence  in  the 
name  of  my  sovereign,  the  liberator  of  Mexico,  General  Don 
Agustin  de  Iturbide." 

These  words  caused  a  murmur  among  the  troops;  but,  to 
the  surprise  of  their  officers,  it  was  a  murmur  of  approbation 
rather  than  the  contrary.     Estudillo,  who  as  a  native  of  Spain 


666  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

and  attached  to  the  Spanish  cause  would  have  willingly  heard 
the  contrary,  felt  himself  obliged  to  suppress  his  feelings  and 
submissively  led  the  canon  to  the  governor's  presence.  Sola 
already  knew  what  was  coming  and  had  prepared  himself  to 
act  gracefully  and  graciously.  He  had  some  difficulty  in 
doing  so.  Only  fifteen  days  previously  he  had  harangued 
the  troops  in  the  court-yard  of  the  presidio  and  announced 
his  intention  to  shoot  down  without  formal  trial  any  individ- 
ual, be  he  high  or  low  and  of  whatever  condition  in  life,  who 
dared  to  say  a  single  word  in  favor  of  the  traitor  Iturbide. 
But  the  position  of  affairs  had  changed  since  then.  He  had 
learned  facts,  of  which  he  was  then  ignorant.  His  friends  in 
Mexico  had  assured  him  that  the  Spanish  cause  was  lost 
beyond  reclaim  and  cautioned  him  to  act  with  prudence  and 
submission. 

Sola,  though  by  nature  quick,  hasty  and  irascible  and 
though  he  would  unquestionably  have  been  willing  to  fight 
to  the  last  drop  of  his  life's  blood  in  defense  of  his  king,  was 
sufficiently  intelligent  to  appreciate  the  condition  of  affairs 
and  accept  the  situation.  When  therefore  Fernandez  pre- 
sented himself  and  by  way  of  introduction  decorated  Sola 
with  a  badge  of  the  new  imperial  order  of  Our  Lady  of 
Guadalupe,  he  was  received  with  punctilious  ceremony.  Fer- 
nandez then  presented  his  dispatches  from  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment, which  described  the  surrender  of  the  capital  by  the 
viceroy  O'Donoju  to  the  liberating  army,  announced  the 
absolute  and  complete  independence  of  New  Spain  and  all  its 
provinces,  set  forth  the  proclamation  and  establishment  of  the 
new  empire  of  Mexico,  and  called  upon  the  governor  of  Cal- 
ifornia to  submit  to  and  acquiesce  in  the  new  order  of  things. 
Sola  replied  that  he  was  a  soldier,  ready  on  all  occasions  to 
respect  and  obey  the  orders  of  his  superiors,  and  that  as  such 
he  recognized  the  new  government  at  Mexico,  to  which  he 
accordingly,  as  an  act  of  military  obedience,  then  and  there 
transferred  his  allegiance.  The  news  was  then  communicated 
to  his  subordinate  officers,  and  they  too  acquiesced. 

The  next  day,  by  the  governor's  order,  all  the  troops  were 
collected  in  the  court-yard  of  the  presidio.     The  royal  colors 


SOLA  AND  MEX/CAA 

of  Spain  still  waved  from  the  top  o, 
the  castle  or  fort  near  the  water  side, 
soldiers  and,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  a. 
Monterey  and  its  neighborhood  were  present,  So 
addressed  them.      He  spoke  of  the  great   changes  tna 
taken  place;    of  the  independence  of  the  country   from  tnv 
Spanish  crown,  and  of  the  new  empire  that  had  been  estab- 
lished.     It  was  unnecessary,  he  said,  to  enter  into  a  discus- 
sion of  the  political  questions  that  were  involved ;  but  as  a 
simple  matter  of   military  subordination  it   behooved   every 
soldier  and  in  fact  every  inhabitant  of  California  to  render  to 
the  imperial  government  of  Mexico  and  its  flag,  which  were 
now  supreme,  the  same  obedience  they  had  always  rendered 
to  those  of  Spain.     There  had  been,  he  repeated  in  conclu- 
sion, a  complete  change  in  the  government;  and  no  one  could 
be  called  a  traitor  to  his  government  who  submitted  to  his 
government.     With  that,  he  ordered  the  Spanish  colors  to  be 
hauled    down   and    the  new  imperial    flag    of    the    Mexican 
empire  to  be  hoisted   in  its  place  ;  and  as  the  new  standard 
unfolded  in  the  breeze,  it  was  greeted  with  a  salvo  that  had 
been  arranged  from  all  the  guns.     There  was  less  of  enthusi- 
asm manifested  than  might  have  been  expected  upon  such  an 
occasion;  but  this  was  attributed,  as  explained  to  Fernandez, 
to  the  fact  that  the  spirit  of  independence  had    not   as  yet 
been  cultivated  in  the  country.1 

Orders  were  immediately  issued  to  the  other  presidios  and 
inhabited  points  in  the  province  to  follow  the  example  of 
Monterey  and  to  put  the  new  government  into  possession  and 
operation.  In  a  few  weeks  the  imperial  flag — soon  to  be 
changed  into  the  simple  Mexican  tricolor — waved  over  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land  from  San  Francisco  to  San 
Diego  and  from  the  extreme  eastern  outposts  where  the 
Spanish  language  was  spoken  to  the  ocean.  California  was 
no  longer  a  Spanish  but  had  become  a  Mexican  province; 
and  Sola,  for  the  few  additional  months  that  he  continued  in 
his  office,  was  no  longer  a  Spanish  but  had  become  a  Mexi- 
can governor. 

1  Alvarado,  MS. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   NORTHWEST-COAST   FUR   TRADE. 

THE  progress  of  navigation  in  the  North  Pacific  and  along 
the  northwest  coast  during  the  times  of  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernors, if  not  an  integral  part  of  the  History  of  California, 
has  at  least  so  important  a  bearing  upon  the  subject  that  it 
cannot  be  omitted.  It  will  be  recollected  that  soon  after 
Spain  and  Portugal  entered  upon  their  careers  of  maritime 
discovery  and  while  they  were  quarreling  as  to  their  respect- 
ive rights,  Pope  Nicholas  V.,  to  whom  the  controversy  was 
referred,  assumed  to  grant  to  Spain  all  the  territory  and  the 
oceans  west  of  a  certain  meridian.  Under  this  extraordinary 
grant,  Spain  claimed  nearly  all  of  America  and  the  exclusive 
right  of  navigating  its  coasts;  and,  if  it  had  preserved  the 
pre-eminence  it  then  enjoyed  as  the  first  country  of  Europe, 
it  is  likely  it  would  never  have  permitted  or  recognized  the 
right  of  any  other  people  to  interfere  with  what  it  thus 
claimed  as  its  own.  But,  fortunately  for  the  world,  its  power 
rapidly  declined  and  it  was  compelled  first  to  submit  and 
afterwards  to  consent  to  the  inroads  of  other  nations. 

The  English,  as  a  protestant  people,  denied  the  authority 
of  the  pope  to  make  any  partition  of  the  globe  or  in  any 
manner  exclude  them  from  the  New  World ;  and,  as  the  ene- 
mies of  Spain,  they  were  ever  ready  to  dispute  its  claims  and 
intrude  upon  its  possessions.  At  a  very  early  period,  accord- 
ingly, they  began  depredating  upon  the  commerce  it  carried 
on  with  its  American  provinces,  as  well  in  the  Pacific  as  in 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  planted  the  colonies  along  the  At4arr- 
tic  border  which  afterwards  developed  into  the  great  nation, 
of  which  California  now  forms  a  part.  All  their  voyages 
(668) 


THE  NORTHWEST-COAST  FUR  TRADE.         669 

across  the  Atlantic  and  all  their  settlements  in  America  were 
made  in  direct  opposition  to  the  pretensions  of  Spain  and  in 
open  defiance  of  its  power;  and  it  was  not  until  the  year 
1667,  when  for  the  purpose  of  resisting  the  encroachments  of 
France  it  acquiesced  in  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapclle  and 
joined  the  triple  alliance  of  England,  Holland  and  Sweden, 
that  it  formally  recognized  the  right  of  the  English  to  a  por- 
tion of  the  American  soil.  By  the  tenor  of  that  treaty  it  was 
agreed  that  the  English  king  should  enjoy  the  plenary  right 
of  sovereignty  and  property  over  all  places  then  possessed  by 
him  or  his  subjects  in  the  West  Indies  or  any  part  of  America, 
and  that  neither  party  should  in  any  way  interfere  with  the 
American  possessions  of  the  other. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  French  also  had  penetrated  the  wilds 
of  America  and  established  their  settlements  along  the  line 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  Lakes  and  the  Mississippi.  They  had 
thus  hemmed  in  the  English  settlements  along  the  Atlantic 
coast ;  and,  if  they  had  succeeded  in  their  designs,  the  English- 
speaking  part  of  America,  instead  of  embracing  the  best  part 
of  the  country,  would  have  been  confined  to  narrow  limits  and 
the  history  of  the  world  been  doubtless  very  different.  The 
French  were  a  much  more  formidable  enemy  to  the  English 
than  the  Spaniards  had  ever  been.  But  the  English  colonists 
were  not  to  be  hemmed  in  either  by  the  Spaniards  or  the 
French;  and  the  result  of  their  long  and  bitter  struggles  was 
that  the  English,  aided  by  the  course  of  events  in  Europe,  suc- 
ceeded at  length  in  driving  the  French  almost  entirely  from 
American  soil.  This  was  the  effect  of  the  treaty  of  Paris, 
signed  in  1763,  by  the  terms  of  which  England  became  the 
recognized  owner  of  all  the  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi 
including  Canada  and  Florida,  and  Spain  the  recognized 
owner  of  Louisiana  west  of  the  Mississippi.  France  retained 
New  Orleans  and  the  right  to  navigate  in  common  with  the 
others  the  Mississippi  river;  and  that  was  about  all  that  was 
left  of  its  once  extensive  possessions  in  the  New  World. 

While  the  eastern  side  of  the  continent  thus  passed  as  the 
result  of  long  and  bitter  controversy  into  the  hands  of  the 


670  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

English,  there  was  comparatively  no  interference  with  Spain 
on  the  western  side.  A  few  adventurous  privateersmen,  fol- 
lowed by  pirates  and  buccaneers,  attacked  its  commerce  in  the 
Pacific;  but  they  founded  no  permanent  settlements  and  made 
no  lasting  impression  upon  the  western  world.  Under  the 
extraordinary  grant  of  the  pope,  Spain  still  claimed  all  the 
land  and  all  the  water  on  the  west  side  of  America  from  the 
extreme  south  to  the  extreme  north;  and  it  was  not  disposed 
to  admit  the  claims  of  any  other  nation  even  to  the  ice-bound 
coasts  of  the  arctic  regions.  It  has  already  been  seen  with 
what  zeal  it  prosecuted  its  discoveries  in  the  extreme  north 
and  how  it  kept  steadily  in  view  the  importance  of  extending 
the  Californian  settlements  further  and  further  northward. 
But  while  the  treaty  of  1763  fixed,  so  to  speak,  the  nationality 
of  the  eastern  side  of  the  continent,  it  left  the  western  side 
open  to  incursions,  which  under  the  name  of  scientific  expe- 
ditions and  voyages  of  discovery  finally  culminated  in  a  lodg- 
ment of  the  English  on  the  northwest  coast  somewhat  similar 
to  what  they  had  effected  about  two  hundred  years  previously 
on  the  eastern  side. 

The  first  of  these  expeditions,  which  specially  concerns 
California,  was  what  is  known  as  the  third  and  last  voyage  of 
the  famous  Captain  James  Cook.  It  was  at  that  time  still 
supposed  in  England  that  a  practicable  passage  from  ocean 
to  ocean  to  the  north  of  America  might  yet  be  found;  and,  if 
so,  its  discovery,  in  view  of  the  acquisition  of  Canada  and 
particularly  in  connection  with  the  continuously  asserted  claim 
to  Drake's  discovery  of  New  Albion,  was  a  matter  of  prime 
importance.  The  British  government  was  so  thoroughly  im- 
pressed with  this  that  in  1745  it  had  offered  a  reward  of 
twenty  thousand  pounds  sterling  for  the  discovery  by  a  Brit- 
ish ship  of  a  northwest  passage  through  Hudson's  bay;  and 
in  1776  it  repeated  the  offer  for  any  British  ship  that  might 
discover  and  sail  through  any  northern  passage  from  ocean  to 
ocean  in  any  direction.  Cook  had  just  returned  from  his 
second  voyage,  in  which  he  had  completely  disproved  the 
existence  of  a  habitable  continent  about  the  south  pole.     Rich 


THE  NORTHWEST-COAST  EUR  TRADE.         671 

in  his  experience  of  antarctic  navigation,  he  now  offered  him- 
self for  similar  service  in  the  arctic  regions  and  proposed  an 
expedition  to  the  extreme  waters  of  the  North  Pacific  and 
with  especial  reference  to  the  discovery  of  the  much-desired 
passage.  This  offer  having  been  accepted  by  the  govern- 
ment, two  vessels  were  prepared  and  placed  under  his  com- 
mand ;  and  he  was  instructed  to  sail  with  them  by  the  way  of 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  Otaheite  to  New  Albion  and 
thence  to  the  extreme  north,  where  he  was  to  prosecute  his 
search. 

Cook  sailed  from  Plymouth  in  July,  1776.  After  spending 
more  than  a  year  in  important  investigations  among  the 
islands  of  the  South  Pacific  he,  in  the  beginning  of  1778, 
turned  northward  and  on  January  18  of  that  year  discovered 
the  Hawaiian  or  Sandwich  Islands.  Thence  he  sailed  for  the 
northwest  coast  of  America  and  on  March  7,  1778,  came  in 
sight  of  it  about  two  hundred  miles  north  of  Cape  Mendocino. 
From  that  point  he  coasted  northward;  but  on  account  of 
rough  weather  he  was  compelled  to  keep  at  a  considerable 
distance  from  the  land,  so  that  he  did  not  examine  it  as  care- 
fully as  he  otherwise  might  have  done.  On  March  22,  he 
observed  a  prominent  headland,  to  which  he  gave  the  name 
of  Cape  Flattery.  Proceeding  onward  and  doubling  a  pro- 
jection against  which  the  surf  broke  with  excessive  violence, 
he  entered  and  anchored  in  Nootka  Sound.  Notwithstand- 
ing his  skill  and  care,  he  failed  in  his  coasting  to  observe  either 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  or  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca. 
From  Nootka  he  proceeded  northwestward  but  at  such  a  dis- 
tance from  land  that  he  was  unable  to  examine  the  coast 
until  May  2,  when  he  observed  the  peak,  named  San  Jacinto 
by  Bodega  y  Quadra  and  by  him  called  Mount  Edgecumb. 
Beyond  that  he  observed  and  named  Mount  Fairweather  and 
on  May  4,  descried  the  stupendous  mass  of  Mount  St.  Elias. 
At  that  point  he  commenced  his  special  search  for  a  passage 
by  which  he  might  pass  around  the  north  of  America  into  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.  He  accordingly  followed  the  coast,  carefully 
examining  all  the  inlets,  and  thus  passed  along  westwardly 


672  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

and  then  southvvestwardly  until,  on  June  27,  he  arrived  at 
Unalaska.  On  his  way  he  named  Prince  William's  Sound 
and  Cook's  Inlet.  But  the  further  he  proceeded  the  more  he 
became  convinced  there  was  no  such  passage  as  that  of  which 
he  was  in  search.  On  July  2,  leaving  Unalaska  and  passing 
northward  he  proceeded  along  the  coast  until  August  9,  when 
he  reached  the  extreme  northwestern  point  of  America,  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  Cape  Prince  of  Wales.  From 
that  point  he  crossed  over  to  the  easternmost  point  of  Asia, 
which  he  named  East  Cape;  but  he  did  not  assume  to  change 
the  name  of  the  passage,  only  fifty  miles  in  breadth,  sepa- 
rating these  two  capes  and  therefore  dividing  the  continents, 
which  retained  and  will  probably  for  many  ages  retain  in 
honor  of  its  illustrious  discoverer  the  name  of  Behring's 
Straits. 

Beyond  Behring's  Straits,  Cook  traced  the  American  coast 
northeastward  as  far  as  Icy  Cape  and  the  Asiatic  coast  north- 
westward as  far  as  North  Cape.  These  respectively  were  the 
extreme  limits  to  which  the  arctic  ices  would  permit  him  at 
that  season  of  the  year  to  advance.  He  therefore  deemed  it 
prudent  for  the  time  being  to  retire  and  did  so  with  the  inten- 
tion of  renewing  his  search  the  next  spring.  Accordingly, 
turning  to  the  southward,  he  returned  to  Unalaska,  where  he 
arrived  for  the  second  time  on  October  3,  and  thence  sailed  to 
the  scene  of  the  most  famous  of  all  his  discoveries,  the  Ha- 
waiian Islands.  On  his  first  visit  to  this  important  group  he 
examined  only  the  island  of  Kauai.  He  now,  on  his  second 
visit,  discovered  Hawaii,  called  by  him  Owyhee,  and  Maui, 
called  by  him  Mowee.  He  passed  several  months  at  Kara- 
kooa  bay  on  the  westerly  side  of  Hawaii;  and  there  on  Febru- 
ary 16,  1779,  he  met  his  death  at  the  hands  of  the  natives. 
Captain  Charles  Clerke,  who  succeeded  to  the  command  of 
the  expedition,  endeavored  to  prosecute  the  search  into  the 
Arctic  Ocean  in  the  summer  of  1779  and  proceeded  by  the 
way  of  Petropaulovski  in  Kamtschatka  to  and  beyond  Behr- 
ing's Straits;  but,  on  account  of  the  great  rigor  of  the  season, 
Clerke  found  himself  unable  to  advance  even  as  far  as  Cook 


THE  NORTHWEST-COAST  FUR  TRADE.         673 

had  reached  the  previous  year.  He  therefore,  both  for  this 
reason  and  because  his  health  was  rapidly  failing,  returned  to 
Petropaulovski,  near  which  place  he  died  on  August  22,  1779. 
Lieutenant  John  Gore,  the  next  in  rank,  then  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  ships.  He  might  possibly  have  turned  again  to 
the  north;  but  it  was  found  upon  examination  that  the  vessels 
were  in  such  bad  condition  that  it  was  deemed  prudent  to 
return  immediately  to  England;  and  Gore  accordingly  turned 
southwestward  and  in  December  anchored  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river  near  Canton  in  China. 

There  the  importance  of  the  northwest  coast  in  an  entirely 
new  point  of  view  became  demonstrated  in  a  very  unexpected 
manner.  It  appears  that  when  Cook  lay  at  Nootka  and 
afterwards  when  coasting  along  the  shores  of  Alaska,  he,  as 
well  as  his  officers  and  even  the  common  seamen,  procured 
from  the  natives  a  quantity  of  furs  in  exchange  for  knives, 
buttons  and  other  articles  of  trifling  account.  There  was  no 
thought  of  their  being  valuable  as  articles  of  commerce. 
They  were  in  fact  considered  of  so  little  importance  that  they 
were  used  as  common  bedding;  and,  by  the  time  the  ships 
set  out  on  their  return  for  Europe,  most  of  them  were  so  worn 
as  to  be  comparatively  worthless.  But  as  soon  as  the  Rus- 
sian traders  at  Petropaulovski  caught  sight  of  these  skins, 
worn  as  they  were,  they  immediately  offered  unexpected 
prices  lor  them  and  made  good  their  offers  by  purchasing  a 
number.  They  showed  themselves  so  anxious  to  buy  all 
they  could  procure  that  the  eyes  of  the  English  were  opened; 
and,  as  the  result  of  a  few  rapid  inquiries,  it  was  ascertained 
that  such  furs  as  had  thus  been  procured  for  almost  nothing 
were  of  immense  value  in  China.  Upon  the  strength  of  this 
information,  the  skins  that  had  not  already  been  disposed  of 
were  carefully  gathered  up  and  packed  away;  and,  upon  the 
arrival  of  the  vessels  at  Canton,  they  were  offered  for  sale  in 
the  market  of  that  great  city.  The  information  of  their 
commercial  value  in  that  market,  procured  at  Petropaulovski, 
proved  to  be  far  below  the  fact:  on  the  contrary  the  Chinese 
began  outbidding  one  another  in  their  eagerness  to  purchase; 

43     Vol.  I. 


674  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

and  by  judicious  bargaining  the  English  managed  to  realize 
immense  profits — so  much  so  that  they  became  convinced 
that  with  a  full  cargo  of  such  furs,  as  might  easily  have  been 
procured  if  they  had  been  aware  of  their  value,  all  would 
have  been  enriched.  Such  being  the  case,  there  was  a  gen- 
eral desire  on  the  part  of  the  sailors,  notwithstanding  the 
length  of  time  already  spent  in  the  cruise  and  the  bad  con- 
dition of  the  ships,  to  turn  immediately  around  and  make  a 
second  voyage  to  the  northwest  coast;  and  they  almost  broke 
out  into  mutiny  when  their  requests  in  this  direction  were 
denied  and  their  prospects  of  becoming  suddenly  rich  were 
thus  thwarted.  They  were,  however,  at  last  obliged  to  yield; 
and  the  ships,  after  finishing  their  business  at  Canton,  pur- 
sued their  return  voyage  by  the  way  of  Good  Hope  to 
England,  where  they  arrived  in  October,  1780. 

At  the  time  Cook  left  Plymouth  on  the  voyage  just  referred 
to,  England  had  already  become  involved  in  the  war  of  the 
American  revolution,  and  on  the  return  of  the  ships  that  war 
was  still  in  progress.  There  being  then  little  prospect  of 
any  speedy  termination  of  the  struggle,  France  having  joined 
the  Americans  and  Russia  having  proposed  and  carried  its 
project  of  armed  neutrality,  by  reason  of  all  which  England 
found  that  it  had  a  much  more  hopeless  task  on  hand  than  it 
had  at  first  anticipated,  the  British  ministry  deemed  it  proper 
to  withdraw  from  publication  all  accounts  of  Cook's  voyage 
and  its  results;  and  it  was  not  until  1784,  after  the  close  of 
the  war,  that  the  journals  of  the  expedition  were  given  to  the 
world.  The  information  contained  in  them  as  to  the  geogra- 
phy of  the  northwest  coast  and  particularly  as  to  the  abun- 
dance and  commercial  value  of  the  furs,  which  that  coast 
yielded,  immediately  attracted  the  attention  of  all  the  mari- 
time nations  to  the  North  Pacific;  and  in  the  course  of  a  very 
few  years  a  number  of  vessels  of  various  nationalities  were 
fitted  out  and  got  under  way  for  the  new  avenues  of  gain  thus 
opened  up. 

The  next  important  voyage  of  discovery  to  the  North  Pa- 
cific under  the  auspices  of  a  nation  other  than  Spain,  after 
that  of  Cook,  emanated  from  France.     It  was  that  of  Jean 


THE  NORTHWEST-COAST  FUR  TRADE.         675 

Francois  de  Gallaup,  Count  de  la  Perouse.  He  sailed  from 
Brest  in  August,  1785,  with  two  vessels  and  under  instruc- 
tions to  explore  the  portions  of  the  northwest  coast  which 
had  not  been  examined  by  Cook,  and  also  to  search  for  a 
northern  passage  eastward  into  the  Atlantic.  He  proceeded 
by  the  way  of  Cape  Horn  to  Chili,  where  he  arrived  in  Feb- 
ruary. Thence  he  sailed  by  the  way  of  the  Sandwich  Islands 
to  the  northwest  coast  of  America,  which  he  first  saw  at 
Mount  Fairweather  on  June  23,  1786.  From  that  point  he 
examined  the  coast  southward  and  particularly  the  western 
shore  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island.  Continuing  on  to  the 
southward,  but  either  relying  too  implicitly  on  Cook's  exam- 
ination or  for  some  other  reason  keeping  too  far  out  from 
land,  he  also  failed  to  observe  either  the  Straits  of  Juan  de 
Fuca  or  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  In  September  he 
reached  and  anchored  at  Monterey,  where  he  remained  six- 
teen days.  During  his  stay  he  gathered  up  a  considerable 
amount  of  information  in  reference  to  the  country  and  made 
a  number  of  keen  observations,  which  were  afterwards  pub- 
lished in  his  journals.  But  perhaps  the  most  important  serv- 
ice he  did  and  one  for  which  he  must  be  considered  a  bene- 
factor was  the  introduction  into  California  of  potatoes,  which 
he  had  brought  from  Chili,1  and  the  dissemination  of  various 
grains  and  seeds,  which  he  had  brought  with  him  from  France, 
all  of  which  were  in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation.2  He 
also,  or  rather  M.  de  Langle  of  his  expedition,  upon  seeing 
the  slow,  tedious,  and  laborious  method  of  grinding  grain 
upon  metates,  presented  the  missionaries  of  San  Carlos  with 
a  hand-mill  by  means  of  which  four  women  could  do  the 
ordinary  work  of  a  hundred.3  It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether 
this  gift  was  considered  as  beneficial  as  the  donor  thought  it- 
would  be.  Both  the  missionaries  and  the  Indians  were  accus- 
tomed to  the  old  plan  and  by  no  means  disposed  to  adopt 
what  they  thought  new-fangled  notions.  Although  the 
French  mill  may  have  been  tried  by  way  of  experiment  or 

1  La  Perouse,  I,  460. 

2  La  Perouse,   I,  441,  442. 

3  La  Perouse,  I,  450. 


G76  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

curiosity,  the  method  of  grinding  grain  by  a  machine  does 
not  appear  to  have  become  popular.  A  few  rude  mills,  some 
driven  by  mules  and  others  by  water  power,  were  introduced 
a  few  years  afterwards;  but  there  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  any  great  desire  for  improvements  of  this  kind.  (  Langs- 
dorff,  in  1806,  was  informed  that  the  missionaries  were  op- 
posed to  mills  for  the  reason  that  they  had  so  many  Indians 
that  they  wished  to  keep  them  constantly  employed  and 
were  afraid  of  making  them  idle  if  labor  were  too  much 
facilitated.1  That  some  may  have  argued  in  this  manner 
in  those  primitive  times  is  possible;  but  there  were  other 
reasons.  Either  because  tortillas  made  upon  metates  were 
considered  sweeter  than  those  made  of  machine-crushed 
meal,  or  because  the  old  method  was  considered  the  best 
merely  because  it  was  the  old  method,  the  metates  held  their 
ground  against  the  mills  and,  among  some  of  the  very  old 
Californians,  metate-made  tortillas  are  preferred  to  this  day. 
From  California  La  Perouse  crossed  over  to  Asia  and 
among  other  places  visited  Petropaulovski,  from  which  place 
he  forwarded  his  journals  to  France.  From  Petropaulovski 
he  sailed  to  the  Navigators'  Islands  where  De  Langle  and  a 
number  of  his  men  were  killed  by  the  natives.  Thence  La 
Perouse  proceeded  to  Botany  Bay,  whence  he  sent  word  in 
February,  1788,  of  his  intention  to  sail  to  the  Isle  of  France; 
and  that  was  the  last  direct  information  received.  An  expe- 
dition was  sent  put  in  1791  in  search  of  him;  but  no  traces 
could  be  found.  He  and  his  ships  and  his  people  had  all  dis- 
appeared so  completely  that  more  than  ordinary  interest  in 
his  fate  was  felt;  and  for  many  years  speculations  of  all  kinds 
as  to  what  had  become  of  him  were  rife.  Some  forty  years 
afterwards,  it  was  heard  that  two  vessels  had  been  wrecked 
and  all  their  people  killed  or  lost  about  that  length  of  time 
previously  at  one  of  the  New  Hebrides  Islands;  and  on  the 
supposition,  which  was  doubtless  correct,  that  they  were  those 
of  La  Perouse,  a  monument  was  erected  near  the  spot  at  the 
cost  of  the  French  government/ 

1  Langsdorffs  Voyages  and  Travels,  London,  1814,  169. 
J  See  Wood's  Natural  History  of  Man,  II,  307. 


THE  NORTHWEST-COAST  FUR  TRADE.         677 

After  Cook  and  La  Perouse,  a  number  of  voyages  for  the 
purpose  of  commercial  gain  were  made  to  the  North  Pacific 
chiefly  by  private  English  adventurers.  They  served  to 
establish  the  fur  trade  between  the  northwest  coast  and 
China;  but  in  other  respects  are  of  little  or  no  concern.  They 
made  no  discoveries  and,  except  in  so  far  as  they  encouraged 
that  trade,  had  no  appreciable  influence  upon  the  history  of 
California.  By  this  time  the  famous  South  Sea  Company 
had  secured  from  the  British  parliament  the  right,  exclusive 
of  all  other  British  subjects,  to  the  navigation  of  the  Pacific 
by  the  way  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan  or  Cape  Horn,  while 
the  still  more  famous  East  India  Company  had  secured  a 
similar  right  to  the  navigation  of  the  Pacific  by  the  way  of 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  '  The  private  adventurers,  being 
thus  excluded  from  entering  the  Pacific  as  British  subjects, 
were  obliged  to  assume  another  nationality;  and  for  this 
reason  almost  all  of  them  sailed  under  Portuguese  colors. 
But  as  already  stated  their  voyages  had  little  bearing  upon 
California  and  do  not  require  further  notice. 

The  next  voyage  worthy  of  special  mention  was  that  of 
Nathaniel  Portlock  and  George  Dixon.  They  sailed  from 
London  in  1785,  under  the  auspices  of  the  King  George's 
Sound  Company,  with  the  object  of  monopolizing  the  fur  trade 
between  America  and  China.  For  this  purpose  they  had 
obtained  a  license  to  navigate  the  Pacific  from  the  South  Sea 
Company.  Proceeding  by  the  way  of  Cape  Horn  and  the 
Sandwich  Islands  they  reached  Cook's  Inlet  in  July,  1786, 
ran  along  the  coast  to  Nootka  and  thence  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  where  they  wintered.  The  next  year  they  returned 
to  Cook's  Inlet  and  Prince  William's  Sound,  at  which  latter 
place  they  separated,  Portlock  devoting  his  attention  to 
trading  in  that  neighborhood  while  Dixon  ran  down  the 
coast  and  visited  and  imposed  the  names  of  Norfolk  Sound, 
Dixon's  Channel  and  Queen  Charlotte's  Island  upon  the 
places  which  are  still  so  called.  From  the  latter  place  Dixon 
ran  down  to  Nootka  and  thence  to  Canton,  where  he  rejoined 
Portlock,  who  had  proceeded  there  direct  from   Prince   Wil- 


678  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

liam's  Sound.  They  both  carried  with  them  to  China  a  large- 
quantity  of  furs;  but  by  that  time  the  market  had  become 
glutted;  and  their  voyage,  in  so  far  as  it  was  intended  to 
monopolize  the  fur  trade  or  as  a  commercial  venture,  proved 
a  failure. 

While  Portlock  and  Dixon  were  at  Prince  William's  Sound 
in  1787  they  found  there  Captain  John  Meares,  who  had 
sailed  in  a  small  vessel  under  the  flag  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany from  Calcutta  in  1786  and,  after  visiting  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  had  arrived  at  Prince  William's  Sound,  where  he- 
spent  the  winter.  At  the  time  he  was  thus  found,  his  vessel 
was  frozen  up  in  the  ice;  one-half  his  crew  were  dead  and  the 
survivors  were  suffering  dreadfully  from  the  scurvy.  Portlock 
and  Dixon  also  found  on  the  northwest  coast  in  1787  Captain 
Charles  Duncan  in  command  of  the  sloop  Princess  Royal  and 
Captain  James  Colnett  in  command  of  the  ship  Prince  of 
Wales,  who  had  likewise  been  sent  out  by  the  King  George's 
Sound  Company  for  the  purpose  of  prosecuting  the  fur  trade 
and  aiding  in  establishing  the  monopoly  contemplated  by 
that  association  as  before  stated.  In  the  same  year  1787,  that 
coast  was  also  visited  by  Captain  Berkeley,  or  Barclay  as  he 
was  sometimes  known,  another  Englishman,  who  however 
carried  the  flag  of  the  Austrian  East  India  Company.  His 
ship  was  called  the  Imperial  Eagle  and  had  sailed  from 
Ostend  the  preceding  year.  Each  of  these  persons  did  some- 
thing to  acquire  distinction  and  merits  passing  notice. 

Captain  Berkeley,  running  south  from  Nootka,  discovered 
the  broad  arm  of  the  sea  which  constitutes  the  mouth  or 
entrance  of  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca.  He  did  not  enter  it 
or  attempt  to  explore  it;  but  he  was  the  first,  if  the  claims  of 
the  old  Greek  pilot  Juan  de  Fuca  himself  are  to  be  excluded, 
who  made  its  existence  known  to  the  world.  It  had  been 
frequently  passed  and  repassed;  but  no  other  navigator  had 
seen  it  under  such  circumstances  as  to  place  its  existence 
beyond  further  doubt  or  question.  From  that  locality  he 
sailed  down  the  coast  to  a  small  island  which,  on  account  of 
the  massacre  of  a  boat's  crew,  whom  he  had  sent  ashore,  he 


THE  NORTHWEST-COAST  FUR  TRADE.         679 

called  Destruction  Island,  a  name  it  still  bears.  Thence  he 
proceeded  to  China.1  Captain  Duncan  on  the  other  hand 
confined  his  investigations  principally  to  the  land  and  water 
north  of  Nootka  and  ascertained  the  insular  character  of 
Queen  Charlotte's  Island  and  discovered,  explored  and  named 
the  Princess  Royal  archipelago.  These  discoveries  revived 
the  old  stories  of  Juan  de  Fuca  and  Admiral  Fonte  and  theif 
pretended  passages  from  ocean  to  ocean.  Juan  de  Fuca's 
account,  in  so  far  as  it  referred  to  the  western  entrance  of  his 
supposed  passage,  corresponded  so  nearly  with  Berkeley's  dis- 
covery that  his  name  became  indissolubly  attached,  so  to 
speak,  to  the  straits  thus  discovered.  As  for  Fonte,  it  was 
long  supposed  that  among  the  many  inlets  observed  by 
Duncan  one  would  be  found  leading  into  a  great  river  as 
asserted  by  him;  but  further  investigations  proved  the  entire 
falsity  of  his  story;  and  his  name  was  relegated  to  compara- 
tive oblivion. 

Captain  Meares  and  Captain  Colnett,  although  they  accom- 
plished little  or  nothing  in  the  way  of  discovery,  exploration 
or  successful  fur-trading,  yet  managed  to  fill  a  large  space  in 
the  notoriety  of  their  day  and  came  near  embroiling  two  great 
nations  in  a  war.  Having  carried  the  furs  they  collected  in 
1787  to  China,  Meares  there  fitted  out  a  new  expedition  con- 
sisting of  the  ship  Felice  and  the  brig  Iphigenia,  which  sailed 
from  Macao  in  January,  1788.  These  vessels  seem  to  have  been 
owned  by  private  Englishmen  resident  in  China,  having  no 
connection  with  either  the  East  India  or  the  South  Sea  Com- 
pany and  without  license  therefore  as  Englishmen  to  navigate 
the  Pacific  Ocean  or  engage  in  the  fur  trade.  Under  these 
circumstances  and  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  the  English 
laws,  it  was  pretended  that  the  vessels  belonged  to  Juan 
Cavallo,  a  Portuguese  merchant  of  Macao.  Their  papers 
were  made  out  in  Cavallo's  name  and  in  the  Portuguese  lan- 
guage; and  they  sailed  under  the  Portuguese  flag.  As  Por- 
tuguese vessels  they  also  carried  instructions,  duly  made  out, 
to  the  effect  that,  if  interfered  with  by  either  English,  Spanish 

1  Greenhow,  171. 


680  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

or  Russian  vessels,  they  should  resist  to  the  utmost  of  their 
power;  and,  if  successful  in  making  captures  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, they  should  bring  their  prizes  to  China  for  adju- 
dication. The  Felice  proceeded  directly  to  Nootka,  where 
Meares  landed  his  crew  and  set  them  at  work  building  a 
small  vessel,  which  he  named  the  Northwest  America.  Leav- 
ing a  portion  of  his  men  to  complete  this  vessel,  he  proceeded 
with  the  remainder  down  the  coast;  made  a  partial  examina- 
tion of  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  and  then  sailed  down  as 
far  as  the  cape  which  forms  the  northern  point  of  the  mouth  of 
the  Columbia  river,  in  search  of  a  port  supposed  to  exist  in 
that  neighborhood.  He  found  there  a  sort  of  bay;  but  the 
swell  was  so  prodigious,  the  water  so  shoal  and  the  breakers 
so  violent  that  he  deemed  it  prudent  to  keep  out  from  the 
land  and  sailed  over  to  the  headland  forming  the  southern 
point  of  the  bay.  Having  thus  failed  to  find  a  port,  he  named 
the  cape  at  the  north  of  the  bay  Cape  Disappointment  and 
the  bay  itself  Deception  Bay.  He  thus  passed  the  mouth 
of  the  largest  and  grandest  river  on  the  west  coast  of  America, 
without  seeing  it.  There  existed  a  vague  sort  of  a  rumor 
that  a  great  river,  called  by  the  Spaniards  the  San  Roque, 
discharged  in  that  vicinity;  but  Meares,  having  thus  passed 
along  and  not  observed  it,  confidently  asserted  that  no  such 
river  existed.  It  would  appear  that  the  extraordinary  swell, 
the  remarkable  shoaling  of  the  water  and  the  violent  breakers 
and  especially  when  thus  combined,  should  have  attracted 
his  attention  and  quickened  his  perceptions;  but,  carelessly 
sailing  on,  he  ran  down  as  far  as  Cape  Lookout;  and  then 
turning  round  and  keeping  out  to  sea  he  returned  to  Nootka. 
The  Iphigenia,  meanwhile,  sailed  from  Macao  to  Cook's  Inlet 
and  after  collecting  a  cargo  of  furs  also  proceeded  to  Nootka, 
where  it  joined  Meares  towards  the  end  of  the  summer.  It 
was  now  determined  that  the  cargo  of  the  Iphigenia  should 
be  transferred  to  the  Felice,  which  should  return  with  Meares 
to  China,  while  the  Iphigenia  and  the  small  Northwest  Amer- 
ica, which  had  by  this  time  been  completed  at  Nootka  and 
was  just  launched,  should  cross  over  to  the  Sandwich  Islands; 


THE  NORTHWEST-COAST  FUR  TRADE.         681 

winter  there,  and  in  the  early  spring  return  to  Nootka, 
where  Meares  would  rejoin  them  for  the  business  of  the  next 
year  and  further  prosecution  of  the  object  of  the  general 
venture. 

Upon  his  arrival  in  China,  Meares  found  that  Juan  Cavallo, 
the  Portuguese  merchant  under  whose  name  he  had  been 
conducting  his  expedition,  had  become  a  bankrupt.  It  there- 
fore became  at  once  necessary  to  make  new  arrangements. 
These  were  soon  perfected  by  a  compromise  and  accommo- 
dation with  the  King  George's  Sound  Company,  by  the  terms 
of  which  the  Felice  was  sold  and  a  new  ship,  called  the  Argo- 
naut, purchased  and  prepared  for  the  northwest  coast.  This 
vessel  and  the  Princess  Royal,  which  had  previously  been 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Colnett  as  before  stated,  were 
then  prepared  for  the  northwest  coast  and  sailed  from  Macao 
for  that  destination  in  April,  1789.  Colnett  was  placed  in 
command  of  the  Argonaut  and  Captain  William  Hudson  of 
the  Princess  Royal.  Possessing  the  license  of  the  King 
George's  Sound  Company  and  having  therefore  no  need  of 
the  Portuguese  flag,  they  sailed  under  English  colors.  While 
these  vessels  were  on  their  way  across  the  ocean,  the  brig 
Iphigenia  and  the  schooner  Northwest  America,  which  in 
accordance  with  Meares'  instructions  of  the  previous  year  had 
wintered  at  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  which  still  sailed  under 
the  Portuguese  flag,  returned  to  Nootka.  They  arrived  there 
in  April,  1789,  in  very  bad  condition — so  wretched  in  fact  that 
the  brig  was  compelled  to  lie  up  and  only  the  schooner,  with 
the  assistance  of  aid  supplied  by  some  ships  of  the  United 
States  then  in  those  waters,  was  enabled  to  keep  the  sea  and 
prosecute  trade  along  the  coast. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Spain  had  been  observing  with  great 
dissatisfaction  the  movements  of  the  fur  traders  on  the  north- 
west coast,  regarding  them  as  interfering  with  its  own  claims 
to  the  sovereignty  of  those  regions.  These  feelings  con- 
tinued to  grow  stronger  and  stronger  until  at  length  Manuel 
de  Flores,  the  then  viceroy  at  Mexico,  resolved  to  send  an 
expedition  of  inquiry  thither.     For  this  purpose  two  vessels, 


682  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

the  corvette  Princesa  under  command  of  Estevan  Martinez 
and  the  schooner  San  Carlos  under  command  of  Gonzalo  de 
Haro,  sailed  from  San  Bias  in  March,  1788,  and  proceeded  to 
Prince  William's  Sound.  From  that  place  they  sailed  to 
Unalaska,  carefully  examining  the  Russian  establishments  as 
they  went  along,  and  then  returned  to  San  Bias.  They  had 
scarcely  dropped  their  anchors,  however,  when  the  viceroy 
Flores,  who  by  this  time  had  become  thoroughly  roused  to 
the  dangers  threatened  to  the  Spanish  sovereignty  of  the 
northwest  coast,  ordered  them  to  prepare  for  a  new  expedi- 
tion; and  on  this  occasion  he  directed  them  to  proceed  at 
once  to  Nootka  and  maintain  there  the  paramount  rights  of 
the  Spanish  crown.  Martinez  and  De  Haro  sailed  from  San 
Bias,  upon  this  mission,  in  the  early  part  of  1789  and  arrived 
at  Nootka  in  May  of  that  year.  They  immediately  landed 
their  artillery  and  supplies  and  began  the  erection  of  a  fort. 
They  visited  and  were  visited  by  the  officers  of  the  Iphigenia. 
Great  good  feeling  seemed  to  prevail  for  a  week  and  upwards^ 
when  suddenly  Martinez,  having  invited  the  officers  of  the 
Iphigenia  on  board  his  vessel,  informed  them  that  they  were 
his  prisoners  and  that  their  ship  was  seized.  William  Doug- 
las, the  master  of  the  brig,  demanded  the  cause  of  such  arrest 
and  seizure  and  was  told  that  as  his  ship's  papers  required 
him  to  seize  any  Spanish  vessel  found  on  the  coast  and  as  he 
was  about  to  be  reinforced  by  vessels  on  their  way  from 
China,  the  Spanish  authorities  did  not  feel  disposed  to  run 
the  risk  of  being  interfered  with  and  thought  proper  to  pre- 
vent such  interference  by  making  the  first  seizure.  Upon 
this,  negotiations  were  at  once  opened;  and  the  result  was 
the  execution  of  a  bond  by  the  officers  of  the  Iphigenia  in 
the  name  of  Juan  Cavallo  of  Macao,  the  reputed  owner,  to 
pay  its  value  provided  the  seizure  should  be  pronounced  by 
competent  authorities  a  legal  one,  and  the  release  of  the  ves- 
sel and  its  officers.  A  short  time  afterwards  the  Iphigenia, 
having  in  the  meanwhile  been  furnished  by  the  Spaniards 
with  supplies,  proceeded  on  its  trading  voyage  up  the  coast 
and,  after  collecting  a  cargo,  sailed  for  China. 


THE  NORTHWEST-COAST  FUR  TRADE.         683 

Some  week  or  ten  days  after  the  departure  of  the  Iphigenia, 
the  schooner  Northwest  America  returned  to  Nootka  and  as 
its  papers  were  substantially  the  same  as  those  of  the  Iphi- 
genia, it  was  also  seized  by  Martinez.  A  few  days  subse- 
quently, the  Princess  Royal,  one  of  the  vessels  that  had  last 
left  China,  arrived  with  the  news  of  the  failure  of  Juan  Ca- 
vallo,  whereupon  Martinez  expressed  his  determination  to  hold 
the  Northwest  America  as  security  for  the  bond  which  had 
been  executed  by  the  officers  of  the  Iphigenia  in  Cavallo's 
name.  Its  cargo  was  accordingly  taken  out  and  placed  on 
board  the  Princess  Royal  and  the  schooner  was  equipped  and 
sent  out  on  a  trading  voyage  by  Martinez.  Such  was  the 
position  of  affairs  when  Colnett  arrived  from  China  in  the 
Argonaut. 

The  day  after  dropping  his  anchor  Colnett  was  invited  on 
Martinez'  vessel.  He  repaired  thither  in  his  uniform  and  with 
his  sword  at  his  side.  Upon  being  asked  for  his  papers,  he 
informed  Martinez  of  his  intention  to  take  possession  of 
Nootka  and  erect  a  fort  there  under  the  British  flag.  Mar- 
tinez replied  that  he  could  not  permit  this  to  be  done  as  the 
place  was  already  occupied  by  the  forces  and  in  the  name  of 
the  king  of  Spain.  An  altercation  ensued,  in  the  course  of 
which  Colnett  drew  or  attempted  to  draw  his  sword ;  and  he 
was  thereupon  arrested  and  placed  in  confinement  by  Mar- 
tinez. This  treatment  inflamed  the  natural  violence  of  his 
temper  to  such  a  degree  as  to  render  him  insane,  in  which 
condition  he  continued  for  several  weeks.  In  the  meanwhile 
Martinez  seized  the  Argonaut,  and  a  few  days  afterwards  the 
Princess  Royal  also,  and  transferred  their  cargoes  to  the 
Spanish  ships.  Subsequently  the  Argonaut  was  placed  under 
command  of  a  Spanish  lieutenant  and  sent  to  San  Bias  with 
Captain  Colnett,  his  officers  and  a  large  portion  of  his  crew 
on  board  as  prisoners  of  war,  while  the  Princess  Royal  and 
the  Northwest  America  were  detained  and  used  by  the  Span- 
iards for  trading  voyages  on  their  own  account  along  the 
coast.  Martinez,  having  thus  according  to  his  understand- 
ing of  his  instructions  asserted  the  paramount  rights  of  the 


G84  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

Spanish  crown,  continued  in  the  same  general  manner  to 
maintain  them  until  November,  when  on  account  of  further 
orders  from  Mexico  he  broke  up  the  establishment  at  Nootka 
and  with  all  his  ships  returned  to  San  Bias. 

The  Argonaut  had  in  the  meanwhile,  on  August  16,  arrived 
at  San  Bias  and  proceedings  were  at  once  commenced  for 
its  condemnation  as  lawful  prize.  Colnett  and  his  men  were 
removed  on  shore  and  kept  prisoners  until  the  arrival  of 
Bodega  y  Quadra,  the  comandante  of  the  department,  then 
temporarily  absent.  That  gentleman,  himself  a  navigator 
who  had  sailed  the  northwestern  seas  and  an  officer  of  great 
capacity  and  prudence,  as  soon  as  he  understood  the  state  of 
affairs,  treated  Colnett  with  distinguished  consideration  and 
sent  him  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  where  the  matter  of  the  seizure 
of  the  Argonaut  and  other  British  vessels  and  incidentally  the 
conduct  of  Martinez  in  making  the  seizures  and  thus  main- 
taining the  paramount  rights  of  the  Spanish  crown  were  under 
investigation.  In  the  course  of  a  few  months  the  result  of 
the  inquiry  was  announced — a  result  evidently  induced  rather 
by  political  than  judicial  considerations  and  very  different 
from  what  might  have  been  expected  in  the  high  and  palmy 
days  of  the  Spanish  monarchy — to  the  effect  that  Martinez 
had  proceeded  in  conformity  with  law  and  the  vessels  might 
be  retained  as  lawful  prize;  but,  on  account  of  the  apparent 
ignorance  of  Colnett  and  his  people  of  the  rights  of  Spain 
in  the  premises  and  also  for  the  sake  of  preserving  peace  with 
England,  they  should  be  released  with  the  simple  condition 
not  again  to  attempt  to  settle  or  trade  with  the  natives  at 
any  point  on  the  Spanish  American  coasts.  Colnett,  being 
thus  if  not  justified  at  least  excused  at  the  hands  of  the 
Spanish  authorities,  immediately  returned  to  San  Bias  and, 
after  receiving  back  the  Argonaut  and  gathering  up  those  of 
his  people  who  still  remained,  sailed  for  Nootka  where  he 
expected  to  receive  the  Princess  Royal,  for  which  he  carried 
an  order.  Upon  arriving  there,  however,  he  found  that  place 
deserted  and  he  therefore  sailed  for  China.  In  1791  he  pro- 
ceeded from  China  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  the  Prin- 


THE  NORTHWEST-COAST  FUR  TRADE.         685 

cess  Royal  was  at  length  restored,  having  been  retained  and 
employed  by  the  Spanish  for  a  period  of  about  two  years. 

Meanwhile  the  news  of  the  seizure  of  the  British  vessels  was 
carried  not  only  to  Meares,  who  was  still  in  China  and  who 
forthwith  began  to  fulminate  thunders  with  which  he  hoped 
to  shake  the  Spanish  throne,  but  also  reached  the  courts  of 
Spain  and  England  and  gave  rise  to  a  long  and  bitter  contro- 
versy which  for  a  time  threatened  the  most  serious  conse- 
quences. In  February,  1790,  the  Spanish  ambassador  at 
London  presented  a  note  to  the  British  ministry  communi- 
cating the  facts  of  the  seizure,  complaining  of  the  infringe- 
ment of  the  Spanish  rights  to  the  northwest  coast  by  British 
subjects  and  demanding  that  the  guilty  parties  should  be 
punished  by  their  own  government,  and  interference  with  the 
rights  of  Spain  prevented  for  the  future.  To  this  the  British 
minister  answered  that  the  seizure  of  British  subjects  and 
property,  as  described  in  the  ambassador's  note,  was  an  act  of 
violence  and  that  no  discussion  of  the  matters  of  which  he 
complained  could  be  admitted  until  the  seizures  should  be 
restored  and  satisfaction  given  for  the  insult  offered  to  the 
British  flag.  This  answer  being  transmitted  to  Madrid,  the 
Spanish  cabinet  suspected  that  England  was  using  the  occa- 
sion as  a  mere  pretext  for  a  rupture  and  at  once  began  to 
make  preparations  for  war.  At  the  same  time,  however,  the 
Spanish  ambassador  at  London  was  directed  to  address  a 
second  note  to  the  British  ministry,  announcing  the  release 
and  restoration  of  the  seizures;  asking  that  the  affair  might  be 
considered  as  concluded  without  entering  into  any  dispute  or 
discussion  as  to  the  rights  of  Spain,  and  desiring  only  that 
British  subjects  might  be  commanded  to  respect  those  rights 
in  future. 

The  controversy  was  at  this  stage  when  Meares  arrived  in 
London,  armed  with  affidavits  and  complaints  in  nowise  cal- 
culated to  further  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  difficulty.  On 
the  contrary,  in  consequence  of  his  representations,  orders 
were  given  for  the  arming  of  two  large  fleets;  and  the  subject, 
as  a  matter  of  great  national  importance,  was  by  royal  mes- 


686  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

sage  submitted  to  parliament.  At  the  same  time  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  British  government  at  Madrid  presented  to 
the  Spanish  government  a  formal  demand  for  full  reparation 
and  asserted  as  a  principle,  which  would  be  maintained  by 
England,  that  British  subjects  had  an  indisputable  right  to 
free  and  uninterrupted  navigation,  commerce  and  fishery  and 
to  the  possession  of  all  such  establishments  as  they  might 
form  with  the  consent  of  the  natives  of  any  country  not  occu- 
pied by  any  other  European  nation.  This  demand  called 
forth  from  the  court  of  Madrid  a  circular  letter  addressed  to 
the  other  courts  of  Europe,  in  which  the  facts  of  the  dispute 
were  recited,  disclaiming  any  intention  to  commit  an  act  of 
injustice  and  declaring  the  readiness  of  Spain  to  satisfy  any 
well-founded  claims  that  might  be  made  against  it.  The 
result  was  a  conference  between  the  representatives  of  En- 
gland and  Spain;  and  finally  it  was  agreed  that  Spain, 
besides  restitution  of  the  seized  vessels  and  cargoes,  should 
indemnify  their  owners  for  all  losses  and  make  satisfaction 
for  the  supposed  insult  to  the  British  flag,  it  being  provided 
however,  that  the  extent  of  such  insult  and  satisfaction  should 
be  first  determined  by  further  negotiation  or  by  a  referee  to 
be  selected  by  England  among  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe. 
In  the  meanwhile  the  king  of  Spain,  in  view  of  the  attitude 
assumed  by  England,  had  applied  to  the  king  of  France  for 
assistance;  and  the  French  king,  being  under  treaty  obliga- 
tions to  render  such  assistance,  had  ordered  an  increase  of  his 
navy.  It  happened,  however,  at  this  juncture  that  the  cur- 
rent of  national  affairs  in  France  was  fast  rushing  into  the 
vortex  of  the  Revolution.  The  king  was  already  powerless; 
the  national  assembly  was  in  session;  and,  when  the  subject 
of  the  Nootka  broil  and  the  action  of  the  king  in  relation 
thereto  were  brought  before  it,  occasion  was  taken  by  that 
body  to  determine  that  it  was  no  longer  the  king  but  only 
the  nation  that  could  declare  war  and  ratify  treaties.  At  the 
same  time,  the  French  nation,  while  it  could  not  regard  itself 
bound  by  the  obligations  of  the  French  king,  recognized  the 
fact  that  a  spirit  of  hostility  had  been  fomented;  that  arma- 


THE  NORTHWEST-COAST  FUR  TRADE,         687 

ments  were  preparing;  that  at  any  moment  a  conflict  might 
commence;  and,  in  view  of  the  dangers  to  which  it  might  and 
doubtless  would  in  such  case  be  exposed,  it  repeated,  on  its 
own  behalf,  the  orders  of  the  king,  that  the  navy  should  be 
forthwith  increased  and  repared  for  immediate  action  and 
effectual  service. 


CHAPTER    X. 

LATER   NORTHWEST-COAST  VOYAGES  AND  DISCOVERIES. 

THE  quarrel  between  Colnett  and  Martinez,  in  a  remote, 
obscure  and  at  that  time  out-of-the-way  corner  of  the 
globe,  threatened  to  involve  the  most  powerful  nations  of 
Europe  in  war.  It  was  the  spark  which  might  have  been 
the  occasion,  in  the  then  state  of  European  affairs,  of  a  great 
conflagration.  But  England,  though  desirous  of  seizing  upon 
any  favorable  opportunity  of  pouncing  upon  Spain,  suddenly 
became  aware,  from  the  progress  of  events  in  France,  that 
it  would  soon  have  conflicts  enough  upon  its  hands  without 
provoking  any  fresh  ones.  The  tone  of  the  British  ministry 
was  immediately  changed;  and  now,  instead  of  rupture  with 
Spain,  peace  and  even  alliance  were  sought.  France  aided 
in  bringing  about  an  accommodation;  and  the  controversy 
was  finally  arranged  in  October,  1790,  by  what  is  known  as 
the  Nootka  Convention.  This  instrument  provided  that 
buildings  and  lands,  of  which  British  subjects  had  been  dis- 
possessed on  the  northwest  coast  since  the  beginning  of  the 
difficulties  there,  should  be  restored;  that  reparation  should 
be  made  for  all  acts  of  violence  or  hostility  committed  by 
subjects  of  either  party  against  those  of  the  other;  that  in  case 
subjects  of  either  party  should  have  been  forcibly  dispossessed 
of  lands,  vessels  or  other  property  the  same  should  be  restored 
or  just  compensation  made  for  the  losses  sustained;  that  the 
subjects  of  neither  party  should  thereafter  be  molested  or  dis- 
turbed in  navigating  or  fishing  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  or  landing 
on  the  coasts  thereof  for  the  purposes  of  settlement  or  trad- 
ing, subject,  however,  to  the  restriction  that  British  subjects 
should  not  navigate  or  carry  on  fisheries  within  ten  leagues  of 
(6S8) 


LATER   VOYAGES  AND  DISCOVERIES.         C89 

any  part  of  the  coast  already  occupied  by  subjects  of  Spain; 
that  as  to  the  places  restored  to  British  subjects,  as  first  pro- 
vided for,  and  as  to  other  parts  of  the  northwest  coast  north 
of  parts  already  occupied  by  Spain,  if  the  subjects  of  either 
party  had  already  made  settlements  or  should  thereafter 
make  settlements,  the  subjects  of  the  other  were  to  have  free 
access  and  might  carry  on  trade  there  without  disturbance  or 
molestation;  and  that  as  to  the  coasts  of  South  America 
south  of  those  parts  already  occupied  by  Spain,  no  settle- 
ments were  to  be  formed;  but  subjects  of  cither  party  should 
retain  the  liberty  of  landing  for  the  purpose  of  fishing  and, 
for  such  purpose,  of  erecting  huts  and  other  temporary  build- 
ings. 

It  cannot  be  said,  if  regard  be  had  to  the  mere  words  of 
this  convention,  that  Spain  lost  any  substantial  rights  to  the 
northwest  coast  or  that  England  gained  any.  But  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  England  thereby  strengthened  itself 
against  the  coming  storm  in  European  affairs  then  brewing 
in  France,  and  also  as  the  much  stronger  nation  retained 
the  power  of  putting  its  own  construction  upon  the  terms 
and  conditions  of  the  instrument,  without  any  great  fear 
of  contradiction  from  the  much  weaker  nation.  There  could 
be  no  justice  in  the  claim  that  the  English  possessed  either 
buildings  or  lands  at  Nootka  of  which  they  had  been  de- 
prived by  Martinez;  but  nevertheless  commissioners  were 
afterwards  appointed  and  went  through  the  form  of  deter- 
mining what  buildings  and  lands  were  to  be  restored.  And, 
as  will  be  seen  further  along,  England  did  in  substance 
put  its  own  interpretation  upon  the  treaty  and  Spain  was 
in  no  condition  to  dispute  or  resist  it.  For  the  time 
being,  however,  Spain,  unwilling  as  yet  to  succumb  to  the 
demands  of  its  haughty  rival,  deemed  it  proper  more  strenu- 
ously than  ever  to  insist  upon  or  at  least  make  a  show  of 
insisting  upon  and  maintaining  its  rights  to  the  Nootka  set- 
tlement. Accordingly  after  Martinez  returned  to  San  Bias, 
his  vessels,  together  with  the  Princess  Royal  which  he  had 
seized    from   the    English,  were    placed    under  command    of 

44     Vol.  I. 


690  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

Francisco  Elisa,  with  instructions  to  re-establish  the  Spanish 
settlement  and  make  it  permanent.  Elisa  sailed  in  the  spring 
of  1790  and  again  planted  the  Spanish  standard  at  Nootka. 
Under  his  directions,  Lieutenant  Fidalgo  in  the  schooner  San 
Carlos  made  a  voyage  as  far  north  as  the' Russian  settlements 
at  Cook's  Inlet;  and  Lieutenant  Ouimper  in  the  sloop  Prin- 
cess Royal  made  a  partial  examination  of  the  Straits  of  Juan 
de  Fuca;  but  neither  one  nor  the  other  added  anything  of 
importance  to  what  was  already  known. 

Elisa  was  still  at  Nootka  when  a  new  Spanish  expedition, 
consisting  of  the  corvettes  Descubierta  and  Atrevida,  under 
command  of  Alejandro  Malaspina,  arrived  there.  The  main 
purpose  of  this  expedition  was  the  determination  of  the  old 
and  still  unsettled  question  as  to  the  existence  of  the  famous 
Straits  of  Anian  or,  in  other  words,  a  practicable  passage  of 
communication  through  North  America  between  the  Pacific 
and  Atlantic  Oceans.  All  the  recent  voyages  to  the  north- 
west coast  had  concurred  in  representing  it  as  cut  up  into 
numerous  inlets  and  passages,  the  precise  direction  and  extent 
of  which  were  still  to  a  great  extent  a  matter  of  conjecture; 
but  every  new  development  tended  to  confirm  the  accounts 
of  the  old  navigators.  Under  these  circumstances  the  mar- 
velous story  of  Lorenzo  Ferrer  de  Maldonado  and  his  pre- 
tended passage  in  1588  from  ocean  to  ocean  was  revived  and 
found  a  powerful  supporter  in  the  person  of  a  French 
geographer  named  Buache,  who  as  the  result  of  long  and 
persistent  study  persuaded  himself  of  the  truth  of  Maldo- 
nado's  narrative  and  in  1790  presented  a  learned  paper  upon 
the  subject  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Paris,  then  the 
center  of  everything  that  was  new  and  startling.  This  paper 
attracted  great  attention  from  all  the  maritime  powers  and 
especially  from  Spain,  which  was  most  directly  interested  in 
the  question;  and  one  of  the  immediate  results  was  that 
Malaspina,  who  was  an  accomplished  Italian  navigator  then 
engaged  in  the  service  of  Spain  in  making  surveys  in  the 
Pacific,  was  directed  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  northwest 
coast  and,  if  possible,  settle  the  long-mooted  controversy. 


LATER   VOYAGES  AND  DISCOVERIES.  691 

Malaspina  sailed  from  Acapulco  on  May  I,  1791,  and  on 
June  23  reached  the  neighborhood  of  Mount  Edgccumb. 
Upon  careful  examination  of  the  coast  and  especially  of  the 
highlands  in  the  interior,  he  could  find  no  indication  of  a  pas- 
sage such  as  was  described  by  Maldonado,  until  he  approached 
Admiralty  bay  where  a  break  in  the  sierra  seemed  to  prom- 
ise that  the  Straits  of  Anian  had  at  last  been  found.  The 
corvettes  accordingly  sailed  into  the  bay  and  lay-by  to  await 
the  dissipation  of  the  clouds  and  mists,  which  covered  the 
snowy  summits  of  the  mountains  and  prevented  him  for 
several  days  from  pursuing  his  observations.  Meanwhile 
upon  anchoring  he  was  presented  with  a  delightful  spectacle. 
He  found  himself  surrounded  with  picturesque  hills  and 
islands  covered  with  foliage  and  flowers.  Here  and  there, 
scattered  in  rustic  simplicity,  were  Indian  habitations.  On 
the  level  places  and  along  the  beaches  were  old  men,  women 
and  children  engaged  in  industries,  while  the  smooth  waters 
swarmed  with  canoes  full  of  grown  men  coming  out  to  meet 
him  with  all  the  signs  and  demonstrations  of  amity  and 
singing,  as  he  described  it,  "  the  harmonious  hymn  of  peace."  l 
This  agreeable  scene  was  still  further  heightened  in  interest  a 
few  days  afterwards,  when  the  clouds  and  mists  of  the  upper 
skies  cleared  away  and  the  magnificent  landscape  took  in  the 
summits  of  the  majestic  cordillera  rising  in  brilliant  contrast 
above  the  dark  green  forests  of  illimitable  pines.  But  it  was 
especially  in  the  evenings,  when  everything  seemed  suffused 
with  the  splendors  of  the  sunset  reflected  from  the  glowing 
peaks,  that  Malaspina  felt  enraptured  and  recalled  the  pic- 
tures "of  the  golden  age"  as  imagined  by  the  poets.2  These 
pleasant  appearances,  however,  did  not  prevent  the  com- 
mander from  pursuing  the  objects  of  his  voyage  and  preserv- 
ing a  prudent  caution  against  too  great  a  familiarity  with  the 
natives.  In  the  course  of  a  week  he  ascertained  to  his  entire 
satisfaction  that  the  passage  he  sought  did  not  exist — in  fact 
he  could  see,  now  that  the  sky  was  clear,  an  unbroken  line  of 
mountains  extending  in    both  directions  north  and  south  as 

1  "  El  himno  armonioso  de  la  paz." — Kelacion,  Introduccion,  CXIV. 
*  "  De  la  edad  dorada." — Kelacion,  Introduccion,  CXY. 


692  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  Thence  he  proceeded  northward, 
making  minute  examinations  and  surveys  of  the  coast  as  far 
as  Mount  St.  Elias,  at  which  place,  deeming  the  object  of  his 
expedition  accomplished,  he  turned  around  and  ran  down  to 
Nootka.  After  remaining  there  a  week  and  upwards,  he 
again  set  sail,  still  devoting  his  attention  to  the  examination 
and  mapping  of  the  coasts;  on  September  13  stopped  at  Mon- 
terey, and  on  October  9  reached  San  Bias.1 

The  next  Spanish  voyages  to  the  northwest  coast  and  the 
last  were  those  of  Dionisio  Alcala  Galiano  and  Cayetano 
Valdes  in  the  schooners  Sutil  and  Mexicana  and  that  of  Ja- 
cinto Caamano  in  the  frigate  Aranzazu.  Malaspina  in  his 
recent  expedition  had  shown  that  there  was  no  truth  in  Mal- 
donado's  story  of  a  passage  between  the  oceans;  but  it  did 
not  therefore  follow  that  there  might  not  be  some  foundation 
for  the  story  of  such  a  passage  attributed  to  Admiral  Fonte; 
and  it  was  now  sure  that  there  were  Straits  of  Juan  de 
Fuca,  though  it  was  still  uncertain  how  far  they  extended  and 
in  what  direction  their  various  passages  ran.  To  clear  up  the 
doubts  about  Fonte's  passage  and  to  ascertain  the  exact 
truth  about  Fuca's  straits  were  objects  quite  as  important  to 
the  Spanish  court  as  those  for  which  Malaspina  sailed.  Caa- 
mano was  the  man  chosen  for  the  former  object.  He  sailed 
from  San  Bias  on  March  20,  1792,  and  reached  Nootka  on 
May  14.  From  that  place  he  slowly  proceeded  northward, 
minutely  examining  all  the  inlets,  until  he  reached  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  southern  limit  of  Malaspina's  search;  but 
there  was  nothing  to  be  found  of  Fonte's  passage.  Having 
thus  accomplished  the  object  of  his  mission,  he  turned  around; 
on  September  7  ran  into  Nootka  again;  on  October  22  stopped 
at  Monterey,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  year  again  dropped 
anchor  in  the  port  of  San  Bias.2 

Galiano  and  Valdes  in  the  Sutil  and  Mexicana  had  for  their 
special  purpose  the  examination  of  the  Straits  of  Juan  de 
Fuca.  They  sailed  from  Acapulco  on  March  8,  1792.  After 
a  short  stay  at  Nootka   they  addressed  themselves  to  their 

1  Relation",  Introduction,  CXII-CXXIII. 
1  Relacion,  Introduction,  CXXIII-CXXXI. 


LATER   VOYAGES  AND  DISCOVERIES.  G93 

work  of  examination  and  commenced  by  a  careful  survey  of 
the  northern  shore  of  the  straits.  They  had,  however,  not 
proceeded  far  when  they  met  the  British  vessels  under  Van- 
couver, engaged  in  the  same  business  and  now  on  their  re- 
turn from  a  survey  of  Puget  Sound.  The  meeting,  whatever 
may  have  been  the  real  feelings  of  the  respective  parties,  was 
to  all  appearance  civil  and  friendly.  They  exhibited  to  each 
other  their  charts;  compared  observations,  and  agreed  to  unite 
their  labors.  Under  this  arrangement  they  remained  together 
three  weeks  and  examined  in  conjunction  the  waters  called 
the  Gulf  of  Georgia  and  the  Canal  del  Rosario.  Upon  the 
completion  of  this  examination  they  separated — the  English 
passing  up  northwestward  through  the  intricate  arm  of  the 
sea  called  Johnstone's  Straits;  and  the  Spaniards,  who  on 
account  of  the  paucity  and  inefficiency  of  their  crews  were 
unable  to  keep  up,  following  more  slowly.  The  English 
again  emerged  into  the  Pacific  at  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound 
on  August  io;  the  Spaniards  on  September  4;  and  both  pro- 
ceeded directly  to  Nootka.  There  Galiano  and  Valdes  placed 
their  charts  in  the  hands  of  Juan  Francisco  Bodega  y  Quadra, 
who  had  recently  arrived  as  successor,  to  Elisa,  and  then  set 
out  on  their  return  to  Mexico,  stopping  for  some  time  at 
Monterey  on  their  way  down. 

The  meeting  at  Nootka  at  this  particular  time  of  the  two 
great  navigators,  George  Vancouver  on  the  part  of  the  En- 
glish and  Juan  Francisco  Bodega  y  Quadra  on  the  part  of  the 
Spanish,  was  not  a  casual  one.  The  former,  it  is  true,  had 
come  out  from  England  mainly  with  the  scientific  object  of 
examining  and  surveying  the  northwest  coasts;  and  the  latter, 
who  was  then  superintendent  of  the  marine  department  of 
San  Bias,  had  come  up  from  that  place  to  take  command  of 
the  Spanish  forces.  But  both  had  been  selected,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  as  the  respective  commissioners  to  decide  as  to  what 
buildings  and  lands  were  to  be  restored  by  the  Spaniards  to 
the  English  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Nootka 
convention  and  to  carry  out  the  stipulations  of  that  instru- 
ment upon  the  ground.     They  met  and  discussed  the  sub- 


694  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

ject  much  more  like  gentlemen  than  as  the  mere  representa- 
tives of  quarreling  nations.  As  a  preliminary,  it  was  agreed 
that  the  great  island,  which  had  just  been  circumnavigated, 
should  thenceforth  be  known,  using  their  joint  names,  as  that 
of  Quadra  and  Vancouver.  They  then  proceeded  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  treaty.  Vancouver  claimed  as  the  English 
construction  of  its  terms,  that  Spain  was  to  give  up  all  the 
territories  of  Nootka  and  its  surroundings,  while  Bodega 
y  Quadra  declined  to  surrender  any  more  than  a  small  spot 
said  to  have  been  temporarily  occupied  by  Meares  in  1788. 
As  a  compromise,  however,  he  offered  to  surrender  Nootka 
provided  the  English  would  recognize  it  as  having  been  at 
the  date  of  the  treaty  the  most  northerly  settlement  of  the 
Spaniards  and  thus  virtually  abandon  all  claim  to  the  territory 
south  of  it.  In  other  words,  Bodega  y  Quadra,  being  a  man  of 
spirit,  refused  to  interpret  the  treaty  otherwise  than  as  it  read 
and  would  only  swerve  from  its  terms  by  way  of  a  compro- 
mise which  would  still  preserve  the  honor  of  his  country.  It 
seems,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  that  his  instructions  authorized 
him,  if  he  should  deem  it  proper,  to  yield  to  the  English;  and 
it  is  probable  that  some  such  action  was  contemplated  by 
the  Spanish  government;  but,  if  so,  it  now  became  clear  that 
a  more  accommodating  instrument  than  Bodega  y  Quadra 
would  have  to  be  chosen  to  execuie  the  purpose.  Under  the 
circumstances,  the  object  of  the  English  could  not  be  accom- 
plished; the  whole  subject  had  to  be  referred  back  to  the 
governments  of  the  respective  parties;  and  it  was  not  until 
1795  and  after  various  negotiations,  the  outcome  of  which 
however  could  not  be  other  than  a  foregone  conclusion,  that 
Spain  finally  abandoned  Nootka  and  substantially  the  entire 
coast  north  of  the  Columbia  river. 

If  Nootka  had  remained  a  Spanish  settlement  or  if  the 
Spanish  government  had  been  uniformly  guided  by  the  spirit 
of  such  men  as  Bodega  y  Quadra,  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  Alta  California  would  have  continued  for  a  long 
time  to  extend,  as  it  was  then  supposed  to  extend,  into  the 
far  northwest.      But  by  the  operation  of  this  Nootka  business 


LATER   VOYAGES  AND  DISCOVERIES.  695 

a  northern  limit,  though  an  undefined  and  indeterminate  one, 
was  put  to  the  Californian  frontier.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  English,  who  had  thus  secured  a  footing"  on  the  northwest 
coast  and  were  not  likely  judging  from  the  precedents  of  their 
history  to  confine  themselves  to  narrow  spaces,  had  not  been 
met  and  thwarted  by  a  younger  and  more  active  antagonist, 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  British  possessions 
would  have  looked  over  into  the  Sacramento  valley  and 
might  even  have  come  down  within  sight  of  the  Golden  Gate. 
It  was  at  the  very  commencement  of  the  Nootka  quarrel 
between  the  English  and  the  Spanish,  which  thus  arose  like  a 
mere  fleck  of  vapor  on  a  distant  horizon  but  in  time  gathered 
and  spread  into  a  black  and  portentous  cloud  threatening  the 
peace  of  the  civilized  world,  that  the  Americans  made  their 
first  appearance  and  laid  the  foundations  of  their  future  em- 
pire on  the  Pacific.  Almost  immediately  after  the  peace  of 
1783,  which  recognized  the  United  States  as  a  nation,  its 
citizens  engaged  largely  in  the  trade  with  India  and  China 
and  the  whale  fisheries  of  the  Pacific.  Their  first  ship  that 
came  out  was  the  Empress,  which  sailed  from  New  York  and 
reached  China  in  1784.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years  after- 
wards there  were  a  number  of  vessels,  chiefly  from  New 
England  ports,  employed  in  the  saint  business.  They  enjoyed 
the  advantage  of  being  able  to  sail  the  seas  free  from  the 
restrictions  imposed  by  the  British  monopolies;  but  they 
labored  under  the  disadvantage  of  having  no  commodities  of 
home  production  which  were  saleable  in  the  East  Indian  and 
Chinese  markets  and  of  being  therefore  obliged  to  pay  for 
their  cargoes  in  articles  of  which  they  themselves  stood  greatly 
in  need — that  is  to  say,  gold  and  silver.  In  the  meanwhile  the 
journals  of  Cook's  voyage  were  published;  and  the  Americans, 
thus  early  displaying  their  alertness  and  enterprise,  at  once 
saw  and  seized  the  opportunity  of  remedying  their  difficulty. 
They  resolved  to  combine  the  fur  trade  of  the  northwest 
coast  with  their  Indian  and  Chinese  trade.  The  merit  of  this 
masterly  stroke  belongs  to  an  association  of  Boston  mer- 
chants, who  in   1787  fitted  out  two  small  vessels,  laden  with 


696  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

blankets,  knives,  nails  and  other  small  articles  calculated  for 
Indian  traffic,  and  sent  them  out  to  pioneer  the  way  for  that 
continuous  and  frequent  trade,  which  afterwards  rendered  the 
name  of  "  Boston"  and  "  Bostonman  "  as  familiar  on  the  north- 
west coast  as  on  the  shores  washed  by  Massachusetts  bay. 

These  two  small  vessels  were  the  ship  Columbia,  com- 
manded by  Captain  John  Kendrick,  and  the  sloop  .Washing- 
ton, commanded  by  Captain  Robert  Gray.  The  ship  was  of 
two  hundred  and  ten  tons  burden;  the  sloop  of  ninety.  They 
left  Boston  on  September  30,  1787;  sailed  by  the  way  of  the 
Cape  de  Verde  and  Falkland  Islands,  and  in  January,  1788, 
doubled  Cape  Horn.  Soon  after  entering  the  Pacific,  the  two 
vessels  were  separated  by  a  violent  storm.  Gray  continued 
his  course  in  the  sloop  and  in  August  made  land  about  the 
parallel  of  460  north  latitude,  where  in  attempting  to  enter 
what  appeared  to  be  the  mouth  of  a  river  he  grounded  and 
was  attacked  by  the  savages.  He  managed,  however,  to  get 
off  with  the  loss  of  one  man  and  continuing  his  voyage 
northwards  reached  Nootka  on  September  17,  where  he 
found  Meares  lying  with  the  Felice  and  Iphigenia.  Kendrick, 
whose  ship  had  been  injured  in  the  storm  off  Cape  Horn,  had 
been  obliged  to  put  into  the  island  of  Juan  Fernandez  for 
repairs  but  also  managed  to  reach  Nootka  a  few  days  after 
Gray  had  anchored  there. 

In  the  spring  of  1789,  after  wintering  at  Nootka,  Gray 
commenced  a  series  of  short  trading  voyages  along  the  coast, 
making  frequent  returns  and  depositing  the  furs  collected  by 
him  in  the  Columbia,  which  remained  at  its  moorings.  Upon 
his  first  return,  he  found  Martinez  there;  and  upon  a  subse- 
quent one  he  was  present  when  Colnett  arrived  and  was  a 
witness  to  many  of  the  circumstances  of  the  quarrel  which 
afterwards  made  so  great  a  noise  in  the  world.  From  the 
very  beginning,  the  most  friendly  relations  appear  to' have 
been  established  and  to  have  continued  to  exist  between  the 
Americans  and  the  Spaniards;  while  there  were  also  many 
friendly  interchanges  between  the  Americans  and  the  En- 
glish  though  the  national  animosities,  engendered  by  the  then 


LATER   VOYAGES  AND  DISCOVERIES.  G97 

recent  war  of  independence,  tended  to  prevent  entire  cordi- 
ality. The  Americans  were,  therefore,  not  only  allowed  to 
remain  entirely  undisturbed  when  the  troubles  sprang  up 
between  the  English  and  the  Spanish;  but  on  many  occasions 
they  acted  as  mediators.  During  all  the  time,  however,  Gray 
was  taking  advantage  of  the  difficulties  under  which  the  con- 
tending parties  were  laboring  and  was  diligently  piling  up 
treasures  in  the  hold  of  the  Columbia. 

In  June,  1789,  Gray  explored  the  entire  east  coast  of  Queen 
Charlotte's  Island.  Duncan  had  sailed  through  the  same  arm 
of  the  sea  the  preceding  year  and  ascertained  its  general 
character;  but  Gray  was  the  first  to  visit  and  trade  with  the 
islanders.  On  a  subsequent  voyage,  he  entered  the  opening 
now  known  as  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound,  being  the  northern 
end  of  the  strait  between  Vancouver's  Island  and  the  main- 
land. Into  this  he  sailed  southeastwardly  fifty  miles  and 
then  turned  round  with  his  cargo  for  Nootka.  Upon  ap- 
proaching that  place,  he  met  the  Columbia,  which  had  just 
sailed  from  there  for  China.  The  vessels  hailing  each  other 
lay-to^;  and,  after  a  short  consultation  between  the  captains, 
it  was  arranged  that  Gray  should  take  charge  of  the  Colum- 
bia and  proceed  to  China,  while  Kendrick  should  take  charge 
of  the  Washington  and  remain  upon  the  northwest  coast. 
In  a  short  time  all  the  proceeds  of  his  late  trading  voyage 
were  transferred  on  board  the  Columbia  and,  assuming  the 
command  of  the  larger  vessel,  Gray  spread  his  canvas  for 
Canton.  Arriving  there  in  December,  he  sold  his  furs;  took 
on  a  cargo  of  tea,  and  then  sailed  by  the  way  of  Good  Hope 
for  Boston,  which  he  reached  on  August  10,  1790 — having 
thus,  first  of  all  navigators,  carried  the  flag  of  the  United 
States  around  the  world.1 

After  the  departure  of  Gray  for  China,  it  seems  that  Ken- 
drick, in  the  course  of  his  trading  with  the  Indians,  passed 
through  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca  and  entirely  around 
Vancouver  Island.  Whether  he  did  so  or  not  is  not  entirely 
clear;  but  it  is  certain  that  from  information  derived  from  his 
1  Greenhow,   199,  200. 


698  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

voyages  and  that  of  Gray,  the  insular  character  of  Vancouver 
Island  was  determined  upon.  This,  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind, 
was  before  Vancouver  reached  the  northwest  coast  and  made 
those  minute  and  admirable  surveys,  which  to  a  great  extent 
fixed  and  established  the  geography  of  that  part  of  the  globe.1 
After  trading  for  some  time  in  those  seas  and,  among  other 
things,  bargaining  with  the  Indians  for  immense  tracts  of  land 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Nootka,  Kendrick  conceived  the  project 
of  opening  up  an  entirely  new  kind  of  trade  with  China.  He 
had  learned  that  there  were  growing  in  some  of  the  South  Sea 
islands  a  species  of  evergreen  tree,  the  heart  of  which  was  of 
great  and  permanent  fragrance,  similar  to  the  sandal-wood  of 
India.  His  notion  was  that  large  profits  m'ght  be  realized  by 
shipping  this  wood  to  Chinese  ports,  and  selling  it  for  the 
manufacture  of  cabinet-ware,  fans  and  ornaments.  He  re- 
solved to  make  the  experiment  and  mentioned  his  intention 
to  Vancouver,  who  was  then  on  the  northwest  coast;  but.  the 
English  navigator,  who  was  more  of  a  scientist  than  a  specu- 
lator, deemed  the  scheme  chimerical.  Kendrick,  however, 
pursued  his  project  and  started  the  trade  in  sandal-wood 
between  the  islands  and  China,  which  has  ever  since  been 
prosecuted  with  vigor  and  advantage.  His  life  was  lost  and 
career  cut  short  at  the  Sandwich  Islands  in  1793  by  a  shot 
from  a  British  vessel,  which  was  unintentionally  discharged 
while  saluting  him." 

The  next  trading  voyage  from  the  United  States  to  the 
northwest  coast  after  that  of  Kendrick  and  Gray  was  that  of 
Captain  Metcalf.  He  sailed  from  New  York  in  the  brig  Ele- 
onora  and  proceeded  first  to  Canton,  where  he  purchased  a 
small  schooner  which  he  named  the  Fair  American  and  placed 
under  the  command  of  his  son,  a  youth  of  eighteen  years. 
He  then  proceeded  with  the  two  vessels  to  Nootka,  where 
they  arrived  in  November,  1789.  In  January,  1790,  they 
sailed  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  but  were  separated  on  the 
voyage.  The  Eleonora  reached  Maui  and  anchored.  During 
the  first  night  the  natives  seized  one  of  the  boats  and  the  man 

1  Greenhow,  200,  217-219. 

2  Greenhow,  22S,  229. 


LATER   VOYAGES  AND  DISCOVERIES.         699 

in  charge  of  it.  The  next  day  they  assembled  in  large  num- 
bers and  gave  indications  of  hostility  and  one  of  them 
attempted  to  scuttle  the  vessel.  Metcalf,  being  satisfied  of 
their  intentions,  opened  fire  upon  them  and  burnt  their  village. 
He  then  moved  to  another  position;  but  in  a  few  days  the 
natives  followed  in  their  canoes;  and#it  soon  became  evident 
from  their  actions  that  they  contemplated  mischief.  Among 
other  things,  after  agreeing  for  a  certain  reward  to  restore  the 
man  and  boat  that  had  been  seized  the  first  night  after  the 
vessel's  arrival,  they  produced  a  piece  of  the  boat  and  the 
bones  of  the  man  and  then  demanded  their  pay.  Though  it 
was  plain  the  man  had  been  murdered,  the  stipulated  price 
was  paid  in  the  hope  that  it  would  tend  to  conciliate  the  sav- 
ages. But  the  payment  under  such  circumstances  produced 
a  contrary  effect.  The  savages  regarded  it  as  an  indication 
of  fear  and  surrounded  the  ship  in  great  numbers.  Metcalf 
thereupon  ordered  all  his  guns,  which  were  charged  with 
grape,  to  be  fired  into  the  mi'dst  of  the  savages  and  caused  an 
indiscriminate  slaughter  of  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  of 
them.  He  then  sailed  for  Hawaii.  Not  long  afterwards  the 
Fair  American  in  charge  of  young  Metcalf  reached  the  Sand- 
wich Islands  and  anchored  at  a  bay  on  Hawaii  about  thirty 
miles  north  of  where  the  Eleonora  was  lying.  The  natives 
seemed  peaceable  and  were  allowed  on  board.  The  treach- 
ery of  their  savage  nature,  however,  soon  manifested  itself. 
One  of  the  chiefs  with  his  attendants,  while  pretending  to  do 
honor  to  young  Metcalf  by  placing  a  crown  of  feathers  upon 
his  head,  suddenly  threw  him  over  the  side  of  the  vessel^ 
where  he  was  immediately  killed  by  the  other  savages.  The 
sailors  were  then  thrown  overboard  and  all  killed,  after  which 
the  schooner  was  drawn  on  shore  and  rifled  of  its  cargo.  1  he 
only  man  spared  was  Isaac  Davis,  the  mate;  and  he  was  badly 
wounded.  About  the  same  time  a  plan  was  formed  by  the 
principal  chiefs  of  Hawaii  to  seize  and  destroy  the  Eleonora; 
but  its  execution  was  prevented  by  John  Young,  the  boat- 
swain, who  had  succeeded  in  winning  the  favor  of  the  natives 
and  was  then  on  shore.     Through  his  good  offices,  Metcalf 


700  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

was  informed  of  his  danger  and  immediately  left,  without 
even  learning  his  son's  melancholy  fate.  As  for  Young  and 
Davis,  they  remained  on  the  islands  and,  entering  the  service 
of  Kamehameha,  the  principal  chief,  assisted  in  subjecting  the 
entire  kingdom  to  his  sway  and  materially  aided  in  shaping 
the  policy  of  his  councils.1 

Gray,  upon  his  return  to  Boston  in  August,  1790,  found  a 
number  of  vessels  fitting  out  for  the  northwest  coast.  One  of 
these  was  the  brig  Hope.  It  was  placed  under  the  command 
of  Joseph  Ingraham,  late  mate  of  the  Columbia,  and  sailed  on 
September  16.  Passing  down  the  Atlantic,  "doubling  Cape 
Horn  and  running  up  the  Pacific,  Ingraham  on  April  19, 
1791,  discovered  a  group  of  six  islands,  said  to  be  the  most 
delightful  of  all  those  of  the  South  Sea.  They  are  situated 
almost  in  the  center  of  the  ocean,  some  eight  or  ten  degrees 
south  of  the  equator,  and  are  known  as  the  Washington 
Group.  They  are  next  north  of  the  Marquesas  Group.  Thence 
he  sailed  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  thence  to  Queen  Char- 
lotte's Island  on  the  northwest  coast.  After  spending  the 
summer  in  trading,  he  crossed  over  to  China;  disposed  advan- 
tageously of  his  furs;  invested  in  a  cargo  of  tea,  which  he 
shipped  to  Boston,  and  then  returned  again  to  Queen  Char- 
lotte's Island  which  by  this  time  had  become  the  principal 
resort  of  the  American  fur-traders.2 

Though  Gray's  recent  voyage  had  not  proved  as  remunera- 
tive as  had  been  expected,  it  was  determined  that  he  should 
immediately  return  to  the  northwest  coast.  He  accordingly 
repaired  his  ship,  the  Columbia,  and  on  September  28,  1790, 
set  sail  from  Boston  for  the  second  time.  On  June  5,  1791, 
he  reached  Clyoquot  on  Vancouver  Island  and  thence  pro- 
ceeded to  the  eastern  shore  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  where 
he  remained  until  September,  trading  with  the  Indians  and 
examining  the  many  inlets  and  passages  between  it  and  the 
mainland.  In  September  he  returned  to  Clyoquot;  erected  a 
fortified  habitation,  which  he  called  Fort  Defiance,  and  spent 
the  winter   there   employing    his   leisure  time   in  building  a 

1  Greenhow,  224,  225. 

2  Greenhow,  226-229. 


LATER   VOYAGES  AND  DISCOVERIES.  701 

small  vessel,  which  he  launched  and  named  the  Adventure. 
In  the  spring  of  1792,  while  the  Adventure  was  dispatched 
northward  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  furs  in  that  direction, 
Gray  turned  the  prow  of  the  Columbia  to  the  southward. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  in  August,  1788,  upon  his  first 
arrival  on  the  coast,  he  had  run  aground  at  or  about  parallel 
460  of  north  latitude  and  near  what  appeared  to  him  to  be 
the  mouth  of  a  river.  He  had  had  on  that  occasion  consid- 
erable difficulty  in  getting  off  again,  having  been  attacked  by 
the  natives  and  losing  one  of  his  men.  He  now,  being  in 
much  better  condition  to  make  investigations  as  well  as 
defend  himself  against  hostile  attacks,  resolved  to  return  to 
the  same  spot.  Running  down  the  coast  accordingly,  after 
passing  the  Straits  of  Juan  dc  Fuca,  he  found  it  bold  and 
unindented  until  about  the  latitude  of  470,  where  on  May  7, 
perceiving  an  opening,  he  ran  in  and  discovered  an  extensive 
bay  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Bulfinch's  Harbor.  It  is 
the  same  which  has  since  received  and  still  bears  the  name  of 
Gray's  Harbor.  After  remaining  there  trading  with  the 
natives  three  days,  he  resumed  his  voyage  southward  and  on 
the  morning  of  May  1 1,  1792,  doubling  a  point,  came  in  sight 
of  the  scene  of  his  former  misadventure.  He  could  plainly 
perceive  an  inlet  between  two  well-defined  points  and  at  once, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  a  continuous  line  of  foam  seemed 
to  warn  him  off,  set  all  his  sails;  plunged  through  the  break- 
ers, and  in  a  short  time  found  himself  in  a  large  river  of  fresh 
water.  He  sailed  up  stream  along  the  northern  shore  for 
about  ten  miles,  when  he  anchored  and  remained  three  days, 
trading  with  the  natives  and  obtaining  new  supplies  of  fresh 
water.  He  then  got  under  way  again  and  sailed  up  the  river 
ten  or  fifteen  miles  further,  when  the  channel,  which  he  had 
selected  and  which  he  soon  ascertained  was  not  the  main 
channel  of  the  river,  came  to  an  end;  and  the  ship  grounded. 
In  a  short  time,  however,  it  floated  again  and,  backing  out,  it 
was  allowed  to  drop  down  stream.  Gray  now  attempted  to 
get  back  into  the  Pacific  but  for  nearly  a  week  was  baffled  by 
winds  and  waves;  and  it  was  not  until  May  20  that  he  finally 


702  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

succeeded  in  beating  out  over  the  bar  and  regaining  the  open 
sea.  Before  doing  so,  he  gave  to  the  great  river  he  had  thus 
found  the  name  of  the  Columbia.1 

This  discovery,  which  among  all  the  discoveries  on  the 
west  and  northwest  coasts  was  second  in  importance  only  to 
that  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  was  the  most  consequential 
ever  achieved  by  an  American.  It  not  only  reflected  honor 
upon  and  gave  character  to  American  seamanship;  but  it  after- 
wards enabled  the  United  States  to  claim  and  secure  the  sover- 
eignty of  most  of  the  territory  washed  by  the  Columbia.  And 
Gray  was  as  absolutely  and  exclusively  entitled  to  the  credit 
of  its  discovery  as  was  Columbus  to  that  of  America.  It  is 
true  that  the  Spaniard  Martin  de  Aguilar  in  1603  reported  the 
discovery  of  a  great  river,  which  he  located  about  the  parallel 
of  430  north  and  which  was  supposed  to  indicate  the  western 
entrance  of  a  passage  between  the  oceans.  But  it  cannot  be 
claimed  that  he  ever  saw  such  a  river  or  ever  made  such  a 
discovery.  It  is  also  true  that  the  American  traveler,  Jona- 
than Carver,  who  in  1766  visited  the  upper  waters  of  the 
Mississippi,  heard  of  a  great  river  which  was  said  to  take  its 
rise  in  the  center  of  the  continent,  run  westward  and.  discharge 
into  the  Straits  of  Anian  and  which  was  called  the  Oregon.2 
But  there  is  nothing,  in  the  account  he  gave  of  it,  to  in  any 
manner  show  that  it  had  been  actually  discovered  or  was 
known  to  exist  by  any  civilized  man.  It  is  also  claimed  by 
the  Spaniards  that  Bruno  de  Heceta  made  the  discovery  in 
August,  1776,  and  called  the  river  Rio  de  San  Roque.  But 
it  is  admitted  that  he  did  not  enter  it  or  describe  it  or  know 
anything  of  its  character.  In  1778  Cook  passed  along  in  front 
of  the  entrance  and  was  at  the  time  in  search  of  a  passage 
inland,  yet  he  failed  to  observe  it  and  virtually  declared  that 
no  such  entrance  existed.  In  1788  Meares  sailed  down  the 
coast  from  Nootka  for  the  principal  purpose  of  searching  for 
the  river,  whose  mouth  was  said  to  have  been  discovered  by 
Heceta;  and  he  actually  rounded  the  north  point  and  ran  into 
and  across  the  bay  formed    between  the  two  points  of  the 

1  Greenhow,  235,  236,  434-436. 
1  Greenhow,  141-145. 


LATER   VOYAGES  AND  DISCOVERIES.         703 

entrance;  but  for  some  unexplained  reason  he  did  not  see  it; 
satisfied  himself  with  the  assertion  that  there  was  no  such 
entrance  and  no  such  river,  and  thereupon,  as  have  been 
shown,  named  the  point  Disappointment  and  the  bay  Decep- 
tion. In  1792  Vancouver  passed  along  the  coast  northward 
from  Cape  Mendocino  and  carefully  examined  it  under  the 
most  favorable  circumstances  of  wind  and  weather.  He 
noticed  Cape  Disappointment  and  the  opening  of  Deception 
bay  and  even  observed  that  the  sea  changed  there  from  its 
usual  tint  to  river-colored  water;  but  at  the  same  time  he  saw 
an  apparently  continous  line  of  surf  and  concluded  that  the 
coast  there,  like  that  to  the  south  of  it,  presented  a  compact 
and  unbroken  barrier  to  the  ocean.  He  therefore  considered 
the  opening  as  unworthy  of  attention  and  passed  on.1  Upon 
approaching  the  mouth  of  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  he 
met  Gray,  then  on  his  way  to  the  actual  discovery,  and  com- 
pared notes  with  him.  Gray  spoke,  among  other  things,  of 
his  having  run  aground  near  what  he  took  to  be  the  mouth  of 
a  great  river  about  the  latitude  of  460  in  the  year  1788  and 
added  that  he  was  unable  to  enter  it  on  account  of  the  vio- 
lent outset  and  reflux  of  the  tides.  But  Vancouver  paid  little 
or  no  attention  to  the  information  and  sailed  on  to  the  north- 
ward, while  Gray  persisted  in  the  course  that  rendered  him 
famous.2 

Ftom  the  Columbia  river,  Gray  sailed  to  the  east  coast  of 
Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  where  his  ship  was  injured  by  run- 
ning on  a  rock,  and  thence  to  Nootka  for  the  purpose  of 
making  repairs.  At  the  latter  place  he  communicated  the 
particulars  of  his  discovery  of  the  Columbia  and  Bulfinch's 
Harbor  to  Bodega  y  Quadra  and  also  to  Ingraham,  who  about 
the  same  time  arrived  there  in  the  Hope.  In  September,  1792, 
having  completed  their  business  on  the  northwest  coast,  both 
Gray  and  Ingraham  sailed  for  China  and  thence  home  to  the 
United  States.  The  latter  subsequently  entered  the  United 
States  navy  and  was  lost  at  sea  in  1800;  the  former  continued 

1  Greenhow,  232,  233. 

2  (Jreenhow,  233,  .234. 


704  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

to  command  trading  vessels  out  from  Boston  until  1809,  about 
which  year  he  died. 

But  while  the  Americans,  Gray,  Kendrick,  Ingraham  and 
Young,  thus  earned  distinction,  each  in  his  particular  depart- 
ment, undoubtedly  the  most  thorough  navigator  that  visited 
the  northwest  coast  and  made  it  best  and  most  reliably 
known  to  the  world  was  the  Englishman,  Captain  George 
Vancouver.  This  accomplished  officer  was  instructed  to 
examine  and  survey  the  entire  west  and  northwest  shores  of 
North  America  between  the  parallels  of  350  and  6o°  and 
especially  with  reference  to  any  passage  or  communication 
between  the  North  Pacific  and  North  Atlantic  oceans.  In 
pursuance  of  his  instructions  he  left  Deptford,  England,  in 
January,  1791,  in  command  of  the  sloop-of-war  Discovery, 
accompanied  by  the  armed  tender  Chatham  in  charge  of 
Robert  Broughton.  Proceeding  by  the  way  of  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  and  the  Sandwich  Islands,  they  in  April,  1792, 
reached  the  neighborhood  of  Cape  Mendocino.  On  April  27, 
as  already  stated,  they  were  off  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia; 
but,  deeming  the  place  of  little  importance,  they  passed  on 
and  proceeded  to  the  survey  of  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca. 
Sailing  along  the  southern  shore  of  that  arm  of  the  sea,  they 
reached  Admiralty  Inlet,  which  they  carefully  surveyed  and 
named,  as  they  did  likewise  its  principal  branches,  Hood's 
Canal  and  Puget  Sound.  Arriving  at  the  end  of  those  waters 
and  seeing  that  they  were  closed  in  by  lofty  mountains  on  the 
east,  they  turned  around  and  retraced  their  course  to  what 
they  called  the  Gulf  of  Georgia.  There  they  met  the  Span- 
iards Galiano  and  Valdes;  in  conjunction  with  them  examined 
and  surveyed  the  shores  of  that  gulf;  threaded  the  intricate 
passage  known  as  Johnstone's  Straits,  and  then  ran  out  into 
Queen  Charlotte's  Sound  and  around  to  Nootka,  as  related  in 
the  account  of  the  voyage  of  the  schooners  Sutil  and  Mexi- 
cana. 

At  Nootka  Vancouver  found  the  store-ship  Daedalus,  which 
had  just  come  out  from  England,  bearing  among  other  things 
his  instructions  as  commissioner  under  the  Nootka  convention. 


LATER   VOYAGES  AND  DISCOVERIES.  705 

His  negotiations  as  such  commissioner  with  Bodega  y  Quadra 
and  their  failure  to  agree  have  been  already  stated.  After 
remaining  at  Nootka  a  few  months,  Vancouver  on  October 
13  left  that  port  with  the  three  vessels  now  under  his  com- 
mand and  sailed  southward  for  the  purposes  of  continuing  his 
survey  and  particularly  of  examining  Gray's  Harbor  and  the 
Columbia  river,  of  the  recent  discovery  of  which  by  Gray 
he  had  received  information  from  Bodega  y  Quadra.  Arriv- 
ing off  Gray's  Harbor  he  detached  the  ship  Daedalus  in  charge 
of  Joseph  Whidby  to  examine  it  and  himself  with  the  Dis- 
covery and  Chatham, proceeded  to  the  mouth  of  the  Colum- 
bia. It  was  his  intention  to  enter  that  river  with  both  his 
vessels;  and  the  Chatham  seems  to  have  experienced  no  great 
difficulty  in  running  in;  but,  owing  to  the  rapid  shoaling  of  the 
water  and  the  rough  surf  which  extended  across  the  entrance, 
the  Discovery  did  not  venture  the  passage.  In  these  days, 
when  the  channels  are  well  known,  vessels  of  very  large  class 
cross  the  bar  in  almost  any  weather.  But,  as  nothing  was 
then  known  of  these  channels,  it  was  no  more  than  prudence 
on  the  part  of  Vancouver,  though  his  ship  was  only  of  three 
hundred  and  forty  tons  burden,  to  keep  off  and  leave  the 
survey  of  the  Columbia  to  Broughton.  He  accordingly  con- 
tinued his  voyage  southward  and  ran  into  the  bay  of  San 
Francisco,  where  he  arrived  on  November  14;  and  before  the 
end  of  the  same  month  he  was  rejoined  by  the  Chatham. 

Broughton,  upon  entering  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 
found  the  British  brig  Jenny,  Captain  Baker,  lying  anchored 
there.  It  had  left  Nootka  a  few  days  before  and  had  run  in 
to  trade  with  the  Indians.  The  Chatham,  after  exchanging 
the  usual  courtesies,  proceeded  to  ascend  the  river;  but  the 
channel  proved  so  intricate  that  Broughton  determined  to 
leave  his  vessel  and  take  to  his  cutter.  In  this  he  ascended 
about  a  hundred  miles  to  a  bend  formed  by  a  prominent 
point,  around  which  the  current  swept  so  rapidly  that  he  could 
not  without  great  difficulty  advance  further.  He  therefore 
resolved  to  return  to  the  Chatham  and,  after  imposing  the 
name  of  Point  Vancouver  upon  the  limit  of  his  survey  and 

45    Vol.  I. 


706  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

going  through  the  ceremony  of  taking  formal  possession  of 
the  country  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  he 
dropped  down  to  his  vessel;  again  set  sail;  ran  out  into  the 
ocean,  and  proceeded  to  San  Francisco.  Upon  reporting  his 
observations  to  Vancouver  and  particularly  the  fact  that  the 
lower  part  of  the  Columbia  for  a  distance  of  twenty-five 
miles  from  the  mouth  was  much  wider  than  the  stream  above 
and  in  some  places  as  much  as  seven  miles,  the  two  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  true  mouth  of  the  river  was  twenty-five 
miles  from  the  ocean  and  that  the  waters  between  it  and  the 
ocean  were  an  inlet  or  sound.  They  accordingly  applied  the 
name  of  Gray's  bay  to  the  place  about  fifteen  miles  from  the 
ocean  where  the  Columbia  anchored,  and  the  name  of  Baker's 
bay  to  the  place  directly  within  Cape  Disappointment  where 
the  Jenny  lay.  It  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  Vancouver 
intended,  by  this  distinction  between  what  he  considered  the 
river  and  what  he  considered  as  only  an  inlet  or  sound,  to  rob 
Gray  of  the  glory  of  having  discovered  the  Columbia.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  Gray's  discovery  first  became  generally  known 
to  the  world  through  the  publication  of  Vancouver's  journal. 
But  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  if  the  true  mouth  of  the 
river  were  twenty-five  miles  from  the  ocean,  then  Gray  never 
saw  it  and  consequently,  strictly  speaking,  never  discovered 
it.  Even  if  this  distinction  were  allowed,  it  is  plain  that 
Gray's  merits  and  glory  would  not  be  diminished.  But  the 
world  has  not  been  willing  to  adopt  it.  Though  the  names 
of  Gray's  bay  and  Baker's  bay  still  remain,  they  are  bays  in 
the  river  and  the  river  is  regarded  as  discharging  directly  into 
the  ocean.1 

Vancouver  remained  at  San  Francisco  until  November  25, 
when  he  proceeded  to  Monterey  and  stopped  there  until 
January  14,  J  793.  At  the  latter  place  he  had  further  nego- 
tiations in  regard  to  the  Nootka  controversy  with  Bodega  y 
Quadra,  who  in  the  meanwhile  had  come  down  from  the 
north;  and  it  was  finally  agreed  between  them  that  Brough- 
ton  should  proceed  by  way  of  Mexico  to  Europe  with  state- 
ments of  the  difficulties  which  had  prevented  their  settlement 

1  Greenhow,  246-248. 


LATER   VOYAGES  AND  DISCOVERIES.  707 

of  that  vexed  question.  During  his  stay  at  San  Francisco 
and  Monterey,  Vancouver  was  entertained  with  great  courtesy 
by  the  Spaniards.  From  the  latter  place,  having  been  first 
joined  there  by  the  Daedalus  which  he  thence  dispatched  to 
New  South  Wales,  he  sailed  with  the  Discovery  and  Chatham 
to  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  thence  back  to  the  coast  of 
California  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cape  Mendocino.  After 
examining  that  coast  and  particularly  Port  Trinidad,  where 
Heceta  and  Bodega  y  Quadra  landed  and  of  which  they 
took  formal  possession  in  1775,  he  proceeded  to  Nootka  and 
spent  the  summer  in  completing  his  surveys  of  all  the  shores 
between  the  latitudes  of  51°  and  540.  From  there  he  again 
sailed  to  San  Francisco  and  spent  two  months  in  examin- 
ing the  coast  between  that  place  and  a  point  a  short  distance 
south  of  San  Diego.  In  all  his  examinations  of  California 
and  the  Spanish  establishments  there,  which  were  very  care- 
ful and  minute,  he  continually  spoke  of  the  country  as  New 
Albion  and  seemed  to  regard  it  as  of  right  belonging  to  En- 
gland. Speaking  of  the  mission  of  San  Domingo,  the  south- 
ern limit  of  his  survey,  he  described  it  as  "  the  southernmost 
Spanish  settlement  on  what  I  have  considered  as  the  coast  of 
New  Albion  as  discovered  and  named  by  Sir  Francis  Drake 
or,  as  the  Spaniards  frequently  call  the  same  country.  New 
California.1" 

Towards  the  end  of  December  Vancouver  sailed  again  for 
the  Sandwich  Islands  and  reached  Hawaii  on  January  9, 
1794.  By  this  time  Kamehamehahad  succeeded  in  establish- 
ing his  supremacy  over  almost  all  the  other  native  chiefs  and 
had  assumed  the  title  of  king.  But  he  was  still  perfectly  well 
aware  of  the  weakness  of  his  title  and  knew  that  the  whole 
superstructure  of  his  dominion  could  be  easily  overthrown. 
In  a  month  or  so,  with  a  few  ships,  any  of  the  maritime  pow- 
ers could  sweep  it  away.  Occasions  of  difficulty  with  any  of 
these  powers  might  arise  at  any  time,  and,  however  remote 
such  contingencies  might  seem,  the  astute  potentate  could  not 
and  did  not  feel  averse  to  securing  protection  against  them. 
On   the  other  hand  Vancouver,  looking    forward  to  a  time 

1  Vancouver,  IV,  385. 


708  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

in  the  not-far-distant  future  in  which  he  expected  England 
to  vindicate  its  claim  to  the  entire  coast  of  New  Albion, 
considered  the  control  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  of  prime- 
importance  to  British  interests.  He  was  therefore  careful 
to  impress  upon  Kamehameha  the  idea  that,  by  invoking  the 
protection  of  England,  he  would  not  only  strengthen  his  title 
against  the  other  native  chiefs  but  also  secure  himself  against 
any  foreign  interference.  To  render  his  propositions  more 
acceptable  to  Kamehameha,  Vancouver  built  for  him  a  small 
vessel  upon  which  the  guns  taken  from  the  American 
schooner  Fair  American  were  mounted,  and  gave  him  reason 
to  expect  that  the  British  government,  upon  accepting  the 
protectorate,  would  send  him  out  a  ship-of-war.  Under  these 
circumstances  and  upon  a  further  distinct  understanding  that 
there  was  to  be  no  interference  in  any  respect  with  the  relig- 
ion, government  or  domestic  concerns  of  the  island,  it  was 
agreed  that  Hawaii  should  be  ceded  to  the  British  crown.  On 
February  25,  1794,  accordingly,  Kamehameha  and  his  prin- 
cipal chiefs  assembled  on  board  the  Discovery  and  went 
through  the  ceremony  of  a  formal  cession;  while  Peter  Puget, 
then  in  command  of  the  Chatham,  landed  upon  the  island, 
displayed  the  British  colors  and  took  possession  in  the  name 
of  his  Britannic  majesty.  In  this  manner  Vancouver  pre- 
pared the  way  for  a  future  English  occupation  and  subjuga- 
tion of  the  islands,  if  the  home  government  should  at  any 
time  deem  such  a  step  advisable.  But,  as  events  subsequently 
turned  out,  nothing  further  in  that  direction  was  done.  The 
ceremonies  of  cession  and  taking  possession,  therefore,  proved 
to  be  mere  ceremonies.  England  gained  nothing  by  them; 
and  the  only  party  that  derived  any  benefit  was  the  savage 
statesman,  Kamehameha,  who,  by  virtue  of  the  vessel  fur- 
nished him  and  the  prestige  of  being  "  brother  to  King  George 
III,"  was  enabled  to  overcome  all  the  remainder  of  his  do- 
mestic enemies  and  finally  establish  his  dynasty.1 

After  this  stroke  of  policy,  which  if  it  had  been  followed 
up  by  England  would  have  been  regarded  as  masterly,  Van- 
couver   took    his  final    leave  of   the    Sandwich    Islands    and 

1  Greenhow,  251-254. 


LA  TER   VO  YA  GES  AND  DISCO  SERIES.  709 

returned  a  second  time,  making  his  third  visit,  to  the  north- 
west coast.  On  this  occasion  he  ran  up  to  Alaska  and  thence 
proceeded  eastward  and  southward,  carefully  and  minutely 
surveying  the  entire  shore  as  far  as  Queen  Charlotte's  Island, 
thus  connecting  with  his  surveys  of  previous  years.  He  then 
took  formal  possession  of  the  whole  country  extending  from 
the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca  north  and  northwestward  as  far  as 
latitude  590  in  the  name  of  the  British  sovereign.  He  next 
ran  down  to  Nootka,  where  he  found  the  Spaniards  still  in 
possession  and  learned  that  Bodega  y  Quadra  had  died  the 
preceding  spring  at  San  Bias.  Thence  he  proceeded  to 
Monterey,  where  he  received  information  of  the  final  adjust- 
ment of  the  Nootka  controversy  by  the  courts  of  London 
and  Madrid  on  substantially  the  same  terms  that  he  had 
urged  upon  Bodega  y  Quadra  and  which  the  latter  had  had 
the  manliness  to  reject.  His  work  being  now  finished,  and 
it  being  ascertained  beyond  all  question  that  no  navigable 
passage  existed  between  the  North  Pacific  and  North  Atlantic 
Oceans,  he  on  December  2,  1794,  sailed  from  Monterey  on 
his  return  to  Europe;  and,  passing  down  by  the  way  of  Val- 
paraiso and  doubling  Cape  Horn,  he  arrived  in  England  in 
November,  1795,  having  completed  the  most  extensive  and 
reliable  nautical  survey  ever  made  in  one  expedition. 

After  Vancouver's  departure,  Nootka  was  formally  deliv- 
ered up  by  the  Spaniards  to  the  English;  but  for  various 
reasons  it  was  found  by  the  English  to  be  a  possession  not 
worth  the  trouble  and  expense  of  maintaining.  The  prin- 
cipal of  these  reasons  was  the  fact  that  the  monopoly  of  the 
Chinese  trade  and  the  navigation  of  the  Pacific  still  continued 
in  the  hands  of  the  East  India  Company  and  consequently 
British  merchants  in  general,  who  might  otherwise  have  found 
it  a  field  for  their  energy  and  enterprise,  were  restrained  from 
engaging  in  it.  Therefore,  soon  after  the  Spaniards  withdrew, 
the  English  also  abandoned  the  spot;  and  from  that  time  for 
nearly  twenty  years,  very  (ew  of  their  vessels  ever  visited  it  or 
.my  part  of  the  northwest  coast.  This  left  the  valuable  trade 
of  that  part  of  the  world  almost  exclusively  in  the  hands  of 


710  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

the  Americans;  and  they  were  by  no  means  backward  in  tak- 
ing advantage  of  the  circumstances.  Following  in  the  track 
originally  opened  for  them  by  Gray  and  Kendrick,  for  year 
after  year  and  in  comparatively  large  numbers,  they  would 
set  sail  from  Atlantic  ports  with  a  few  trinkets  and  such  sale- 
able commodities  as  they  could  obtain  under  the  gradually 
increasing  commerce  of  the  United  States.  On  their  way 
they  would  take  on  West  India  productions;  in  the  South 
Pacific  they  would  pick  up  various  articles  of  traffic;  at  the 
Gallapagos  they  would  lay  in  turtles  and  turtle-shells;  at 
Nootka  and  other  ports  of  the  northwest  coast  they  would 
trade  for  furs,  which  at  the  end  of  the  season  they  would  carry 
to  the  Sandwich  Islands;  then,  leaving  the  greater  portion  of 
their  people  to  dress  and  prepare  the  peltries,  they  in  the 
spring  would  embark  crews  of  native  islanders,  or  Kanakas 
as  they  came  to  be  called,  and  return  to  the  northwest  coast 
for  more  furs.  Thus  industriously  gathering  up  almost 
enough  to  fill  their  ships,  they  would  afterwards  complete 
their  cargoes  with  sandal-wood  and  run  into  China,  where 
they  would  exchange  their  valuables  for  still  greater  valua- 
bles in  the  shape  of  teas,  silks  and  nankins  and  in  the  course 
of  three  or  four  years  return  home  greatly  enriched.1 
1  Greenhow,  266,  267. 


CHAPTER     XI. 

OVERLAND    EXPEDITIONS   AND   EXPLORATIONS. 

WHILE  navigators  were  engaged  in  exploring  the  pas- 
sages and  examining  the  shores  of  the  northwest  coast, 
land  expeditions  commenced  opening  up  the  interior  com- 
munications and  advancing  the  frontiers  in  the  same  direction. 
The  first  person,  who  contemplated  crossing  the  continent, 
appears  to  have  been  Captain  Jonathan  Carver  of  Connecticut, 
an  old  soldier  of  the  French  and  Indian  war.  After  the  close 
of  that  conflict,  having  apparently  no  other  employment  to 
satisfy  his  enterprising  spirit,  he  conceived  the  project  of  an 
overland  journey  to  the  Pacific.  He  set  out  from  Boston  in 
1766  and  made  his  way  along  the  Lakes  to  the  head-waters 
of  the  Mississippi,  where  he  spent  two  years  among  the 
Indians,  learning  their  customs  and  languages  and  gathering 
all  the  information  he  was  able  in  regard  to  the  countries 
beyond.  From  there  it  was  his  purpose  to  cross  over,  by  the 
way  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  and  Lake  Winnepeg,  to  the 
head-waters  of  the  "  Great  River  of  the  West,  which  falls  into 
the  Straits  of  Anian."  His  ultimate  object  was  to  induce  the 
British  government  to  establish  a  post  at  or  near  the  Straits 
of  Anian,  which  he  regarded  as  having  been  discovered  by 
Sir  Francis  Drake,  and  thereby  facilitate  the  discovery  of  a 
northwest  passage  between  Hudson's  bay  and  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  It  was  his  idea  that  there  was  a  point  in  the  center 
of  the  continent,  on  what  he  called  the  Shining  Mountain,  at 
which  four  great  rivers  took  their  rise  within  a  few  leagues  of 
one  another  and,  running  off  in  different  directions,  emptied 
into  different  oceans  two  thousand  miles  from  their  source. 
The  first  called  the  Bourbon  he  supposed  to  run  northerly  to 

711) 


712  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

Hudson's  bay;  the  second  was  the  St.  Lawrence  running- 
easterly  to  the  Atlantic;  the  third  was  the  Mississippi  running 
southerly  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  the  fourth  he  called  the 
Oregon  and  described  as  running  westerly  and  emptying  into 
the  Straits  of  Anian.  From  whatever  sources  Carver  derived 
his  information  as  to  the  rivers  Bourbon  and  Oregon,  it  is 
plain  he  knew  nothing  about  them.  He  was  unable  to  exe- 
cute his  plan  of  traveling  westward  from  the  Mississippi;  but, 
even  had  he  done  so,  he  would  not  have  found  any  such 
place  as  the  Shining  Mountain  of  which  he  spoke.  He  may 
have  heard,  and  probably  did  hear,  vague  reports  of  great 
rivers  in  the  north  and  west;  but  he  never  saw  any  part  of 
any  of  them;  and  all  his  notions  about  them  were  fanciful  and 
altogether  unreliable.  It  was  through  his  writings,  however, 
that  the  word  Oregon  came  into  use  and  was  applied  some- 
times as  a  name  of  the  Columbia  river  and  afterwards  to  des- 
ignate the  territory  drained  by  its  waters.1 

The  first  really  important  discoveries  in  the  northwestern 
interior  and  beyond  the  countries  that  were  known  in  Carver's 
time  were  made  by  Samuel  Hearne,  an  agent  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company.  This  association  had  been  incorporated  in 
1669  by  a  charter  of  Charles  II.,  which  granted  to  Prince 
Rupert  and  his  associates  and  their  successors  the  exclusive 
right  of  trading  to  Hudson's  bay  and  the  countries  drained 
by  its  waters.  It  had  organized;  established  posts  at  different 
points  on  and  about  Hudson's  bay,  and  drove  a  thriving  busi- 
ness, principally  in  the  collection  of  furs,  which  it  shipped  to 
England  and  thence  distributed  to  the  various  markets  where 
they  could  be  sold  at  the  highest  profit.  For  many  years  it 
enjoyed  the  monopoly  of  this  trade  in  much  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  East  India  Company  enjoyed  the  trade  of  Eastern 
Asia  and  the  Pacific  Ocean;  and  in  process  of  time  it  became 
a  great  and  powerful  institution.  Hearne  was  stationed  at 
Fort  Prince  of  Wales  on  the  west  shore  of  Hudson's  bay, 
from  which  point  in  the  years  1770  and  1771  he  made  several 
journeys  to  the  west  and  northwest  of  that  post.  In  the 
course  of  his  explorations,  he  discovered  the  Great  Slave  Lake 

1  Greenhow,  141-144. 


OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS.  713 

and  other  waters  in  that  neighborhood  and  among  them  the 
Coppermine  river,  which  he  followed  to  its  mouth  in  the  far 
north,  where  he  observed  the  tides  to  ebb  and  flow  and  found 
the  beaches  strewn  with  the  relics  of  whales  that  had  been 
thrown  up  by  the- waves.  The  water  system  thus  discovered 
was  entirely  distinct  from  that  of  Hudson's  bay  and  showed 
that  there  was  no  passage  or  channel  of  water  communication 
from  it  to  the  Pacific.1 

Next  after  Hearne's  the  most  important  discoveries  in  the 
northwest  interior  were  made  by  Alexander  Mackenzie.  1  ie 
was  also  engaged  in  the  fur  trade  and  was  stationed  at  Fort 
Chipewyan  at  the  southwesterly  corner  of  Athabasca  Lake. 
From  this  post  he  made  several  extensive  journeys.  In  1789, 
having  descended  in  canoes  from  Athabasca  to  Great  Slave 
Lake,  he  discovered  a  large  river  flowing  out  of  the  western 
extremity  of  the  latter.  This  stream,  to  which  he  gave  the 
name  of  Mackenzie  river,  he  followed  some  nine  hundred 
miles  in  a  northwesterly  direction  to  its  mouth  in  the  Arctic 
Ocean.  In  1792,  starting  out  in  a  westerly  direction  from 
Athabasca  Lake,  he  ascended  Peace  river  to  the  Rocky 
mountains,  where  he  spent  the  winter.  Resuming  his  journey 
the  next  summer,  he  followed  the  course  of  Peace  river 
through  the  Rocky  mountains  to  its  head-waters  on  the  west- 
ern side  of  them.  From  there  he  crossed  over  a  short  dis- 
tance to  the  head-waters  of  a  stream  flowing  in  a  southerly 
direction,  called  by  the  natives  the  Tacoutchee-Tessee,  which 
he  supposed  to  be  the  Columbia  but  which  afterwards  proved 
to  be  Fraser  river.  This  he  followed  some  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles,  when  striking  off  westerly  and  traveling  about  two 
hundred  miles  in  that  direction  he  on  July  22,  1793,  reached 
the  shore  of  the  Pacific  north  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound 
and  near  latitude  50°.  Mackenzie  was  thus  the  first  white 
man  who  crossed  the  continent  at  its  widest  part  and  is  enti- 
tled to  the  name  of  the  pioneer  overland  explorer." 

But  the  most  famous  and  interesting  of  all  the  overland 
expeditions  was  that  of  Meriwether  Lewis  and  William  Clarke. 

1  Greenhow,  145,  146. 

2  Greenhow,  263,  264. 


714  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

These  persons  were  employed  by -the  United  States  govern- 
ment, at  the  suggestion  of  President  Jefferson,  to  explore  the 
upper  waters  of  the  Missouri  river  and  then  to  seek  and  trace 
to  its  termination  in  the  Pacific  any  stream  they  might  find, 
which  would  offer  the  most  direct  and  practicable  water  com- 
munication across  the  continent.  This  was  in  the  early  part 
of  1803,  while  negotiations  were  pending  for  the  purchase  by 
the  United  States  from  France  of  the  vast  and  undefined 
territory  of  Louisiana — -a  territory  which  was  supposed  to 
extend  from  what  is  now  called  Louisiana  to  an  almost  un- 
limited distance  northward  and  westward,  just  as  California 
was  originally  supposed  to  extend  from  what  is  now  called 
California  to  an  almost  unlimited  distance  northward  and 
eastward.  At  that  time  nothing  was  known  of  the  interior 
of  the  continent  north  of  Mexico  and  south  of  Mackenzie's 
line  of  travel.  There  was  some  information  that  the  Missouri, 
Rio  Grande,  Colorado  and  Columbia  flowed  for  immense 
distances;  but  about  their  head-waters  and  the  countries 
drained  by  them  there  was  no  reliable  knowledge  what- 
soever. The  objects  contemplated  by  the  new  expedition, 
therefore,  being  the  ascertainment  of  a  practicable  route 
across  the  continent  and  incidentally  the  examination  of  the 
countries  of  the  interior,  which  had  never  yet  been  seen  by- 
white  men,  were  of  great  importance  and  well  worthy  the 
attention  and  encouragement  of  government. 

Lewis  and  Clarke,  in  pursuance  of  their  instructions  from 
President  Jefferson,  set  off  at  once  for  the  west  in  the  expec- 
tation of  commencing  their  journey  and  getting  well  under 
way  before  the  winter.  But  for  various  reasons  they  were 
delayed  during  the  summer  and  autumn,  and  it  was  not  until 
the  spring  of  1804  that  they  crossed  the  Mississippi.  In  the 
middle  of  May  they  began  the  ascent  of  the  Missouri  in  three 
boats,  their  party  consisting  of  forty-four  men.  Towards  the 
end  of  October,  after  rowing  up  the  river  sixteen  hundred 
miles  they  arrived  at  the  country  occupied  by  the  Mandan 
Indians,  where  they  encamped  for  the  winter.  On  April  7, 
1805,  having  broken  up  their  camp  and  sent  back  a  portion 


O  VERLAND  EX  PL  OR  A  TIONS.  7 1 5 

of  their  men,  being  now  only  thirty,  they  resumed  their 
river  voyage  and  in  three  weeks  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellowstone.  Thence,  still  ascending  the  main  stream,  they 
rowed  up  to  the  cataracts  or  falls  of  the  Missouri,  at  which 
place  they  left  their  boats  and,  passing  around  to  a  point 
above  the  cataracts,  constructed  canoes  out  of  the  trunks  of 
cotton-wood  trees;  again  embarked  and  pursued  their  voyage 
to  a  point  formed  by  the  confluence  of  smaller  streams  and 
regarded  by  them  as  the  head  of  the  Missouri.  The  largest 
of  these  confluent  streams  they  named  the  Jefferson  river; 
and  up  this  the  canoes  continued  to  ascend  till  they  reached 
the  end  of  canoe  navigation  at  a  distance  by  water  of  about 
three  thousand  miles  from  St.  Louis. 

At  the  place  of  confluence  the  leaders  with  a  number  of 
the  men,  leaving  the  others  to  pull  up  the  Jefferson  river, 
struck  off  into  the  Rocky  mountains,  at  whose  eastern  bases 
they  had  arrived;  and  crossing  over  they  reached  the  head- 
waters of  several  streams  flowing  westward,  one  of  which 
was  traced  by  Captain  Clarke  for  seventy  miles.  From  the 
character  and  direction  of  these  streams  and  the  accounts 
given  of  them  by  the  Indians,  the  explorers  satisfied  them- 
selves that  they  were  the  head-waters  of  the  Columbia;  and, 
with  this  information  and  a  determination  to  trace  them  to 
their  mouths,  they  returned  to  their  men  at  the  head-waters 
of  the  Jefferson  and  prepared  for  the  transportation  of  their 
supplies  over  the  mountains  to  such  point  on  the  western 
streams  as  would  be  suitable  for  the  construction  of  new 
canoes  and  embarcation  upon  their  currents.  The  Missouri 
river  canoes  and  all  the  goods  intended  to  be  used  on  their 
return  were  accordingly  concealed  in  covered  pits,  or  in 
trapper  phrase  "cached,"  and  the  whole  body  of  travelers 
then,  having  procured  horses  and  guides  from  the  Indians,  on 
August  30  commenced  the  passage  of  the  mountains  with 
their  supplies. 

Between  the  head-waters  of  the  Missouri  and  the  head- 
waters of  the  Columbia  the  Rocky  mountains  are  exceedingly 
rugged  and  the  passes  over  them  difficult.     In  some  places 


716  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

further  south  the  slopes  are  so  gradual  that  the  traveler  can 
cross  the  summit  almost  without  noticing  the  great  elevation. 
But  on  the  route  taken  by  Lewis  and  Clarke  the  central  chain 
is  precipitous  and  embraces  many  extensive  spurs  and  out- 
lying peaks,  upon  which  more  or  less  snow  lies  all  the  year 
round.  The  passage,  that  is  to  say  from  the  head  of  canoe 
navigation  on  one  side  to  the  head  of  canoe  navigation  on  the 
other,  was  about  four  hundred  miles  and  occupied  them  three 
weeks,  during  almost  all  of  which  they  suffered  much  from 
cold  and  fatigue.  At  length,  however,  after  crossing  various 
small  streams  they  reached  a  considerable  one,  called  by  the 
Indians  the  Kaskaskia,  where  they  constructed  five  canoes 
and  on  October  7,  embarking  upon  its  waters,  began  their 
descent  towards  the  Pacific.  Three  days  afterwards  they 
entered  the  principal  southern  branch  of  the  Columbia,  which 
they  named  Lewis'  river;  and  seven  days  after  that  they 
reached  the  main  Columbia,  which  they  regarded  as  a  north- 
ern branch  and  named  Clarke's  river.  From  the  junction, 
they  passed  down  the  rapid  current  till  the  last  day  of  Octo- 
ber, when  they  reached  the  falls  where  the  river  breaks 
through  the  Cascade  mountains.  Some  of  the  canoes  shot 
these  rapids;  others  with  the  supplies  were  carried  around  by 
land.  At  the  foot  of  the  cascades  they  again  embarked; 
soon  afterwards  they  felt  the  influence  of  the  tides  and  on 
November  15  landed  on  Cape  Disappointment  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia,  six  hundred  miles  from  where  they  had 
embarked  on  its  waters  and  four  thousand,  by  the  way  they 
had  come,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri. 

By  that  time  the  winter  had  commenced  and  the  rains  were 
so  incessant  and  violent  and  the  waters  of  the  river  as  well  as 
the  ocean  so  agitated  by  winds  that  the  adventurers  could 
scarcely  stir  abroad.  They  accordingly  remained  in  their 
camp,  which  they  first  formed  on  the  north  side  of  the  river 
about  eleven  miles  inland  and  afterwards  on  the  south  side  of 
the  river  at  a  spot  named  by  them  Fort  Clatsop,  until  towards 
the  end  of  March,  1806,  when  they  again  embarked  in  their 
canoes  and   began  to  ascend  the  river  on  their  return.     Thev 


OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS.  717 

now  carefully  examined  its  banks,  including  the  mouths  of 
its  large  branches  known  as  the  Cowlitz  and  Multnomah  or 
Willamette,  as  it  is  now  called;  and  in  the  course  of  about 
three  weeks  reached  the  foot  of  the  cascades.  There,  on 
account  of  the  rapidity  of  the  current,  against  which  they 
would  have  to  row  if  they  proceeded  further  by  water,  they 
abandoned  their  canoes  and  purchased  Indian  horses,  with 
which  they  resumed  their  journey.  At  first  they  traveled 
along  the  river  side  and  then  crossed  over  the  elevated  plains 
eastward  of  the  great  bend  until  May  8,  when  they  reached 
the  spot  on  the  Kaskaskia  river,  where  they  had  first  em- 
barked on  the  western  side  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  Thence 
they  proceeded  eastward  to  the  head-waters  of  Clarke's  river, 
which  there  flows  in  a  northerly  direction.  At  that  point  it 
was  arranged  that  the  expedition  should  divide  into  two 
parties,  each  to  take  a  different  course  from  the  other  and 
both  to  meet  again  at  the' junction  of  the  Missouri  and  Yel- 
lowstone. 

Captain  Lewis  and  his  party  proceeded  northward  down 
the  Clarke's  river  or,  as  that  portion  of  it  is  now  known,  the 
Bitter  Root  river,  and  then  crossed  over  the  mountains  to  the 
head-waters  of  the  Maria  river.  Thence  they  traveled  through 
the  country  of  the  Blackfoot  Indians  to  the  great  falls  of  the 
Missouri,  where  again  constructing  canoes  they  floated  down 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone.  Captain  Clarke  and  his 
party  on  the  other  hand,  after  separating  from  Captain  Lewis, 
traveled  southward  beyond  the  head-waters  of  the  Bitter  Root 
river  and  across  various  ranges  of  the  mountains  to  the  head- 
waters of  the  Yellowstone  river,  upon  which  stream  they  em- 
barked and  floated  down  to  its  mouth,  where  the  two  parties 
met  on  August  12.  From  that  point  the  expedition  as  a 
whole  descended  the  Missouri  and  on  September  23,  1806, 
arrived  at  St.  Louis  after  an  absence  of  about  two  years  and 
four  months  and  traveling  upwards  of  nine  thousand  miles. 
An  account  in  the  form  of  a  journal  of  the  expedition,  writ- 
ten in  plain  but  graphic  language  by  Nicholas  Biddle  and 
Paul  Allen  and  prefaced  by  a  memoir  of  Captain  Lewis   by 


718  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

the  able  hand  of  Jefferson  himself,  was  published  by  the  gov- 
ernment in  1 8 14.  It  was  based  upon  the  original  diaries; 
gave  a  correct  description  of  the  countries  passed  through  as 
well  as  the  adventures  of  the  explorers,  and  was  more  exten- 
sively read,  perhaps,  than  any  other  book  of  travels  that  had 
up  to  that  time  appeared  in  the  world.  Lewis  and  Clarke 
were  in  fact  more  famous  and  made  known  a  larger  extent  of 
habitable  territory  than  any  others  of  their  generation.1 

Another  famous  explorer  of  those  days  was  Zebulon  Mont- 
gomery Pike.  He  also,  like  Lewis  and  Clarke,,  was  commis- 
sioned by  the  United  States  government.  His  first  expedi- 
tion was  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Mississippi  river  in  1803. 
Afterwards  in  1806  he  traveled  southwestward  from  St.  Louis 
to  the  head-waters  of  the  Arkansas  and  discovered  the  lofty 
mountain  known  as  Pike's  Peak.  From  there  he  crossed 
over  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Rio  Grande,  which  he  sup- 
posed at  first  to  be  those  of  the  Red  river.  While  there  he 
was  arrested  by  the  Spaniards,  on  the  ground  that  he  had 
trespassed  upon  Spanish  soil,  and  carried  to  Chihuahua. 
There,  after  an  examination  by  the  Spanish  authorities,  he 
was  released  and  conducted  through  Texas  to  Nachitoches, 
where  he  arrived  in  July,  1807,  having  thus  passed  through 
much  of  what  is  now  Colorado — a  country  next  to  California 
among  the  most  interesting  on  the  continent.  Pike,  then  a 
lieutenant,  afterwards  a  general  in  the  United  States  army, 
was  a  man  of  scholarly  attainments  and  in  1810  published  the 
journals  of  his  explorations. 

The  results  of  these  various  overland  expeditions  were  not 
only  a  tolerably  thorough  knowledge  of  the  countries  trav- 
ersed but  also  the  foundation  of  a  claim  on  the  part  of  the 
nations  of  the  respective  explorers  to  the  sovereignty  of  the 
regions  so  explored.  It  was  in  fact  a  part  of  the  plan  of 
Mackenzie  from  the  beginning  to  secure  for  the  British  crown 
all  the  northwestern  portions  of  America;  and  he  proceeded 
to  accomplish  his  designs  with  the  skill  and  foresight  of  a 
statesman.  Knowing  that  the  possession  of  those  wild  terri- 
tories would  for  a  long  time  at  least  have  to  be  maintained 

1  Journal  of  Lewis  and  Clarke;  Greenhow,  282-288. 


OVERLAAD  EXPLORATIONS.  719 

almost  exclusively  by  traders  and  trappers  and  finding  that 
all  the  traders  and  trappers  of  his  nation  in  America  were 
divided  into  conflicting  parties,  he  set  about  reconciling  their 
differences  and  uniting  their  interests.  On  the  one  side  was 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  which  claimed  the  monopoly  of 
all  the  trade  in  the  wide-spread  regions  drained  by  waters 
flowing  into  Hudson's  bay,  while  on  the  other  hand  and 
arrayed  against  it  was  the  North  West  Company  of  Montreal 
which  had  been  organized  in  1784  and  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years  had  absorbed  almost  all  the  other  business  associations 
and  interests  of  the  country.  Between  these  two  companies 
there  were  continual  disagreements  and  disputes;  and  the 
hostility  thus  engendered  spread  itself  among  their  respective 
agents  and  employees.  Mackenzie's  plan,  in  addition  to 
forming  the  coalition  referred  to,  also  contemplated  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  direct  trade  between  the  northwest  coast  and 
China;  and  for  this  purpose  he  recognized  the  necessity  of 
engaging  the  interest  of  the  East  India  Company  in  his 
project.  It  was  thus  a  very  large  and  a  very  difficult  under- 
taking that  he  proposed  to  himself.  But  after  several  years 
of  skillful  and  persevering  labor,  he  succeeded  at  last  in  having 
his  recommendations  adopted;  and  the  result  in  the  course  of 
time  was  the  establishment  of  British  dominion  and  the 
extension  of  British  commerce  over  all  the  northern  portions 
of  America." 

The  United  States  on  the  other  hand,  by  the  purchase  of 
Louisiana  on  April  30,  1803,  acquired  a  vast  territory  of  unde- 
termined limits  which  might  very  well  be  claimed,  according 
to  the  principles  in  vogue  among  the  English  and  Spanish 
politicians  of  the  day,  to  extend  as  far  as  the  Pacific  Ocean 
on  the  west  and  lap  over  upon  the  English  in  the  north  and 
the  Spaniards  in  the  south.  Having  thus  no  definite  bounda- 
ries to  their  claims  as  opposed  to  the  English  on  the  one  side 
or  the  Spaniards  on  the  other,  the  Americans  considered  all 
the  regions  traversed  by  their  explorers  as  belonging  to  their 
territory,  not  only  as  being  a  part  of  their  purchase  but  also 
by  the  right  of  discovery;  and  in  a  short  time  their  traders 

1  Greenhow,  264,  265. 


720  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

and  trappers  began  advancing  their  posts  and  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  new  fields  thus  opened  for  their  enterprise.  Im- 
mediately after  the  return  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  in  1 806,  various 
individuals  on  the  western  frontier  engaged  in  trade  with  the 
Indians  west  of  them  and  made  some  advances  into  their 
territories.  But  no  very  important  move  was  made  until 
1808,  when  the  Missouri  Fur  Company  was  organized.  This 
association  established  posts  on  the  upper  Mississippi  and  at 
various  points  along  the  Missouri  and  also  crossed  the  Rocky 
mountains  and  planted  a  station  on  the  southern  branch  of  the 
Columbia,  which  was  the  earliest  establishment  by  civilized 
men  in  any  of  the  territories  drained  by  that  great  stream. 
This  post,  however,  on  account  of  its  remoteness  and  the 
hostility  of  the  neighboring  Indians,  was  soon  afterwards 
abandoned.  About  the  same  time — that  is  to  say  in  1 810 — an 
attempt  was  made  to  establish  a  post  at  Oak  Point  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  Columbia  forty  miles  from  its  mouth  by 
Captain  Smith  of  the  ship  Albatross  of  Boston;  but  this  also 
in  the  course  of  a  few  months  had  to  be  given  up.1 

The  next  and  the  most  famous  of  all  the  American  fur- 
trading  posts  was  that  of  Astoria  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
Columbia  ten  miles  from  its  mouth.  This  was  founded  in 
the  spring  of  18 11  by  an  association  organized  and  managed 
by  John  Jacob  Astor,  a  merchant  of  New  York  who  had 
for  many  years  been  extensively  engaged  in  trade  and  had 
grown  immensely  wealthy.  His  idea  was,  by  means  of  this 
company,  to  monopolize  the  entire  fur  trade  of  all  the  western 
countries  claimed  by  the  United  States  and  gradually  to 
obtain  control  of  the  entire  trade  between  the  western  coast 
of  America  and  China.  For  this  purpose  he  designed  the 
establishment  of  posts  along  the  Missouri  and  Columbia 
and  the  Pacific  coast  at  whatever  points  might  be  found  most 
advantageous;  and  he  arranged  a  system  of  communication 
by  means  of  which  the  various  posts  were  to  be  regularly 
supplied  with  articles  of  barter  and  provisions  and  the  furs 
they  collected  to  be  conveyed  to  tide  waters  and  thence 
shipped  to  the  nearest  or  most  remunerative  markets.     Those 

1  Grcenhow,  291,  292. 


OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS.  721 

collected  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains  were  to  be  carried  to 
Atlantic  ports  and  disposed  of  there  or  in  Europe;  while 
those  collected  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains  were  to  be 
carried  to  some  principal  post,  to  be  selected  and  founded  at 
or  near  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  and  thence  shipped  to 
and  sold  in  China  in  exchange  for  silks,  teas  and  otlur 
Chinese  goods.  He  even  looked  forward  to  obtaining  the  car- 
rying trade  in  the  Pacific  from  the  Russians  and  the  English. 
With  these  ends  in  view,  he  sent  an  agent  to  St.  Petersburg  to 
conduct  the  necessary  negotiations  in  that  quarter,  and  himself 
undertook  to  engage  the  interests  of  the  British,  not  only  by 
choosing  the  most  skillful  and  influential  English  and  Scotch 
fur-traders  an  his  associates  but  also  by  offering  an  entire  third 
of  his  enterprise  to  the  British  North  West  Company,  which 
was  the  only  rival  he  had  to  fear.  Under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, with  the  great  wealth,  energy  and  administrative 
ability  of  Astor,  the  enterprise  notwithstanding  the  refusal  of 
the  North  West  Company  to  accept  the  proposition  offered 
would  have  succeeded  and  a  great  American  monopoly  have 
sprung  up,  inimical  to  the  spirit  of  American  institutions  and 
perhaps  of  baneful  influence  upon  the  subsequent  history  of 
the  Pacific  coast.  But  fortunately  the  great  project  failed; 
and,  when  the  American  territories  on  the  Pacific  afterwards 
came  to  be  opened  to  immigration  and  settlement,  they  were 
found  comparatively  free  from  the  shackles  and  bonds  in 
which  the  success  of  Astor's  enterprise  would  probably  have 
involved  them.  It  is  in  fact  very  problematical  whether,  had 
he  been  entirely  successful  in  bringing  in  and  making  common 
cause  with  the  British  as  he  contemplated,  there  would  ever 
have  been  any  American  territory  on  the  Pacific. 

The  capital  stock  of  the  company  was  divided  into  one 
hundred  shares,  one-half  of  which  Astor  retained  for  himself 
and  the  remainder  were  distributed  among  the  associates  who 
were  to  conduct  the  expeditions,  establish  the  posts  and  carry 
on  the  business  in  the  western  wilds.  Among  these  were 
Alexander  Mackay,  Duncan  Macdougal,  Donald  Mackenzie, 
David  Stuart,  Robert  Stuart  and  Ramsay  Crooks,  all  of  whom 

46     Vol   I. 


722  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

were  British  subjects  and  had  been  connected  with  the  North 
West  Company,  and  Wilson  P.  Hunt,  John  Clarke  and  Robert 
Maclellan,  citizens  of  the  United  States.  In  pursuance  of  the 
plans  adopted,  Mackay,  Macdougal  and  the  two  Stuarts  with  a 
number  of  clerks  and  employees  set  sail  from  New  York  in 
the  ship  Tonquin  in  September,  1810,  for  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  with  the  intention  of  establishing  the  main  post  on 
the  Pacific  at  that  point.  In  January  following,  Hunt,  Mac- 
kenzie, Maclellan  and  Crooks  with  another  body  of  men  set 
out  upon  an  overland  journey  for  the  same  point  by  the  way 
of  the  Mississippi  river;  and  in  October,  181 1,  Clarke  and 
a  third  party  sailed  from  New  York  in  the  ship  Beaver 
for  the  same  destination.  The  Tonquin  proceeded  by  the 
way  of  Cape  Horn  and  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  entered  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  on  March  29,  181 1.  After  a  short 
stay  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river  just  within  Cape  Disap- 
pointment, the  partners  pitched  upon  a  point  on  the  south 
bank  ten  miles  from  the  mouth,  which  had  been  called  Point 
George  by  Broughton  and  was  still  known  by  that  name,  as  the 
site  of  the  proposed  principal  post  of  the  company  on  the 
Pacific.  They  immediately  proceeded  to  erect  a  fort  and  in 
honor  of  the  founder,  who  bore  all  the  preliminary  expenses 
of  the  enterprise,  gave  the  name  of  Astoria  to  the  new  estab- 
lishment. In  the  course  of  a  few  months  it  was  sufficiently 
advanced  to  dispense  with  the  further  presence  of  the  Ton- 
quin, which  accordingly  on  June  "5,  181 1,  with  Mackay  and 
the  necessary  assistants  on  board  sailed  for  the  northern  coasts 
with  the  object  of  making  the  proper  arrangements  and  open- 
ing the  trade  in  that  direction. 

The  overland  party  under  Hunt,  Mackenzie,  Maclellan  and 
Crooks,  after  reaching  St.  Louis,  ascended  the  Missouri  and 
crossed  the  Rocky  mountains  near  the  head  of  the  Yellow- 
stone river.  Thence  they  attempted  to  descend  one  of  the 
branches  of  the  Columbia,  but  encountered  so  many  obstruc- 
tions in  their  navigation  that  they  were  compelled  to  abandon 
the  stream  and  make  their  way  by  land.  For  this  part  of 
their  journey  they  were  badly  provided:  winter  overtook  them 


OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS.  723 

while  still  at  a  great  distance  from  the  Pacific;  they  were 
compelled  to  separate  into  smaller  parties  and  pursue  sepa- 
rate paths;  they  suffered  many  privations  and  lost  a  number 
of  their  men;  and  it  was  not  until  towards  the  spring  of 
1812  and  more  than  a  year  after  leaving  St.  Louis  that  the 
scattered  divisions  reached  their  destination  and  found  rest 
and  shelter  in  the  new  fort.  On  May  5,  1812,  soon  after  the 
overland  party  had  come  in,  the  ship  Beaver  arrived  with 
Clarke  and  the  last  detachment  of  employees  from  New 
York.  All  the  Pacific  adventurers,  with  the  exception  of 
those  who  had  sailed  in  the  Tonquin,  those  who  had  been  lost 
in  the  journey  across  the  continent  and  a  few  who  were  out 
among  the  Indians  of  the  Upper  Columbia,  were  now  united; 
and,  although  there  was  much  in  the  wildness  of  the  country 
and  the  great  distance  from  civilization  to  cause  dissatisfac- 
tion, the  prospects  for  the  future  of  the  establishment  were 
sufficiently  promising;  and  but  for  unforeseen  occurrences  the 
new  post  might  have  been  the  chief  center  of  Anglo-Saxon 
settlement  upon  the  coast.    . 

Astoria  or  the  fort  bearing  that  name  consisted  of  a  num- 
ber of  buildings,  including  warehouses  and  shops,  surrounded 
by  a  stockade  square  in  form  and  about  fifteen  feet  high. 
On  two  of  the  corners  diagonally  opposite  each  other  were 
bastions,  two  stories  high,  in  each  of  which  there  was  a  six- 
pounder  cannon  and  a  number  of  small  arms.  The  stockade 
itself  was  pierced  with  loop-holes  suitable  for  musketry  and 
around  on  the  inside  beneath  them  was  a  gallery  on  which 
the  men  in  case  of  an  attack  could  station  themselves  and 
ply  thei»  guns.  The  ground  in  front  sloped  down  to  the 
river,  which  swept  majestically  by.  On  the  right,  up  the 
river  and  about  three  miles  distant,  a  long,  high,  wooded 
point  connected  with  the  mainland  by  a  narrow  neck  pro- 
jected into  the  stream,  while  to  the  left  ten  miles  distant  was 
Cape  Disappointment  and  the  long  line  of  breakers  which 
marked  the  horizon  in  that  direction  with  incessant  foam. 
Directly  in  front  of  the  fort  was  a  vegetable  garden,  and  a 
few  hundred  yards  beyond  a  wharf  running  out  a  short  dis- 


724  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

tance  into  the  water.  Across  the  river  was  the  bold,  high, 
thickly-wooded  shore  and  in  the  rear  and  on  the  sides  was  the 
almost  interminable  forest  of  gigantic  firs  so  thickly  grown  as 
to  seem  next  to  impenetrable.  The  men,  all  told  and  includ- 
ing some  three  dozen  Sandwich  Islanders,  numbered  near  a 
hundred  and  fifty.  They  had  a  small  vessel,  the  frame  of  which 
had  been  brought  out  from  New  York  in  the  Tonquin ;  they 
established  a  few  subordinate  posts,  one  at  the  junction  of 
the  Columbia  and  Okinagan  and  one  on  the  Spokane  river  ; 
and  they  collected  for  the  time  they  were  engaged  in  the 
work  a  large  number  of  furs.  But  owing  to  events,  now  to 
be  adverted  to,  the  enterprise  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company 
came  to  a  sudden  halt  and  Astoria  as  a  fur-trading  post  never 
advanced  far  beyond  its  primeval  condition  of  forest  and  wil- 
derness. 

The  first  misfortune  which  befell  the  establishment  was  the 
loss  of  the  Tonquin.  This  vessel,  after  leaving  the  Colum- 
bia in  June,  1811,  sailed  up  the  coast  to  Clyoquot  bay  just 
beyond  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca.  Anchoring  there,  its 
people  opened  trade  with  the  Indians  who  surrounded  the 
ship  in  great  numbers  and  apparently  with  the  most  friendly 
dispositions.  But  suddenly  they  seized  and  put  to  death  all 
the  crew  and  passengers  with  the  exception  of  a  few,  who 
managed  to  get  into  the  cabin  and  with  their  fire-arms  drove 
the  savages  off.  That  night  four  of  the  survivors  quitted  the 
vessel  in  a  boat  and  attempted  to  escape;  but  they  were 
taken  and  also  butchered.  The  next  day  the  savages  again 
boarded  the  ship  and  were  engaged  in  rifling  it,  when  the 
whites  who  still  remained  alive  and  chief  among  whom  was 
Mr.  Lewis,  Mackay's  clerk,  resolving  to  sell  their  lives  as 
dearly  as  possible,  applied  fire  to  the  powder-magazine  and 
blew  themselves  and  their  enemies  all  together  into  eternity. 
But  one  man  of  those  who  had  sailed  in  the  ship  escaped  and 
this  was  an  Indian  interpreter,  who  was  saved  and  carried  off 
by  some  women  on  the  occasion  of  the  first  attack.  He  was 
kept  a  prisoner  for  two  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he 
was  allowed  to  depart ;  and  it  was  from  his  account  that  the 


OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS.  Tib 

particulars  of  the  loss  of  the  vessel  and  the  manner  of  its 
destruction  were  learned  by  the  whites. 

When  the  loss  of  the  Tonquin  was  ascertained,  Hunt  under- 
took to  fulfill  the  mission  upon  which  Mackay  had  sailed 
and  accordingly  in  August,  1812,  embarked  for  the  northern 
coasts  in  the  Beaver,  leaving  the  control  of  Astoria  in  the 
hands  of  Macdougal  while  Maclellan,  Crooks  and  Robert 
Stuart  left  on  a  return  trip  across  the  continent  for  New  York. 
But  in  the  meanwhile  the  war  of  1812  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  had  broken  out;  and,  as  soon  as  it 
was  known  in  Astoria,  affairs  there  assumed  an  entirely  new 
phase.  The  British  North  West  Company  had  from  the 
beginning  looked  with  disfavor  upon  the  American  project; 
there  was  as  yet  an  unsettled  dispute  about  the  sovereignty 
of  the  territory ;  and  it  was  now  resolved  that  the  new  settle- 
ment should  be  broken  up  or  pass  into  British  hands.  The 
latter  result  was  accomplished  on  October  13,  18 13,  by  Mac- 
dougal, Mackenzie  and  Clarke  selling  out  and  delivering  over 
to  the  agents  of  the  North  West  Company  the  entire  estab- 
lishment for  between  fifty  and  sixty  thousand  dollars.  Hardly 
had  the  bargain  been  completed,  when  the  British  sloop-of- 
war  Raccoon,  Captain  William  Black,  arrived  with  the  inten- 
tion of  taking  the  place;  but,  being  thus  forestalled,  it  had 
nothing  to  do  but  witness  the  hauling  down  of  the  Ameri- 
can flag  and  the  hoisting  of  the  British  colors  in  its  place. 
The  name  of  Astoria  was  changed  to  that  of  Fort  George 
and  until  the  end  of  the  war  the  Columbia  and  in  fact  the 
entire  country  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  British. 

Had  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  embraced  only  American 
citizens  instead  of  including  British  subjects,  the  loss  of 
Astoria,  though  it  would  have  caused  a  temporary  suspension 
of  business,  would  probably  not  have  been  sufficient  to  break 
up  the  enterprise;  but  under  the  circumstances  Hunt,  upon 
his  return  to  the  post  in  18 14,  found  he  could  do  nothing  bet- 
ter than  wind  up  the  American  interests  in  that  quarter;  and 
no  attempt  was  made  on  the  part  of  Astor  or  his  American 
associates  to  revive  them.     Afterwards,  when  peace  was  re- 


726  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

stored  and  an  article  had  been  inserted  in  the  treaty  between 
the  two  nations  that  all  the  territories  taken  by  one  party 
from  the  other  during  the  war  should  be  restored,  the  Ameri- 
cans demanded  that  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  should  be 
given  up.  The  British  government  for  some  time  resisted  the 
demand  on  various  grounds,  the  chief  of  which  was  the  ques- 
tion of  sovereignty;  but  it  was  finally  agreed  that  the  pos- 
session should  be  restored  and  the  settlement  of  title  left  for 
further  consideration.  Accordingly  on  October  6,  i8i8,  Fort 
George  was  formally  delivered  back  to  the  Americans.  The 
British  colors,  which  had  floated  over  the  Columbia  for  the 
space  of  five  years,  were  hauled  down  and  the  flag  of  the 
United  States  run  up  in  their  place  and  saluted  by  the  retir- 
ing British  guns.  Thus  again  the  stars  and  stripes  looked 
out  upon  and  exposed  its  folds  to  the  broad  waves  of  the 
Pacific.1 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  restoration  of  Astoria  to  the  Amer- 
icans, its  history  and  the  history  of  the  entire  northwest  coast 
had  more  or  less  intimate  relation  with  the  history  of  Cali- 
fornia. This  was  not  only  on  account  of  the  influence  which 
a  settlement  on  any  part  of  a  remoter  coast  must  of  necessity 
have  upon  a  portion  of  the  same  coast  nearer  the  centers  of 
civilization;  but  for  the  still  stronger  reason  that  on  the  part 
of  Spain  at  least  all  that  coast  was  claimed  to  be  a  part  of 
California.  As  Louisiana  on  the  one  side  extended  indefi- 
nitely northward  so  as  to  include  Missouri  and  still  more 
northern  territory,  so  did  California  on  the  other  side  so  as 
to  include  what  is  now  Oregon  and  even  Nootka;  and  though 
such  claims  might  be  disputed  by  other  nations  and  perhaps 
could  not  be  sustained,  it  is  certain  that  there  was  no  northern 
boundary  within  which  the  true  extent  of  California  could 
be  limited.  But  now  at  the  same  time  that  the  country  of 
the  Columbia  was  thus  passing  back  into  the  hands  of  the 
Americans,  negotiations  were  going  on  at  Washington  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Spain  for  the  settlement  of  their 
boundaries;  and  the  result  was  what  is  known  as  the  Florida 
Treaty,  signed  on   February  22,  18 19.     By  the  terms  of  this 

1  Greenhow,  290-310. 


OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS.  727 

instrument,  in  addition  to  the  sale  of  Florida  and  the  separa- 
tion of  Louisiana  from  Texas,  Spain  relinquished  or  ceded  to 
the  United  States  all  territory  and  territorial  claims  north  of 
the  parallel  of  42  °  north  latitude  between  the  head-waters  of 
the  Arkansas  river  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  while  the  United 
States  relinquished  and  ceded  to  Spain  all  territory  and 
territorial  claims  south  of  that  parallel.  The  establishment 
of  the  line  so  fixed  settled  the  northern  boundary  of  Cali- 
fornia; and  it  has  remained  the  same  and  unchanged  down 
to  the  present  time.1 

When  Mexico  threw  off  the  Spanish  yoke  in  1821,  Cali- 
fornia, which  had  thus  for  the  first  time  been  bounded  and 
limited  on  the  north  though  still  indefinite  as  to  what  con- 
stituted its  eastern  border,  became  a  province  of  the  Mexican 
Empire  and  soon  afterwards  a  territory  of  the  Mexican 
Republic.  When  afterwards  the  country  became  a  part  of 
the  United  States  and  began  to  be  divided  up  into  territories, 
the  old  northern  line.continued  to  be  a  line  of  demarcation; 
and  this  is  the  reason  why  at  this  day  Oregon  and  Idaho  are 
separated  from  California,  Nevada  and  Utah,  not  by  a  mount- 
ain chain  or  a  river  course  or  any  other  natural  division,  but 
by  a  long  straight  line  running  directly  east  and  west,  the 
location  of  which  is  fixed  by  measuring  forty-two  degrees 
northward  from  the  equator. 

1  Greenhow,  316,  317. 


CH  APTE  R    XII. 


THE    INDIANS. 


ALTA  CALIFORNIA  was  little  if  any  more  densely 
populated  with  Indians  than  Lower  California.  Though 
a  land  of  extreme  fertility,  rich  in  well-watered  plains  and 
luxuriant  valleys  which  afforded  as  a  general  rule  abundance 
of  herbage,  wild  fruits,  fish  and  game,  these  were  not  always 
to  be  relied  on;  and,  as  there  was  no  cultivation  and  very  little 
storing  of  provisions,  the  natives  were  obliged  to  wander  ^ 
more  or  less  from  place  to  place,  as  the  seasons  changed,  in 
search  of  food.  The  same  people,  who  in  the  spring  and 
summer  inhabited  the  valleys  or  bivouacked  along  the  streams 
and  lived  upon  clover,  grass  seeds  or  fish,  in  the  autumn 
sought  the  high-growing  nuts  and  berries  of  the  hills  and 
mountains.  There  were  sometimes  long  droughts  and  fail- 
ures of  the  wild  crops  and  consequent  famines,  against  which 
they  did  not  know  enough  or  were  too  idle  to  provide. 
Though  there  were  no  places  excepting  the  snowy  regions  of 
the  Sierras,  where  a  horseman  might  travel  a  whole  day  with- 
out meeting  a  human  being  as  in  some  parts  of  Lower  Cali- 
fornia, and  though  in  general  the  earth  teemed  and  the  waters 
swarmed  in  superabundance,  the  means  of  sustaining  life 
were  not  always  certain;  and  the  Indians  lived,  as  the  wild 
animals  lived,  entirely  dependent  upon  what  unassisted  nature 
offered  them,  fattening  and  increasing  in  times  of  plenty  and 
starving  and  diminishing  in  times  of  scarcity. 

On  account  of  their  low  grade  in  the  scale  of  humanity, 

being  with  few  exceptions  as  low. as  their  neighbors  in  Lower 

California  and  therefore  almost  as  degraded  as  any  human 

beings  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  they  can  hardly  be  described 

(728) 


THE  INDIANS.  729 

as  divided  into  distinct  tribes,  but  rather  as  one  people  varying 
only  according"  to  the  regions  they  inhabited  and  the  kind.-. 
of  food  upon  which  they  lived.  All  .were  equally  stupid  and 
brutish.  Some  .exceptions  from  these  general  remarks  must 
be  made  for  the  Indians  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel,  who 
were  superior  to  all  the  others  in  the  country;  but  in  general 
they  resembled  mere  omnivorous  animals  without  govern- 
ment or  laws — each  family  or  rancheria  living  by  itself  and 
occupying  its  own  ground  until  destroyed  or  driven  off  by  a 
more  powerful  one,  regarding  all  other  families  as  strangers 
and  enemies  -and  almost  constantly  in  a  state  of  warfare  and 
readiness  to  ki.ll  on  the  slightest  provocation.  They  were  a 
very  different  race  from  the  red  men  of  the  eastern  side  of  the 
continent  and  can  hardly  be  considered  in  any  respect  of  the 
same  blood.  In  general  appearance  and  characteristics  they 
resembled  more  the  Esquimaux  and  Kamtschatkans,  to  whom 
they  were  probably  more  nearly  related  than  to"  the  Atlantic 
tribes.1 

It  is  idle,  perhaps,  in  the  present  imperfect  state  of  our 
knowledge,  to  speculate  as  to  whence  they  came;  for  though 
their  resemblance  to  the  northeastern  Asiatics  is  marked  and 
though  it  is  not  at  all  impossible  for  parties  of  those  people 
to  have  crossed  over  by  the  way  of  Behring's  Straits  and  the 
Aleutian  archipelago  or  for  Japanese  junks  with  living  per- 
sons on  board  to  have  been  cast  away  on  the  northwest  coast 
of  America,  as  in  fact  not  unfrequently  happened,  yet  all 
speculations  so  far  made  are  entirely  inconclusive  and  worth- 
less. It  seems  very  certain,  however,  that  if  the  people  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  Pacific  were  of  the  same  blood,  their 
separation  from  one  another  was  far  back  in  the  incalculable 
distances  of  past  time,  and  probably  at  a  period  when  the 
geographical  distribution  of  land  and  sea  was  very  different 
from  what  it  is  now.  The  day  may  come  when  geology  or 
the  science  of  language  or  perhaps  some  science  as  yet 
unknown  will  throw  light  upon  the  subject;  but  at  present 
the  Indians  can  only  be  treated  as  other  native  products  of 
the  country,  to  be  regarded   like  the  bears  of  the  mountains 

1  Duflot  de  Mofras,  II,  330,  331. 


780  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

and  the  coyotes  and  spermophiles  of  the  plains  as  the  out- 
growth of  the  soil,  moulded  to  what  they  were  by  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  they  lived. 

Various  attempts  have  been  made  to  divide  and  classify 
the  Indians  into  distinct  groups;  but  they  have  proved  of  no 
use  except  to  give  names  to  the  natives  of  particular  locali- 
ties. -There  were  no  governments,  laws  or  customs^aggregat- 
ing  them  into  large  political  organizations;  there  were  no 
great  nations  or  large  tribes  as  on  the  Atlantic  coast;  there 
were  no  kings  or  even  chiefs  exercising  sway  beyond  their 
own  immediate  neighborhoods;  it  was  seldom  indeed  that 
there  was  anything  like  combinations  or  conjoint  action  of 
any  kind.1  They  lived  in  general  in  rancherias  or  villages  of 
small  extent,  more  or  less  numerously  populated  and  close 
together  as  the  means  of  sustaining  life  were  more  or  less 
abundant.  Those  inhabiting  the  same  valley  or  portion  of  a 
valley,  if  large,  were  more  or  less  nearly  related  to  one  an- 
other and  more  or  less  friendly;  and  sometimes,  on  account 
of  this  proximity  and  relationship,  neighboring  rancherias 
would  unite  in  a  common  raid  or  for  a  common  -purpose. 
But  as  a  rule  each  rancheria  was  independent;  had  its  own 
sectron  of  sea  or  river  for  its  fishing,  its  own  section  of  field  or 
forest  in  which  to  hunt  or  gather  seeds,  berries  or  nuts,  and 
had  to  fight  its  own  battles  when  these  were  invaded  or  inter- 
fered with  by  others.  Each  rancheria  had  its  own  name;  and 
it  was  rare  that  any  number  of  them  called  themselves  by  the 
same  name  or  acknowledged  a  general  designation,  though  in 
some  instances,  as  in  numerous  small  valleys  near  the  head  of 
.Russian  river,  different  rancherias  called  themselves  Pomos — a 
word  which  in  their  language  signified  people;  but  each  had 
its  distinguishing  designation,  such  as  Ki  Pomos,  Pone  Pomos, 
Cahto  Pomos  and  so  on,  according  to  location.     For  these 


1  "  Los  Indios  de  esta  peninsula  no  tienen  capitanes  ni  gefe  alguno,  viviendo 
cada  uno  en  donde  se  acomoda  en  busca  de  sus  seinillas  para  mantenerse;  y  asi  no 
se  puede  poder  en  practicar  el  atraher  capitanes  A.  la  poblacion  para  asegurar  la 
lealtad  de  los  subditos  y  el  unico  medio  que  hay  para  que  estos  se  civilicen  es  agre- 
gar  un  cierto  numero  de  las  misiones  al  pueblo  para  que  trabajen,  y  se  enseuan 
con  los  Espanoles,  y  con  el  tiempo  potlran  yohernarse  por  si  solos." — Report  of 
Cordova  to  Borica,  July  20,  1796. — Cal.  Archives,  M.  &  C.  I,  886. 


THE  INDIAA'S.  731 

reasons  and  for  the  further  reason  that  almost  every  rancheria 
spoke  a  different  language,  there  were  almost  as  many  names 
as  there  were  villages;  and  often,  in  one  small  valley  or  within 
a  circuit  of  only  a  few  miles,  it  appeared  as  if  there  were  sev- 
eral distinct  kinds  of  people  only  because  there  were  different 
villages  and  a  multiplication  of  names.  Within  what  is  now 
the  city  of  San  Francisco  there  were  said  by  some  to  be  four 
distinct  peoples,  called  the  Ahwashtes,  the  Altahmos,  the 
Rowanans  and  the  Tulomos,  while  others  increased  the  num- 
ber five-fold;  but  all  these  various  appellations  hardly  afford 
more,  nor  indeed  so  much,  information  about  the  inhabitants 
as  the  directory  in  an  unknown  tongue  of  an  unknown  city. 
It  was  only  after  the  Spaniards  came  to  the  country  that  gen- 
eral names  were  given  to  distinguish  the  Indians  of  particular 
parts  of  the  country;  in  some  cases  the  designation  of  a  village 
being  adopted  for  the  people  of  a  whole  valley;  in  others  the 
designation  of  a  river  for  the  people  along  its  banks;  in  others 
the  designation  of  a  remote  people  given  to  them  by  those 
who  were  better  known,  and  in  others  the  designation  of  a 
large  region  or  territory  for  all  the  people  comprised  within 
its  limits.  But  even  these  names  became  so  multiplied  that 
there  is  hardly  a  lake,  or  a  river,  or  a  creek,  or  a  mountain,  or 
a  valley,  or  even  a  ranch  from  Siskiyou  to  San  Diego  that  has 
not  its  peculiar  Indian  name  and  was  supposed  to  have  had 
its  distinct  tribe;  and  notably  so  where  the  land  or  sea  was 
most  fruitful  and  the  population  thickest. 

Many  of  these  names,  though  doubtless  originally  pro- 
nounced very  differently  from  that  of  the  orthography  now 
used,  having  been  adopted  as  geographical  designations,  are 
familiar  to  all  Californians.  Among  them  are  those  applied 
to  the  Indians  called  the  Klamaths,  the  Siskiyous,  the  Shastas, 
the  Modocs,  the  Yrekas,  the  Hoopahs,  the  Pomos,  the  Ukiahs, 
the  Sanels,  the  Tehamas,  the  Colusas,  the  Sonomas,  the 
Napas,  the  Suscols,  the  Suisunes,  the  Yolos,  the  Gualalas,  the 
Petalumas,  the  Tomales,  the  Bolanos,  the  Cosumnes,  the 
Mokelumnes,  the  Tuolumnes,  the  Yosemites,  the  Kaweahs, 
the  Monos  and  many  others  which  it  would  be  only  tedious 


732  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

and  subserve  no  important  purpose  to  mention.  At  or  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Monterey  two  principal  divisions  were 
supposed  to  exist,  called  respectively  the  Eslenes  and  the 
Runcienes  and,  among  some  of  the  old  writers,  there  wero- 
supposed  to  be  some  marked  distinctions  between  them.  In 
the  southern  part  of  the  country,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Cahuillos  who  lived  near  San  Bernardino,  and  the  Mojaves 
and  Yumas,  which  two  latter  named  tribes  belong  rather  to  a 
different  race,  the  Californian  Indians  may  be  said  to  have  lost 
their  own  names  at  an  early  period  and  become  known  almost 
exclusively  by  Spanish  designations,  applied  to  the  people  of 
large  regions.  Thus  the  wild  rovers  of  Tule  Lake  and  all  the 
upper  part  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley  were  called  Tularenos, 
as  their  country  was  called  the  Tulares;  and  all  the  Indians 
round  about  San  Diego  were  called  Dieguefios. 

Notwithstanding  these  many  names,  there  was  very  little 
difference  among  the  Indians  from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the 
other,  except  that  those  living  along  the  Santa  Barbara"  Chan- 
nel were  a  little  less  stupid  and  brutish  than  the  others  and 
that  those  living  in  the  mountain  regions  were  a  little  less 
cowardly  than  those  dwelling  on  the  ocean  shore  and  large 
river  bottoms.1  All  were  what  the  Americans,  when  they 
came  to  the  country,  termed  "  Diggers."  They  did  not  cul- 
tivate the  soil,  but  lived  upon  what  they  could  dig  out  or 
gather  on  top  of  the  ground,  and  ate  everything  and  any- 
thing within  easy  reach  that  would  support  human  life,  not 
excepting  carrion  clover,  grasshoppers  and  grub- worms.  In 
stature  they  were  generally  speaking,  below  the  average 
height  of  human  beings,  squat  and  ungainly,  with  large 
bodies  but  ill-developed  limbs,  though  in  these  respects  the 
northern  people  were  superior  to  the  southern  and  the  moun- 
taineers to  the  lowlanders.  There  were  amongst  them  few 
or  no  specimens  of  physical  beauty,  either  of  the  women  or  of 
the  men.  Their  faces  were  wide;  foreheads  low;  eyes  small; 
noses  flat;  nostrils  broad;  cheek-bones  prominent;  mouths 
large;  hair  straight,  coarse,  thick  and  black.  As  a  rule  they 
had  no  beards,  but  exceptions  to  this  rule  were  not  uncom- 


THE  INDIANS.  733 

mon.  At  the  time  of  La  Perouse's  visit  it  was  a  much- 
mooted  question  whether  those  without  beards  had  plucked 
them  out  or  were  naturally  beardless.  Governor  Pedro  Fages 
maintained  the  first  proposition,  claiming  that  the  hairs  had 
been  pulled  out  with  bivalve  shells  used  as  tweezers;  while 
Father  Lasuen,  the  president  of  the  missions,  maintained  that 
they  had  never  had  beards.1  It  is  possible,  and  indeed  prob- 
able, that  there  were  cases  in  which  the  beard  was  pulled  out; 
but  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  Lasuen  was  correct 
on  the  general  proposition.  However  this  may  have  been,  it 
is  certain  that  the  hair  of  the  head,  both  of  the  men  and 
women,  was  usually  cut  or  rather  burned  off  in  a  straight  line 
across  the  forehead  about  on  a  level  with  the  eyebrows,  but 
was  left  to  grow  a  few  inches  longer  at  the  sides  and  behind. 
In  some  cases  the  women  had  longer  hair  on  the  back  of  the 
head  and  wore  it  in  a  sort  of  rough  knot;  and  sometimes, 
particularly  in  the  southern  part  of  the  country,  long  hair  was 
cultivated.  But  in  general,  except  in  those  southern  parts  of 
the  country  where  length  of  hair  was  considered  a  mark  of 
beauty,2  it  was  short  in  both,  sexes  and  looked  like  a  black 
thatch  more  or  less  matted  and  without  gloss.  Add  to  the 
foregoing  characteristics  the  further  one  that  their  skin  was 
of  a  dull,  lusterless,  reddish  brown  or  brownish  black  color 
and  that  there  was  no  indication  of  intelligence  or  nobility  of 
character  in  their  countenances,  and  it  can  easily  be  under- 
stood that  the  Europeans  did  not  in  their  first  view  of  them 
find  much  to  respect  or  anything  to  admire. 

All  accounts  agree  in  representing  the  Indians,  including 
those  of  Lower  California,  as  among  the  most  stupid,  brutish, 
filthy,  lazy  and  improvident  of  the  aborigines  of  America. 
But  notwithstanding  the  low  grade  in  the  scale  of  humanity 
in  which  they  lived,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  possessed 
intellectual  faculties  capable  of  very  considerable  develop- 
ment. Their  stupidity  was  the  result  rather  of  mental  torpid- 
ity, caused  by  idleness  and  the  absence  of  those  kinds  of 
stimulus  which  in  other  lands  have  produced  civilization,  than 

1  La  P^rouse,  I,  438*. 

2  Boscana's  Chiigchinich,  in  Robinson's  California,  New  York,  1846,  240. 


734  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

of  any  absolute  limitation  of  their  natural  powers.  In  their 
hunting-  and  fishing  they  often  displayed  remarkable  sagacity 
and  skill,  and  among  the  neophytes  at  the  missions  there 
were  man)'  adroit  and  excellent  workmen.  After  the  secu- 
larization of  the  missions,  when  it  became  the  practice  to 
emancipate  the  most  steady  and  reliable  amongst  them  from 
missionary  pupilage,  it  was  found  that  there  were  numbers 
who  might  under  the  proper  kind  of  management  have  made 
passably  good  citizens,  but  who,  under  the  government  as  it 
existed  and  the  untoward  influences  from  which  they  were 
not  guarded,  rapidly  relapsed  into  idleness  and  vagabondism 
as  bad  as,  and  in  some  cases  worse  than,  that  of  their  untu- 
tored ancestors.  They  regarded  the  whites,  or  "gente  de 
razon  "  as  the  Spaniards  by  way  of  distinction  called  them- 
selves, as  superior  beings  and  were  prone  to  imitate  them,  but 
unfortunately  rather  in  their  vices  than  in  their  virtues  and 
rather  the  idle,  airy  and  showy  than  the  solid,  sober  and 
industrious.  Father  Geronimo  Boscana  relates  a  curious 
instance  of  this  disposition  to  imitate  in  a  rancheria  near  San 
Diego  soon  after  the  dethronement  and  death  of  Agustin  I. 
Understanding  that  they  were  under  the  government  of 
Mexico  and  that  the  Mexican  people,  being  dissatisfied  with 
their  emperor,  had  caught  and  killed  him;  and,  being  them- 
selves dissatisfied  with  their  capitanejo  or  chief,  they  made  a 
great  feast  and,  seizing  the  objectionable  potentate,  burnt  him 
alive  and  selected  another  in  his  place.  When  remonstrated 
with  for  their  inhuman  barbarity,  they  replied,  "  Have  you 
not  done  the  same  with  your  emperor  at  Mexico?  You  say 
he  was  not  good  and  you  killed  him.  We  say  our  capitan 
was  not  good  and  we  burned  him.  If  the  new  one  is  no 
better,  we  will  burn  him  too."  1 

Boscana  relates  several  other  incidents,  which,  though  to 
him  they  appeared  evidences  of  extreme  brutishness  and 
depravity,  indicate  considerably  more  strength  of  mind  than 
the  Californian  Indians  have  usually  been  given  credit  fon> 
One  is  of  a  capitanejo  at  the  mission  of  San  Luis  Rey,  who 
was  present  at  the  baptism  of  several  old  men.  The  mission- 
1  Boscana,  in  Robinson,   337,  338. 


THE  INDIANS.  735 

ary,  when  the  ceremony  was  concluded,  attempted  to  explain 
the  kind  of  life  they  were  to  lead  to  avoid  the  influence  of 
Satan  and  said  that,  by  invoking  the  sweet  names  of  Jesus 
and  Mary  and  by  the  sign  of  the  holy  cross  well  performed, 
the  power  of  the  devil  would  be  destroyed  and  all  unholy 
thoughts  driven  off.  At  this  the  old  chief  turned  to  his  com- 
panions and  whispered,  "  See,  how  this  padre  cheats  us ! 
Who  believes  that  the  devil  will  leave  us  at  the  sign  of  the 
cross?  If  it  were  done  by  dancing,  as  authorized  by  Chinig- 
chinich,  he  would  depart;  but  that  he  will  do  so  by  the  means 
which  the  padre  describes,  I  do  not  believe."  The  others 
united  with  him  in  laughter;  and  evidently  none  of  them  be- 
lieved in  the  efficacy  of  tame  ceremonies.1  Another  incident 
is  of  a  neophyte,  thirty-five  years  of  age,  who  in  1817  fell  sick 
unto  death  at  the  mission  of  San  Juan  Capistrano.  He  had 
been  well  instructed;  but  no  persuasions  on  the  part  of  his 
friends  or  expostulations  on  the  part  of  the  missionaries  could 
prevail  on  him  to  confess  and  partake  of  the  sacrament.  At 
the  bare  proposal,  he  became  frantic  and  uttered  expressions 
of  contempt  and  blasphemy.  A  short  time  previous  to  his 
death,  Boscana  visited  him  for  the  purpose  of  affording  the 
consolations  promised  by  religion  to  the  repentant  >ul  °"'1 
urged  him,  since  he  could  do  no  more,  to  ask  paid 
sins  and  receive  the  extreme  unction — for  God  was  infinite  in 
his  mercies  to  those  who  called  upon  him.  But  all  in  vain. 
The  missionary's  words  were  ineffectual  and  were  spurned 
with  disgust.  The  apostate's  limbs  grew  rigid;  the  froth  came 
from  his  mouth;  his  eyes  rolled  back  into  his  head;  he  pn 
sented  a  picture  of  one  condemned  to  the  tormer  ts  of  hell; 
and  three  persons  were  insufficient  to  restrain  1 
sions.  These  demonstrations  seemed  at  first  only  the 
of  his  malady;  but  after  awhile  his  consciousness  returned; 
and,  upon  some  one  asking  why  he  did  not  confess,  he  replied 
with  anger,  "Because  I  will  not.  If  I  have  been  - 
whilst  living,  I  do  not  wish  to  die  in  the  delusio'i."  Tl 
were    his    last  words.     Soon  afterwards  he  expired,  and,  as 


736  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

Boscana  avouches,  there  remained  a  corpse  truly  horrible  and 
revolting  to  the  sight.1 

Some  little  further  light  is  thrown  upon  the  subject  of  the 
natural  capabilities  of  the  Indians  by  a  few  military  and  polit- 
ical events  in  which  they  took  part.  For  a  considerable 
length  of  time,  they  do  not  appear  to  have  had  any  idea  that 
they  possessed  any  rights  which  the  Spaniards  were  bound  to 
respect,  and  formed  no  combinations,  confederacies  or  con- 
spiracies for  the  redress  of  the  wrongs  they  suffered.  A 
rancheria  or  several  rancherias  together  were  almost  always 
ready  to  attack  an  unguarded  mission,  when  they  saw  a  pretty 
sure  show  of  plunder,  and  hardly  anything  was  more  com- 
mon than  prowling  bands  of  sneaking  horse  and  cattle  thieves; 
but  they  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  ever  risen  to  resist  ag- 
gression or  vindicate  honor.  There  were  no  patriot  Chiefs 
to  stay  the  progress  of  Spanish  advance;  nor  was  there  even 
a  highwayman  or  robber  of  whom  the  Spaniards  had  to  be 
afraid.  A  handful  of  soldiers  could  almost  invariably  put  a 
host  of  them  to  flight  and  march  with  impunity  into  the 
midst  of  their  strongholds.  Single  soldiers  did  not  hesitate 
to  ride  alone  for  long  distances  through  thickly  settled  terri- 
tories of  hostile  people ;  and  in  the  numerous  expeditions  by 
little  military  parties  from  the  presidios  into  the  mountains  or 
along  the  frontiers  after  deserters  from  the  missions  or  stolen 
stock,  although  Indians  were  killed  and  children  captured 
and  carried  off  with  little  or  no  compunctions  of  conscience, 
it  was  a  rare  thing  for  a  white  man  to  lose  his  life  or  receive 
a  scratch.  This  was  the  general  rule.  But  in  some  instances 
there  was  very  determined  resistance,  indicating  spirit  and 
valor.  In  1797  Sergeant  Pedro  Amador  made  an  expedition 
from  the  then  recently  founded  mission  of  San  Jose  against 
the  rancherias  of  the  Cuchillones  and  Sacalanes,  the  former 
of  whom  occupied  the  territory  now  known  as  San  Pablo  and 
the  latter  a  large  portion  of  the  present  Alameda  county 
betv^m  the  mountains  and  the  bay.  The  object  was  to  pun 
ish  trie  murderers  of  seven  San  Francisco  neophytes  and  to 
capture  fugitives,  a  large  number  of  whom  had  escaped  from 

1  Boscana,  in  Robinson,   326,  527. 


THE  INDIANS.  737 

time  to  time  from  the  Mission  Dolores.  Amador  marched 
with  some  twenty  men  through  the  country  and  on  several 
occasions  had  to  fight  his  way  against  enemies  in  no  wise 
backward  to  defend  their  domestic  fires.  Their  arms,  how- 
ever, were  no  match  for  the  muskets  and  swords  of  the  sol- 
diers, who  killed  seven  or  eight  and  took  upwards  of  ninety 
prisoners,  nearly  all  of  whom  were  fugitives.  Both  Amador 
and  Governor  Borica,  to  whom  he  made  the  report  of  his  ex- 
pedition, thought  that  the  result  would  be  to  restrain  for  some 
time  what  they  called  the  haughtiness  and  insolence  of  the 
Indians.1  But  it  is  evident  that  they  did  not  regard  them  as 
either  cowardly  or  despicable.2 

In  iSio  the  famous  Indian  fighter  Ensign  Gabriel  Moraga 
marched  from  San  Francisco  with  seventeen  men  against 
the  natives  of  a  rancheria  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  bay 
called  Suynsuyn,  whose  people  had  murdered  a  number  of 
neophytes;  and,  though  he  succeeded  in  killing  over  a  hun- 
dred of  the  enemy3  and  capturing  upwards  of  twenty  women 
and  children,  it  was  only  after  a  severe  conflict  of  five  or  six 
hours,  in  which  the  Indians  acted  in  obedient  concert  under 
the  leadership  of  a  chief  and  made  a  very  unexpectedly  val- 
orous defense,  severely  wounding  four  of  his  men.4  In  1824 
there  was,  as  has  already  been  related,  a  serious  uprising 
among  the  Indians  of  Purisima  and  Santa  Inez.  After  kill- 
ing several  whites  and  burning  Santa  Inez,  they  retired  to 
Purisima  and  there  fortified  themselves,  over  four  hundred 
strong.  Among  other  arms,  they  managed  to  get  hold  of  two 
one-pounder  guns,  sixteen  muskets,  a  hundred  and  fifty 
lances  and  six  cutlasses;  and,  in  defending  themselves  against 
the  army  of  whites  sent  against  them,  they  fully  demonstrated 
their  ability  to  use  gunpowder  and  steel.  It  was  in  fact  only 
after  a  very  determined  resistance  that  they  were  finally  de- 
feated; and  they  then,  as  has  also  been  shown,  displayed  a 

1  "  Abatida  asi  la   insolencia  y  altaneria  que  manifestaban  los  Cuchillones  y 
Sacalanes." — Cal.   Archives,  P.  R.  IV,  394. 

aCal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XV,  393-398;  P.  R.  IV,  394. 
3  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XX,  486. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  XII,  s(>5'A- 
47     Vol.  J. 


738  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

very  high  degree  of  ability  in  negotiating  an  accommodation 
quite  as  honorable  to  themselves  as  to  the  whites.  Upon 
inquiries  subsequently  instituted  for  the  purpose  of  ascertain- 
ing the  causes  of  the  revolt,  it  appeared  that  the  natives  were 
dissatisfied  with  Spanish  domination  and  wished  to  regain 
their  ancient  liberty  and  that  with  this  end  in  view  they  had 
intended  to  kill  off  all  the  gente  de  razon.1 

In  1838  one  Ambrosio,  the  chief  of  a  rancheria  in  the 
neighborhood  of  San  Jose,  attempted  to  form  a  conspiracy  of 
Indians  and  succeeded  in  gathering  a  force  of  some  forty  or 
more,  with  which  he  intended  to  join  others  and  attack  the 
mission.  Before  he  could  mature  his  plans,  however,  or  make 
his  conspiracy  formidable,  an  expedition  of  twenty-five  men 
marched  against  him ;  and,  after  a  fight  in  which  one  white  man 
was  killed  and  seven  wounded,  Ambrosio's  force  was  scattered 
and  himself  captured  and  thrown  into  irons.  \  He  was  then 
taken  before  Jose  lie  Jesus  Vallejo,  the  administrator  of  the 
mission,  who,  as  he  naively  reported  the  case,  took  such  infor- 
mation as  satisfied  him  that  the.  prisoner  was  the  ringleader  of 
the  mutiny  and  summarily  ordered  him  to  be  shot.2  Some  dif- 
ficulty was  experienced  in  getting  Father  Gonzalez  to  confess 
the  condemned  man  in  time  for  a  speedy  execution  ;  but  a 
messenger  to  and  from  San  Carlos  soon  brought  back  word 
from  Gonzalez'  superior  that  the  welfare  of  souls  was  more 
important  than  the  scruples  of  a  priest3  and  directing  the 
confession  to  be  taken ;  and  thereupon  Ambrosio  was 
shrived  and  shot;  and  his  body  was  buried,  as  Vallejo 
•expressed  it,  in  the  "pantheon  of  San  Jose."4  In  1839  an 
-expedition  of  nine  soldiers  and  six  rancheros,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Ensign  Pedro  Mesa,  marched  against  the  Tulareilos 
in  the  San  Joaquin  valley  with  the  object  of  punishing  horse- 
thieves  and  recovering  stolen  stock,  but  soon  found  that  the 

1  Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P.  I,  574-578. 

2  "  Tomando  los  infonnes  que  me  parecieron  suficientes  y  hallando  en  todo  reo 
nl  repetido  Ambrosio,  jusgando  como  cabeza  de  motin  que  daiiaba  al  bien  publico, 
inando  fuese  afusilado. " — Cal.  Archives,  M.  X,  219. 

3  "  I'ues  el  bien  de  las  almas  es  proferante  &  qualquier  otro." —  Cal.  Archives, 
M.  X,  219. 

*  "Se  halla  enterrado  en  el  Panteon  de  esta  [mision]." — Cal.  Archives,  M.  X, 
219. 


THE  INDIANS.  739 

Indians  were  much  more  formidable  than  they  had  anticipated. 
Mesa  and  six  of  his  men  were  severely  wounded;  three  were 
killed;  and  all  might  perhaps  have  lost  their  lives  if  a  second 
expedition,  consisting  of  twenty-seven  whites  and  an  auxiliary 
force  of  fifty  friendly  Indians,  had  not  marched  out  to  their 
relief.1 

A  few  other  events,  more  of  a  civil  or  domestic  character, 
may  be  referred  to  as  throwing  light  upon  this  interesting 
topic  of  the  mental  capacities  of  the  Californian  Indians. 
No  writer  affords  any  direct  information  upon  the  subject, 
except  to  the  effect  that  they  had  none  worth  mentioning. 
But  circumstances  prove  that  this  was  not  entirely  the  case. 
In  1820,  for  instance,  there  was  a  project,  proposed  by  the 
missionaries  and  seriously  entertained  by  the  political  govern- 
ment, to  arm  the  Indians  in  defense  of  the  country,  which 
had  shortly  before  been  attacked  by  revolutionary  insurgents 
from  Buenos  Ayres  and  was  liable  at  any  time  to  further 
attack  from  almost  any  of  the  nations  or  factions  that  were 
in  arms  against  Spanish  rule  in  America.2  J  This  indicated  a 
feeling  on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards  that  they  could  place  some 
reliance  in  the  Indians.  On  the  other  hand  an  Indian  could 
be  guilty  of  seditious  language  of  sufficient  importance  to  call 
for  governmental  notice.  •  A  case  of  this  nature  occurred  at 
Los  Angeles  in  1826,. when  a  neophyte  named  Buenaventura 
from  San  Luis  Rey,  having  indulged  too  freely  in  aguardi- 
ente, began  a  tirade  against  the  government,  declaring  in  a 
loud  voice  that  it  was  no  government  at  all;  that  the  alcalde 
and  the  general  were  louts,  and  that  it  would  be  in  order 
next  year  to  kill  off  all  the  Spaniards;3  and  his  drunken  abuse 
was  thought  dangerous  enough  to  justify  not  only  throwing 
him  into  prison  but  afterwards  putting  him  on  a  long  and 
tedious  trial  for  it.4 


1  Cal.  Archives,  M.  X,  471,  472. 

a  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  XII,  525-527. 

3  Vicente  Sanchez,  alcalde  of  Los  Angeles,  said:  "Que  dicho  Buenaventura 
en  voz  alta  me  dijo,  tu  Alcalde  eres  un  hijo  de  puta,  y  el  General  es  un  Yngles; 
no  hay  nacion  ni  hay  nada;  y  en  <*1  ano  que  viene  k  todos  vosotros  he  de  matar. " 
— Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P.  Ben.  LVIII,  464. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P.  Ben.  LVIII,  464-470. 


740  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

In  1827  there  was  a  demand  on  the  part  of  many  of  the 
Indians  to  be  emancipated  or  released  from  what  they  regarded 
as  and  what  was  in  fact  mission  slavery,  on  the  ground  that 
the  revolution  and  the  acts  of  the  Mexican  congress  had 
made  them  politically  free.1  In  some  cases,  as  at  San  Juan 
Capistrano  and  San  Luis  Rey,  they  insisted  so  determinedly 
upon  their  rights  that  they  refused  to  work;  and  it  became 
necessary  to  call  in  the  strong  hand  of  military  power  to  keep 
them  to  their  tasks.2  Again  in  1833  the  same  Indians,  to- 
gether with  those  of  San  Diego  and  San  Gabriel,  believing 
that  ex-governor  Echeandia  had  promised  them  a  division 
of  the  mission  lands  and  property,  espoused  his  cause  as 
against  that  of  the  new  governor  Figueroa;  and  it  became 
necessary  a  second  time  to  strengthen  the  military  to  keep 
them  in  subjection.3  At  Santa  Barbara,  in  1838,  the  Indians 
refused  to  gather  the  harvests  unless  they  were  clothed;  and 
they  presented  their  grievances  with  so  much  force  and  clear- 
ness that  it  was  thought  they  were  guided  by  some  hidden 
hand;  and  the  government  deemed  it  prudent,  instead  of 
invoking  force,  to  promise  compliance  with  their  demands.4 
At  San  Luis  Rey,  in  1840,  the  Indians  combined  to  protest 
against  the  occupation  of  the  Rancho  de  Temecula  and 
interference  with  their  own  rights  in  it  by  the  Pico  brothers; 
and,  on  being  remonstrated  with,  they  declared  with  all  the 
coolness  and  prudence  of  statesmen  that  they  intended  to 
obey  the  laws  and  would  patiently  await  the  action  of  govern- 
ment; but  they  were  unanimously  opposed  to  the  Pico  family; 
wanted  neither  them  nor  their  cattle  at  Temecula.  and  if  the 
government  would  not  listen  to  their  complaints  they  would 
feel  themselves  obliged  to  relinquish  all  their  interests  and 
abandon  the  mission.5  There  was,  perhaps,  little  probability 
of  success  in  their  opposition  to  the  Pico  family;  but  the 
incident,  in  connection  with  those  previously  instanced,  shows 

1  See,  for  instance,  Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P.  Ben.  LXIII,  3-5. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  D.   S.  P.  II,  20-25. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P.  Ang.  I,  532;  D.   S.  P.  Ill,  273-275. 
*  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IX,  358,  359. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  M.  X,  1 17-122. 


THE  INDIANS.  741 

that  they  were  not  without  intelligence  and  understanding-, 
which  with  anything  like  proper  education  might  have  been 
developed.  As  for  those  of  them  who  occupied  the  shores 
and  islands  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel,  all  writers  agree 
that  they  were  much  more  intelligent  and  industrious  and  in 
all  respects  superior  to  the  other  natives  of  the  country. 

It  is  impossible  to  state  with  certainty  the  number  of  the 
Indians  of  Alta  California,  though  in  reference  to  those  who 
were  baptized  and  congregated  at  the  missions  the  most 
minute  accounts  remain.  In  every  case  of  conversion  the 
neophyte  received  a  Spanish  baptismal  name,  which  was 
entered  on  the  mission  register  and  by  which  he  was  after- 
wards known;  and  his  original  Indian  name,  except  in  case 
of  great  fame  or  notoriety,  was  dropped  and  lost.  From 
these  registers  census  returns  were  made  out  periodically,  so 
that  there  was  never  any  great  difficulty  in  ascertaining  the 
population  of  the  missions  or  of  any  mission  at  almost  any 
given  period.  But  the  wild,  unconverted  tribes,  or  gentiles  as 
they  were  called,  were  divided  and  scattered;  they  wandered 
more  or  less  from  place  to  place;  and  there  was  no  means  of 
telling  their  numbers  except  by  guess  and  estimation.  La 
Perouse,  in  1786,  gave  the  Indian  population  of  both  the 
Californias  in  round  numbers  as  fifty  thousand,  of  whom 
nearly  ten  thousand  were  neophytes.1  Vancouver,  in  1793, 
estimated  the  number  of  neophytes  in  both  the  Californias 
as  about  twenty  thousand  and  the  whole  native  population  as 
eight  or  ten  times  as  many."  It  is  probable,  however,  that 
Vancouver  included  in  his  estimate  the  Indians  of  much  terri- 
tory then  supposed  to  be  a  part  of  California  which  is  not 
now  known  as  such — just  as  the  estimate  by  Father  Baegert  of 
forty  or  fifty  thousand  as  the  population  of  Lower  California 
was  probably  intended  as  an  estimate  for  the  whole  country 
afterwards  called  the  Californias.  The  records  show  that  in 
1795  the  population  of  the  missions  and  presidios  of  Alta 
California  was  twelve  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixteen  and 
that  of  Baja  California  four  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty- 

1  La  Perouse,  I,  437. 

2  Vancouver,  III,  407. 


742  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

one.1  In  1805  the  census  of  the  missions,  presidios  and 
pueblos  of  Alta  California  showed  the  population  to  be 
twenty-two  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty-seven,  of  whom 
two  thousand  and  eleven  were  Spaniards  and  foreigners.2  In 
1 8 10  the  neophytes  were  eighteen  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-four  and  the  Spaniards  and  others  two  thousand  and 
fifty-two.3  In  1 818  Governor  Sola,  in  a  report  to  the  viceroy, 
gave  the  number  of  neophytes  then  living  in  Alta  California  as 
twenty  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirty-eight.4  In  1830 
there  had  been  up  to  that  time  baptized  in  Alta  California 
eighty-five  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy-seven  per- 
sons, of  whom  sixty-one  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty- 
three  had  died,  leaving  a  remainder  of  twenty-four  thousand 
six  hundred  and  thirty-four.  Of  these,  seventeen  thousand 
six  hundred  and  thirty-four  were  then  at  the  missions  and  six 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty-two  were  either  fugitives 
or  dead  and  unreported.5  The  Mexican  census  of  1 83 1  gave 
the  number  of  inhabitants  of  the  entire  Mexican  republic  as 
six  million  three  hundred  and  eighty-two  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty-four,  estimating  that  of  Alta  California  at 
twenty-seven  thousand  and  that  of  Baja  California  at  fif- 
teen thousand.6  In  1842  Wilkes  estimated  the  Indians  of 
Alta  California  at  eight  or  nine  thousand;7  and  Robinson,  at 
ten  thousand.8  It  seems  probable,  taking  the  most  reliable 
accounts  as  a  basis,  that  the  Indian  population  of  the  two 
Californias  never  exceeded  sixty  or  seventy  thousand  or 
about  one  to  every  four  square  miles  of  area,  and  that  the 
limit  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  California  never  exceeded 
forty-five  or  fifty  thousand. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  number  of  the  native  popula- 
tion, it  is  certain   that    almost  as  soon    as  the  whites  came 

1  Cal.  Archives,  M.  II,  305. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  M.  Ill,  589-603. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  M.  IV,  192. 

i  Cal.  Archives,  P.  R.  IX,  585. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  M.  V,  307. 

G  Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P.  XVI,  214. 

•  Wilkes,  V,  174. 

*  Robinson,  217. 


THE  INDIANS.  743 

amongst  them  they  began  to  diminish.  It  was  not  the  mere 
killing  of  them  off  by  the  whites  that  reduced  them;  for  it  is  to 
be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Spaniards  were  interested  in  pre- 
serving them  and  there  was  consequently  very  little  direct 
slaughter;  but  they  introduced  a  hideous  disease  which  in  a 
few  years  affected  the  whole  population  and,  if  it  did  not  of 
itself  cause  death,  it  so  shattered  the  constitutions  of  the  people 
as  to  predispose  them  to  the  fatal  attacks  of  other  diseases. 
Even  as  early  as  1786  the  ravages  of  this  disease  had  made 
frightful  inroads;  and  in  some  cases  the  death  rate  was  three 
times  greater  than  the  birth  rate.1  In  183 1  the  commissioner 
of  the  census  for  California  observed  that  the  death  rate 
amongst  the  Indians  exceeded  the  birth  rate  more  than  ten 
per  centum  annually."  Duflot  de  Mofras  wrote  that  in  1834, 
on  the  breaking  out  of  a  disease  resembling  cholera,  twelve 
thousand  Indians  died  in  the  Tulare  country,  and  that  in 
1836,  on  the  breaking  out  of  a  contagious  fever,  nearly  eight 
thousand  died  in  the  Sacramento  valley;  but  at  the  same 
time  he  estimated  that  this  fearful  mortality  was  due  in  great 
part  to  syphilitic  predisposition."  The  same  author  stated 
that  in  1842  the  neophyte  population  was  only  forty-four 
hundred  and  fifty  or  about  one-seventh  of  what  it  had  been  in 

I834-4 

There  were  many  cases  of  Indians  attaining  extraordinary 
old  age.  Dana,  in  his  "  Two  Years  before  the  Mast,"  spoke 
of  one  at  the  mission  of  San  Diego,  whom  he  supposed  to  be 
the  oldest  man  he  had  ever  seen ;  and  he  wondered  that  a 
person  could  exhibit  such  marks  of  age  and  still  retain  life. 


1  "  El  mal  Calico  domina  a  ambos  sexos  y  en  tal  grado  que  ya  las  madres  no 
conciven  y  si  conciven  sale  el  feto  con  poca  esperanza  de  vida:  ay  mision  de  las 
citadas  [de  la  Baja  California]  que  ha  mas  de  ano  y  meses  que  en  ella  no  se  a  bau- 
tizada  criatura  alguna,  y  la  que  mas  no  llega  a  cinco  bautizados;  siendo  una  cosa 
digna  de  adrairar,  que  esceden  los  muertos  en  el  ano  pasodo  de  los  de  edad  de 
catorce  alios  para  abajo  de  los  nacidos.  Agreguese  los  adultos  y  sale  en  las 
expresadas  misiones  que  triplican  los  muertos  a  los  nacidos  estos  ultimos  anos." 
Monterey,  9  de  Agosto  de  1786. — Cal  Archives,  M.  I,  31. 

2  "  Entre  la  poblacion  india  se  nota  anualmente  un  deficit  de  mas  de  un  diez  por 
ciento  de  muertos  a  nacidos."' — Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.   1*.  XVI,  221. 

3  Duflot  de  Mofras,  II,  333,  334. 

4  Duflot  de  Mofras,  I,  320. 


744  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

This  superannuated  specimen  was  sitting  in  the  sun,  leaning 
against  the  side  of  a  hut;  his  legs  and  arms  were  not  larger 
round  than  those  of  a  boy  of  five  years;  his  skin  was  withered 
and  shriveled  like  burnt  leather;  and  he  was  so  feeble  that, 
when  his  visitors  approached,  he  slowly  raised  his  hands  to  his 
face  and,  taking  hold  of  his  eyelids  with  his  fingers,  lifted  them 
up  to  look  at  the  strangers  and  then,  being  apparently  satisfied, 
let  them  drop  again.  Inquiries  as  to  his  age  evoked  no  answer 
from  the  other  Indians  except,  "Ouien  sabe — who  knows?"1 
Nearly  every  mission  contained  one  or  more  of  these  old  patri- 
archs who  had  outlived  their  families;  and  it  was  no  uncommon 
thing  for  a  rancheria  to  have  ancient  members,  who  had  to  be 
wrapped  in  thick  furs  to  preserve  their  animal  warmth  and  to 
be  nursed  and  fed  like  infants  to  keep  up  nutrition.  The  care 
that  was  taken  of  these  old  people  and  the  respect  shown 
them  were  the  best  indications  furnished  of  the  goodness 
of  the  Indian  character. 

The  characteristics,  which  most  forcibly  struck  all  writers 
on  the  California  aborigines,  were  their  extreme  laziness 
and  uncleanliness.  Vancouver  pronounced  them  "  horrid." 
They  were  so  habitually  apathetic  that  the  most  zealous 
and  laborious  efforts  to  improve  their  condition  seemed  to 
be  almost  entirely  thrown  away  upon  them.  They  had  no 
ambition  of  any  kind  and  seemed  to  care  for  or  take  lively 
interest  in  nothing:  all  the  operations  both  of  their  bodies  and 
minds  appeared  to  be  carried  on  with- a  mechanical,  lifeless, 
careless  indifference,  which  was  so  general  and  apparently 
ineradicable  that  it  was  supposed  to  be  inherent  in  their  very 
natures.2  Hunger  alone  compelled  them  to  make  some  exer- 
tion in  search  of  food;  but  they  labored  no  further  than  was 
necessary  to  secure  a  supply  of  anything  that  would  sustain 
life,  without  much  reference  to  its  quality.  Their  games  were 
not  of  a  kind  to  require  or  admit  of  much  muscular  effort,  but 
usually  such  as  were  played  lying  or  sitting.  They  were  too 
indolent  to  be  noisy  or  boisterous  even  in  their  amusements. 
Nothing  seemed   to  give  them   greater   pleasure  than   to   lie 

1  Dana's  "Two  Years  before  the  Mast,"  135,  136. 

2  Vancouver,  III,  36.  ' 


THE  IXDIANS.  745 

stretched  out  for  hour  after  hour  upon  the  ground  with  their 
faces  down,  doing  absolutely  nothing  and  entirely  careless  and 
indifferent  to  everything.1  But  while  the  foregoing  accounts 
are  doubtless  in  the  main  correct,  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  there  are  descendants  of  these  aboriginal  inhabitants  still 
left  in  the  State  of  California,  who  hire  themselves  out  as 
laborers,  and  that  amongst  them  there  are  many  very  steady 
workmen.  There  may  be  an  admixture  of  foreign  blood  in 
some  of  these  cases;  but,  from  what  can  be  observed  of  the 
remnants  of  the  ancient  people,  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that,  if  the  proper  means  had  been  taken,  they  might 
have  been  civilized.  It  would  not  have  taken  much  to  make 
them  into  a  better  people  than  many  of  the  common  herd 
of  Mexican  convicts,  vagabonds  and  vagrants  who  came  into 
the  country  as  soldiers  or  colonists  and  who  prided  themselves 
upon  belonging,  in  contradistinction  to  the  Indians,  to  the 
gente  de  razon. 

1  "  En  los  ratos  desocupados  se  mantienen  tendidos  horas  enteras  boca  abaxo 
con  sumo  placer." — Relacion,  167. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

INDIAN    RELIGIOUS   NOTIONS  AND  SUrERSTITIONS. 

FATHER  GERONIMO  BOSCANA.who  was  missionary 
of  San  Juan  Capistrano  and  died  there  at  an  advanced 
age  in  1831,  wrote  an  account  of  the  Indians  of  that  establish- 
ment. He  had  lived  amongst  them  for  many  years  and  was 
familiar  with  their  language.  From  them  and  particularly 
from  three  of  their  old  men,  two  of  whom  were  chiefs  and  the 
third  a  medicine-man,  he  learned  something  of  their  traditions 
and  from  his  own  observation  gathered  many  particulars  as 
to  their  manners  and  customs.  His  work  is  by  no  means  a 
literary  model;  nor,  for  reasons  hereafter  to  be  stated,  can 
any  great  amount  cf  faith  be  placed  in  the  account  he  gives 
of  the  so-called  religious  belief  of  the  aborigines;  but  there 
are  a  great  many  circumstances  of  interest  in  what  he  has 
written.  His  manuscript  after  his  death  fell  into  the  hands 
of  Alfred  Robinson,  by  whom  it  was  translated  into  English 
and  published  in  New  York,  in  the  year  1846,  under  the  title 
of  "  Chinigchinich:  A  historical  account  of  the  Origin,  Customs 
and  Traditions  of  the  Indians  at  the  Missionary  Establish- 
ment of  San  Juan  Capistrano,  Alta  California,  called  The 
Acagchemen  Nation." 

Boscana  divided  the  Indians  of  San  Juan  Capistrano  into 
two  classes,  one  of  which  called  in  Spanish  Playanos  lived 
at  the  sea  beach,  and  the  other  called  the  Serranos  lived 
in  the  mountains  three  or  four  leagues  distant;  and  he  said 
their  religious  beliefs  differed  in  various  particulars.  The 
Serranos  believed  that  there  were  in  the  beginning  two  exist- 
ences, the  one  described  as  the  existence  above  and  the  other 
as  the  existence  below;  but  of  natures  altogether  inexplica- 
(74G) 


INDIAN  SUPERSTITIONS.  747 

ble  and  indefinite.  They  were  supposed  to  be  brother  and 
sister.  On  a  certain  occasion,  far  back  in  the  mists  of  time, 
the  brother,  bringing  the  sun  as  a  present  to  his  sister  who 
was  all  darkness,  offered  himself  in  marriage  to  her.  She  at 
first  resisted  on  account  of  their  near  relationship,  but  finally 
submitted;  and  the  two  were  married.  The  first  fruits  of 
their  union  were  the  rocks  and  sands  of  the  earth;  then  trees, 
shrubbery,  herbs  and  grass;  then  animals  and  finally  an  ani- 
mated being  called  Ouiot.  This  Ouiot  was  not  a  man  but  a 
phantom;  and  he  produced  a  large  family  of  phantoms  like 
himself.  As  the  race  multiplied,  the  earth  extended  itself 
from  northward  to  southward  and  increased  in  size.  Being 
the  progenitor  of  his  people,  he  became  chief  and  for  a  long 
period  ruled  them  as  their  great  captain. 

In  process  of  time,  Ouiot  becoming  old  and  unable  any 
longer  to  govern  properly,  his  descendants  rebelled  against 
his  authority  and,  for  the  purpose  of  putting  him  out  of  the 
way,  gave  him  poison.  This  made  him  so  ill  that  he  left  the 
mountains  and  wertt  down  to  the  sea,  where  his  mother  pre- 
pared an  antidote;  but  her  intention  of  saving  him  was  frus- 
trated by  the  coyote,  which,  being  attracted  by  the  fragrance 
of  the  antidote  as  it  stood  fermenting  in  the  sun,  approached 
the  shell  containing  the  mixture  and  overturned  it.  This 
coyote  was  named  Eyacque,  meaning  the  second  captain. 
He  seems  to  have  been  something  more  than  a  mere  animal, 
perhaps  one  of  the  chief  conspirators;  for,  after  Ouiot  was 
dead  and  after  it  had  been  decided  to  burn  his  remains,  the 
people,  for  fear  that  the  coyote  would  come  and  eat  the  body, 
went  out  and  set  fire  to  his  retreat.  But  Eyacque,  having 
made  his  escape,  afterwards  presented  himself  at  the  funeral 
pyre  and,  declaring  that  he  would  be  consumed  with  his  great 
captain,  leaped  into  the  flames  and  tore  off  and  ate  a  large 
piece  of  flesh  from  Ouiot's  body.  From  this  circumstance,  as 
a  part  of  Ouiot's  body  thus  passed  into  and  constituted  a  part 
of  a  living  body,  it  was  supposed  that  Ouiot  still  lived  and  it 
was  believed  that  he  would  appear  again. 

Soon  after  the  disposition,  as  above  stated,  of  the  great 


748  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

captain,  a  general  council  of  the  people  was  called  for  the 
purpose  of  making  provision  for  the  collection  of  food.  Pre- 
viously they  had  lived  only  upon  a  species  of  white  clay;  but; 
now  they  began  to  crave  grain,  seeds,  acorns  and  the  flesh  of 
animals.  While  they  were  so  consulting,  they  beheld  a  spec- 
ter who  for  a  number  of  days  presented  himself,  sometimes  in 
one  place  and  sometimes  in  another.  Becoming  alarmed  at 
its  appearance,  they  at  length  summoned  it  into  their  pres- 
ence and  demanded  if  it  was  not  their  great  captain,  Ouiot. 
"No,"  answered  the  specter,  "I  am  not  Ouiot,  but  a  captain 
of  greater  power.  My  name  is  Chinigchinich.  My  habita- 
tion is  above.  On  what  are  you  debating  and  why  thus  con- 
gregated?" They  replied  that  their  captain  was  dead  and 
that  they  were  deliberating  as  to  how  they  should  maintain 
themselves  upon  the  seeds  of  the  fields  and  the  flesh  of  ani- 
mals, instead  of  being  obliged  any  longer  to  live  upon  the 
clay  of  the  earth.  Chinigchinich,  having  heard  their  reply, 
said  further,  "  I  am  the  creator  of  all  things  and  will  make 
you  another  people.  From  this  time  forward  one  of  you  shall 
have  power  to  cause  rain;  another  of  you  to  influence  the 
dews,  another  to  produce  acorns;  another  to  create  rabbits; 
another,  ducks;  another,  geese;  another,  deer."  In  the  same 
manner  he  gave  to  each  of  them  one  or  other  of  the  supernat- 
ural powers  which  were  afterwards  claimed  by  the  medicine- 
men, who  pretended  to  be  descendants  of  these  most  ancient 
of  people  and  to  have  thus  derived  their  sorceries  by  direct 
tradition  from  the  god. 

Chinigchinich,  having  thus  provided  for  the  original  ances- 
tors of  the  native  priesthood  and  recognized  them,  so  to  speak, 
as  a  race  apart  from  and  superior  to  ordinary  mortals,  pro- 
ceeded to  create  man.  For  this  purpose  he  took  clay  from 
the  borders  of  a  lake  and  kneaded  out  of  it  the  first  man  and 
woman,  from  whose  union  sprang  the  ordinary  race  of  Indi- 
ans. He  also,  about  the  same  time,  seems  to  have  trans- 
formed the  ancestors  of  the  medicine-men  into  human  beings 
and  to  have  taught  them  the  laws  that  were  to  be  followed 
and  the  rites  and  ceremonies  to  be  observed.      He  also^com- 


INDIAN  SUPERSTITIONS.  749 

manded  a  temple  to  be  built,  where  adoration  might  be  paid 
and  sacrifices  offered  to  him,  and  showed  how  the  dances 
were  to  be  conducted;  how  the  sacred  tobet,  or  robe  of  feath- 
ers to  be  worn  by  the  priesthood  in  their  great  feasts,  was  to 
be  composed,  and  how  faces  were  to  be  painted  black  and 
red.  When  he  had  taught  them  all  these  things  and  while 
dancing  before  them  in  his  sacred  vestment — his  mission  on 
earth  having  been  accomplished — he  was  suddenly  taken  up 
into  heaven  and  thenceforth  lived  among  the  stars. 

From  that  time  forward  Chinigchinich  was  looked  upon 
as  God.  His  name  signified  "the  all  powerful."  He  was 
believed  to  have  had  neither  father  nor  mother;  nor  was  any- 
thing known  of  his  origin;  nor  indeed  that  he  had  any  origin. 
No  one  could  see  him;  though  he  saw  everything,  even  in  the 
darkest  night.  He  was  believed  to  be  ever  present  in  all 
places  and  at  all  times.  He  was  not  only  omnipresent,  but 
his  nature  partook  of  a  three-fold  qualification,  being  also 
known  under  the  distinct  names  of  "  Saor,"  "Ouaguor"  and 
"  Tobet,"  denoting  the  periods:  first,  when  he  could  not  dance; 
second,  when  he  could  dance,  and  third,  when  he  danced  in 
his  sacred  feather-robe.  Apart  from  his  mysterious  essence, 
thus  attempted  to  be  explained,  he  was  supposed  by  the 
Indians  to  be  a  friend  to  the  good  and  a  dreadful  enemy  to 
the  wicked.  Upon  the  latter,  before  taking  his  final  depart- 
ure, he  laid  the  terrible  injunction,  "  Him,  who  obeyeth  not 
or  believeth  not  my  teaching,  I  will  chastise.  I  will  send 
bears  to  bite  him  and  serpents  to  sting  him.  I  will  over- 
whelm him  with  misfortunes,  infirmities  and  death."1 

The  Playanos  or  Indians  of  the  sea  coast,  on  the  other 
hand,  held  that  first  of  all  things  there  was  an  invisible  and 
all-powerful  being  called  "  Nocuma,"  who  made  the  earth  and 
sea  together  with  all  the  animals,  trees,  plants  and  fishes  con- 
tained therein.  In  its  form  the  world  was  spherical  and 
remained  in  his  hands  as  a  ball;  but  on  account  of  its  being 
continually  in  motion  he  resolved  to  secure  it  and  for  that 
purpose  placed  in  its  center  a  black  rock,  called  Tosaut,  which 
fastened  and  has  ever  since  held  it  firm.     At  this  early  time, 


1  Boscana,  in  Robinson,  242-24 


750  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

the  sea  was  a  small  stream,  running  from  south  to  north  and 
encircling  the  world.  It  was  so  small  that  the  fishes,  being 
all  confined  to  it,  were  piled  one  on  top  of  another  in  such  a 
state  of  inconvenience  that  they  held  a  consultation  for  the 
purpose  of  devising  means  of  relief.  Some  were  for  landing 
upon  the  earth,  while  others  were  of  a  contrary  opinion; 
because,  as  they  suggested,  not  only  would  exposure  to  the 
air  and  heat  of  the  sun  dry  them  up,  but  they  had  no  legs 
and  feet  like  animals  that  lived  upon  the  land  to  move  about. 
At  length  there  came  to  their  aid  a  large  fish,  bringing  with 
him  a  rock,  called  by  the  same  name,  Tosaut,  as  that  which 
kept  the  world  in  its  place.  Breaking  this  rock,  they  found 
in  its  center  a  bag  or  bladder  filled  with  gall.  This  they 
emptied  into  the  sea  and  thereby  converted  it  from  its  orig- 
inal condition  of  freshness  into  one  of  saltness;  and  at  the 
same  time  the  waters  swelled  and  overflowed  a  large  part  of 
the  land  and  gradually  covered  the  space  now  occupied  by 
the  ocean.  With  this  change  in  the  abundance  of  the  waters 
of  the  sea,  the  fishes  were  satisfied;  and  they  were  also  greatly 
rejoiced  in  the  improvement  in  its  taste. 

Nocuma,  having  thus  created  the  world  and  then  animals, 
trees,  plants  and  fishes,  next  created  out  of  the  earth  the  first 
man,  whom  he  named  Ejoni,  and  then  the  first  woman,  whom 
he  called  Aa.  These  two  had  many  descendants,  one  of 
whom  called  Ouiot,  the  son  of  Sirout,  signifying  a  handful  of 
tobacco,  and  his  wife  Ycaiut,  seems  to  have  been  the  same 
Ouiot  in  human  form,  who  was  known  to  the  Serranos  as  a 
monster  or  phantom.  This  Ouiot  was  a  great  warrior, 
haughty  and  ambitious,  and  soon  managed  to  obtain  suprem- 
acy over  all  the  tribes  in  his  neighborhood  and  reigned  over 
them.  For  a  time  his  government  was  kind  and  pacific;  but 
he  gradually  exposed  the  natural  ferocity  of  his  temper  and 
at  length  ruled  with  relentless  cruelty,  putting  many  of  his 
subjects  to  death.  At  last,  when  his  tyranny  became  alto- 
gether insupportable,  his  people  conspired  to  kill  him  and,  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  out  their  design,  mixed  a  deadly 
poison  composed  of  particles  of  the  rock  Tosaut.     While  this 


INDIAN  SUPERSTITIONS.  751 

was  being-  prepared,  a  small  burrowing  animal,  called  Cacu- 
mel,  betrayed  the  plot  to  Ouiot  who  at  once  sent  out  spies  to 
ascertain  the  truth  of  the  report;  but,  failing  to  discover  any- 
reliable  information  of  the  conspiracy,  he  treated  the  whole 
matter  as  a  jest.  In  the  meanwhile  the  conspirators  finished 
their  preparation  in  secret;  and,  when  all  was  read)',  one  of 
them  placed  a  small  quantity  of  the  poison  on  Ouiot's  breast, 
as  he  lay  asleep.  Its  effect  was  so  potent  that  he  at  once 
sickened  and  in  a  short  time,  becoming  worse  and  worse  in 
spite  of  all  the  remedies  that  could  be  administered,  he  died. 
From  this  point  the  accounts  of  the  Playanos  agreed  sub- 
stantially with  those  of  the  Serranos,  excepting  that  nothing 
further  was  heard  of  Eyacque  or  the  coyote;  nor  did  Cacumel 
make  any  further  appearance.  The  body  of  Ouiot  was  burned 
upon  the  funeral  pyre  amidst  the  rejoicing  of  the  people;  and, 
after  it  was  consumed,  there  was  the  same  council  as  to  the 
adoption  of  a  diet  of  flesh  and  seeds  instead  of  the  clay, 
which  they  had  previously  been  compelled  to  eat.  In  the 
midst  of  their  consultation  there  wras  the  same  appearance  of 
a  mysterious  being,  who  came  from  no  one  knew  where, 
and  the  same  conversation  as  in  the  accounts  given  by  the 
Serranos.  This  mysterious  being,  however,  called  himself 
"  Attajen,"  which  means  rational  creature,  and,  as  in  the  case 
of  Chinigchinich,  claimed  universal  authority.  He  likewise 
selected  from  the  people  a  certain  number,  upon  whom  he 
conferred  the  powers  of  causing  rain  to  fall,  trees  and  plants 
to  produce  acorns  and  seeds  and  game  of  all  kinds  to  in- 
crease. It  was  not  until  'a  long  time  afterwards  that  Chi- 
nigchinich himself  made  his  appearance,  at  first  under  the 
name  of  Ouiamot,  the  son  of  Tacu  and  Auzar,  and  finally  as 
the  god  who  established  the  laws  and  ordained  the  rites  and 
ceremonies  of  religious  observances.  He  appeared  with  his 
body  pai-ted  black  and  red  and  adorned  in  his  sacred  robe 
of  feathers  known  as  the  tobet.  He  confirmed  the  medicine- 
men as  sorcrrers  in  their  priestly  offices;  gave  them  the  name 
of  "puplem,"  and  taught  them  how  to  build  the  "  vanquech  "  or 
temple  for  his  worship;   how  and   when  to  assume  the  tobet 


75l>  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

and  dance;  how  to  cure  the  sick,  and  how,  in  times  of  scar- 
city, to  supplicate  him  for  relief. 

The  Playanos  seem  to  have  made  use  of  the  same  trinitarian 
denominations  of  Saor,  Quaguor  and  Tobet  for  Chinigchinich 
that  the  Serranos  did;  but  they  applied  them  somewhat  dif- 
ferently. Saor  meant  the  time  when  he  could  not  dance  and 
was  applied  to  those  who  were  not  allowed  to  assume  his 
vestments;  Tobet  was  the  name  of  the  god  dressed  in  his 
sacred  feather  robe  and  was  applied  to  all  who  had  the  right 
to  assume  it  and  enter  the  vanquech  or  sanctuary;  and 
Quaguor  was  the  name  given  to  the  god  after  he  had 
ascended  to  the  stars.  For  he  too,  like  the  Chinigchinich  of 
the  Serranos,  when  his  task  on  earth  was  finished,  took 
his  departure  by  ascension.  When  his  appointed  time  ap- 
proached, he  sickened;  and,  being  apparently  about  to  die, 
the  people  asked  him  as  to  which  one  of  his  rancherias  he 
wished  to  go  when  he  died.  He  answered,  "  To  neither  of 
them,  for  they  are  inhabited  by  mortals,  and  I  wish  to  go 
where  I  shall  be  alone  and  from  where  I  can  see  the  people 
of  all  the  rancherias."  They  offered  to  bury  him;  but  he 
said:  No,  that  then  they  would  walk  upon  him  and  he  would 
be  obliged  to  chastise  them.  "No,"  he  continued,  "when  I 
depart,  I  shall  ascend  above  to  the  stars.  From  there  I  shall 
always  see  you.  To  those  who  keep  my  commandments  I 
will  give  all  they  ask;  but  those  who  obey  not  or  believe  not 
my  teachings,  I  will  punish  severely.  I  will  send  bears  to 
bite  them  and  serpents  to  sting  them.  They  shall  have  no 
food  to  eat  and  diseases  shall  overwhelm  and  destroy  them." 
Having  said  this,  Chinigchinich  died  and  ascended  as  he  had 
prophesied;  and  thenceforth  he  was  revered  and  worshiped 
as  God.  He  was  invoked  by  the  Indians  in  all  their  under- 
takings; he  was  regarded  as  th<$  giver  of  all  good  things,  and 
to  him  thanks  were  returned  for  all  blessings  received.  Up 
to  the  days  of  the  adoption  of  the  new  faith  of  the  mission- 
aries, the  old  god  taught  by  the  native  priests  or  sorcerers 
retained  his  influence  over  the  minds  of  the  Indians  ;  and 
there  was  never  a  plenteous  harvest  of  acorns  or  wild  seeds 


INDIAN  SUPERSTITIONS.  753 

or  a  successful  hunting,  but  the  grateful  heathens,  turning 
their  eyes  to  heaven,  would  cry  out,  "  Guic  Chinigchinich," 
that  is,  "  Thanks  to  Chinigchinich,  who  has  given  us  these."1 
In  examining  with  a  critical  eye  and  in  the  light  of  modern 
ethnographical  research  the  foregoing  accounts  of  the  religious 
notions  thus  attributed  to  the  Indians  of  San  Juan  Capis- 
trano,  it  is  difficult  if  not  impossible  to  believe  that  ideas  of 
so  advanced  a  character  could  have  been  entertained  by  sav- 
ages of  so  low  a  grade.  There  is  so  much  in  the  description 
of  Ouiot  and  his  race  resembling  Lucifer  and  his  legions  of 
fallen  angels  and  so  much  more  in  the  description  of  Chinig- 
chinich resembling  the  one  invisible,  omnipresent  God  of  the 
Hebrews,  that  the  judgment  cannot  subscribe  to  Boscana's 
supposition  that  these  conceptions  were  original  with  the 
Indians.  On  the  other  hand,  upon  examining  the  circum- 
stances under  which  he  acquired  his  information,  several  very 
important  observations  force  themselves  upon  the  mind  of 
the  reader,  which  subtract  greatly  from  the  value  of  these 
accounts  as  reliable  expositions  of  what  the  Indians  in  their 
savage  state  really  believed.  In  the  first  place  Boscana  him- 
self and  his  brother  missionaries  were  men  of  narrow  range 
of  thought,  continually  seeking  among  the  superstitions  of 
the  natives  for  resemblances  to  the  true  faith  and  ever  ready 
to  catch  at  the  slightest  hints  and  magnify  them  into  com- 
plicated dogmas  corresponding  afar  off  with  those  which  they 
themselves  taught.  They  assumed  that  some  sort  of  knowl- 
edge of  the  true  God  was  inherent  in  all  human  creatures 
and  that  this  inherent  knowledge  was  only  obscured  and 
falsified  among  the  poor  savages  by  the  machinations  and 
wiles  of  the  devil.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  Boscana  finds  in 
the  relations  above  given  many  allusions  to  scriptural  truths 
and  especially  calls  attention  to  the  six  productions  of  the 
mother  of  Ouiot  as  corresponding  with  the  six  days  of  the 
Mosaic  creation;  to  the  formation  of  the  first  man  and  woman 
out  of  clay  as  corresponding  with  the  Mosaic  Adam  and 
Eve,  and  to  Ouiot  himself  as  corresponding  with    Nimrod, 

1  Boscana,  in  Robinson,  249-257. 
48    Vol.  I. 


754  THE  SFAN1SH  GOVERNORS. 

who  was  also  a  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord.  In  the  next 
place  it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  old  men,  from  whom  Bos- 
cana  derived  his  information,  were  not  only  Christianized 
adherents  of  the  missions  and  as  such  interested  in  giving  a 
pleasing  narrative  to  the  missionaries ;  but  that  they  grew  up 
after  Jum'pero  and  his  companions  had  first  come  into  Alta 
California  and  spread  abroad  the  doctrines  and  mysteries  of 
the  Christian  faith.  It  cannot  be  otherwise  than  that  these 
doctrines,  incomprehensible  as  they  must  have  been  to  the 
unlettered  and  unreflecting  Indians,  became  mixed  up  in 
their  minds  with  their  own  crude  notions  of  powers  beyond 
and  above  their  own  and  produced  the  confused  and  inter- 
tangled  accounts  given  by  them  to  the  missionaries.   . 

Under  the  circumstances,  it  is  difficult  to  ascertain  what  the 
religious  belief  of  the  Indians  in  their  savage  state  exactly 
was.  They  had  no  writing,  letters,  hieroglyphics,  pictures  or 
characters  of  any  description  from  which  information  can  be 
obtained ;  nor  have  there  been  any  writers,  who  had  oppor- 
tunities of  acquaintance  with  the  language  and  practices  of 
the  Indians  and  who  at  the  same  time  were  sufficiently  versed 
in  investigations  of  this  character  to  guage  with  discrimina- 
tion and  describe  with  precision  the  nature  and  extent  of  their 
religious  ideas.  Judging  from  what  is  known  of  undoubted 
authenticity,  it  is  probable  that  their  advance  towards  a  relig- 
ion of  any  kind  was  very  limited.  There  was,  it  is  true,  a 
very  marked  difference  in  the  degrees  of  intelligence  between 
the  peoples  of  different  regions.  Those  inhabiting  the  sea 
coast  and  islands  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel  were  much 
more  advanced  than  those  of  regions  remote  from  those 
favored  localities.  It  is  therefore  to  be  expected  that  there 
was  a  very  marked  difference  in  the  degrees  of  the  develop- 
ment of  their  superstitions.  But  even  the  most  advanced  of 
them  were  very  low  down  in  the  scale  of  barbarism ;  and  the 
lowest  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  had  any  religious  ideas  at 
all.  Taking  the  tribes  or  rancherias  in  general,  and  allowing 
for  the  numerous  differences  which  must  have  existed  between 
them,  each  being  confined  to  a  small  tract  of  country,  speak- 


INDIAN  SUPERSTITIONS.  755 

ing  a  different  language  and  born  and  bred  the  enemy  of  the 
neighboring  tribes,  the  chief  fact  known  is  that  they  all  had 
their  sorcerers  or  medicine-men  who  claimed  the  supernat- 
ural powers  of  curing  sickness,  causing  rain  and  producing 
harvests.  These  sorcerers  were  their  only  priesthood;  their 
teachings  and  particularly  the  accounts  they  gave  of  the 
origin  and  sanction  of  their  supernatural  claims  embraced,  in 
the  main,  all  the  ideas  that  were  current  as  to  superior  powers 
and  supernatural  existences;  and  their  incantations,  the 
dances  they  performed  and  prescribed,  and  the  mysterious 
practices  they  invented,  and  by  which  they  imposed  upon  the 
common  people,  were  their  only  rites  and  ceremonies. 

It  is  also  known  that  there  was  in  many  if  not  in  all  large 
villages  or  rancherias,  a  place  set  apart  as  a  sort  of  sanctuary 
for  the  cultivation  and  exercise  of  their  superstition.  It  was 
what  the  San  Juan  Capistrano  tribes  called  a  vanquech  and 
what  the  voyagers  and  missionaries  designated  a  temple. 
Like  the  other  structures  erected  by  the  natives,  it  was  very 
rude  in  its  fabrication,  consisting  usually  of  slabs  of  bark  or 
timber  inclined  against  each  other  at  the  top  so  as  to  form  a 
kind  of  hollow  cone  that  would  shed  rain,  or  of  upright  sap- 
lings interlaced  with  boughs,  twigs  or  reeds  and  sometimes 
covered  in  by  being  bent  over  at  the  top  so  as  to  form  a  roof. 
In  this  vanquech  or  temple  there  was  always  some  particular 
object  of  reverence,  not  properly  an  idol,  but  what  is  known 
among  the  barbarous  tribes  of  Africa  as  a  fetish.  It  con- 
sisted generally  of  the  skin  of  a  coyote  or  mountain  cat  or 
some  such  animal  taken  off  with  great  care,  preserving  the 
head  and  forming  a  species  of  sack  which  was  dressed  smooth 
on  the  outside  and  stuffed  with  the  feathers,  beaks,  talons, 
horns  and  claws  of  rare  birds  and  animals  and  stuck  through 
lengthwise  with  a  number  of  arrows.  The  whole  presented 
the  hairless  figure  of  the  animal,  dried  and  stretched  out,  with 
the  feathered  ends  of  the  arrows  protruding  from  its  mouth. 
This  grotesque  preparation,  which  was  generally  elevated  on 
a  kind  of  frame  together  with  a  bow  and  arrows  and  some- 
times adorned  with  other  ornaments,  represented  their  god 


756  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

Chinigchinich,  whatever  may  have  been  their  notions  of  his 
nature,  attributes  and  powers.  But,  as  observed  above,  there 
is  no  good  reason  to  believe  that  these  notions  were  any  more 
advanced  than  those  which  characterize  one  of  the  lowest 
grades  of  that  kind  of  superstition,  to  which  ethnologists  have 
given  the  name  of  fetishism. 

The  sorcerers  or  ministers  of  this  superstition,  if  not  them- 
selves chiefs,  were  always  in  intimate  and  confidential  rela- 
tions with  the  chiefs  or  governing  families;  so  that  church 
and  state,  if  these  august  terms  may  be  applied  to  the  insti- 
tutions of  barbarism,  always  went  hand  in  hand.  Whatever 
may  have  been  the  authority  exercised  by  the  chiefs,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  influence  exerted  by  the  sorcerers  or  priesthood, 
and  the  authority  they  assumed  and  succeeded  in  wielding, 
were  very  great.  Almost  implicit  confidence  was  reposed  in 
their  teachings.  Being  supposed  to  possess  supernatural 
powers,  they  were  feared;  and,  being  numerous,  they  often 
managed  to  outsway  and  sometimes  to  overpower  and  depose 
the  chiefs.  They  constituted  in  great  part,  if  not  in  whole, 
the  puplem  or  great  council  of  the  wise  men  of  the  tribe,  to 
which  even  the  chiefs  were  subordinate  and  without  whose 
concurrence  and  sanction  no  act  of  importance  could  be  done. 
They  could  levy  contributions  upon  the  community  for  their 
own  support  and  exact  onerous  fees  for  their  services  when 
called  into  requisition.  They  were  active  in  creating  occa- 
sions for  their  interference  both  in  public  affairs  and  in  the 
intercourse  and  relations  of  private  life.  It  was  a  part  of  their 
policy,  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  and  perpetuating  their 
influence,  to  render  themselves  objects  of  awe;  and  with  this 
end  in  view,  besides  their  claims  to  supernatural  gifts  and  inti- 
mate correspondence  with  Chinigchinich,  they  called  them- 
selves man-eaters  and  assumed  costumes  and  adopted  man- 
ners the  best  calculated,  according  to  their  circumstances,  to 
inspire  terror.  While  on  the  one  hand  their  persons  were 
held  sacred  and  inviolate,  there  was  on  the  other  hand  hardly 
any  excess  of  wickedness  which  they  could  not,  and  did  not, 
commit  with  impunity.     It  is  related,  among   other  things, 


INDIAN  SUPERSTITIONS.  757 

that  the  females  of  the  tribe  without  distinction  were  obliged 
under  all  circumstances  and  without  show  of  reluctance  to 
submit  to  their  desires;  nor  was  the  presence  of  husband, 
parents  or  relatives  any  protection  to  virtue  or  chastity.1 

There  was  no  such  thing  as  a  general  government  among 
the  Indians;  no  consolidation  or  federation  of  tribes;  no  gov- 
ernor or  king.  Each  village  or  rancheria,  which  usually  com- 
prised a  distinct  tribe,  though  sometimes  closely  related  to  a 
neighbor,  was  entirely  independent  and  presided  over  by  its 
own  chief.  The  people  and  chiefs  of  different  rancherias 
sometimes  joined  for  the  accomplishment  of  a  common  pur- 
pose; but  they  never  advanced  far  enough  in  political  science 
to  recognize  a  common  authority  or  understand  the  advantages 
of  political  union.  Their  communities  or  rancherias  were 
therefore  very  small;  and,  as  they  in  most  instances  spoke 
different  idioms  and  were  generally  disunited  and  hostile  to 
one  another,  they  were  very  weak.  Nor  did  the  authority  of 
the  chiefs  among  their  own  people  amount  to  much.  It  is 
true  they  were  the  head  men,  each  one  in  his  own  rancheria, 
and  bore  the  insignia  of  office  and  honor;  they  were  held  in 
great  respect  and  it  was  death  to  injure  them;  but  the  people 
generally  speaking  lived  a  life  of  independence  and  compara- 
tive insubordination,  every  one  following  the  bent  of  his  own 
inclination  without  law  and  without  restraint  except  such  as 
was  occasioned  by  a  common  danger  or  a  common  supersti- 
tion. It  was  principally  in  the  appointment  of  days  for  the 
collection  of  nuts  or  seeds,  for  the  hunting  of  game,  or  the 
celebration  of  feasts,  or  in  the  settlement  of  disputes  with 
neighboring  rancherias  including  the  declaration  and  conduct 
of  war,  that  the  chiefs  exercised  authority.  But  even  in  these 
particulars  their  powers  were  much  circumscribed  by  those  of 
the  sorcerers  and  especially  by  that  of  the  puplcm  or  great 
council.  It  was  the  sorcerers  who  kept  the  run  of  the  sea- 
sons and  observed  the  phases  of  the  moon,  upon  which  the 
times  for  gathering  harvests  and  celebrating  feasts  were  made 
to  depend;  and  it  was  the  puplem  which  decided,  as  a  council 
of  last  resort,  upon  all  matters  of  prime  importance.     Thc- 

1  Rnsrana.  in  Robinson,  276. 


758  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

chieftainship  was  ordinarily  hereditary,  and  it  was  not  un- 
usual for  the  son  of  the  incumbent  to  be  inducted  into  office 
while  the  father  lived  and  ruled;  but  in  such  instances  the 
junior  chief  exercised  no  authority  until  the  senior  died  or 
became  superannuated.  In  some  cases  of  premature  death  of 
a  chief,  leaving  an  infant  son,  the  widow  became  regent  until 
the  son  arrived  at  maturity;  but  in  all  these  cases  the  puplem 
had  a  controlling  voice;  and  without  its  acquiescence,  no  one 
was  able  long  to  occupy  the  chieftianship. 

The  puplem,  or  council  so-called,  was  composed  of  the  elders 
or  wise  men  of  the  tribe,  including  the  sorcerers.  Its  mem- 
bers had  the  right  to  assume  the  tobet  or  sacred  feather-robe, 
to  enter  at  all  times  into  the  vanquech,  to  dance  before  Chi- 
nigchinich  and  to  advise  and  direct  and  even  overrule  the 
chief.  The  extent  of  its  power  and  the  manner  of  its  exercise 
may,  perhaps,  be  best  delineated  by  synthetic  description. 
When,  for  instance,  the  chief  was  advised  that  the  time  was 
at  hand  for  the  collection  of  seeds  or  the  hunting  of  game,  he 
sent  out  a  herald  or  crier  to  convene  the  puplem  and  people. 
All  having  assembled  in  front  of  the  vanquech,  the  figure  of 
Chinigchinich  was  exposed,  and  one  of  the  puplem  sketched 
upon  the  ground  in  front  of  it  a  rude  drawing,  having  some 
reference  to  the  general  purpose  in  view.  This  being  com- 
pleted, the  ceremonies  commenced.  The  chief  and  the  pup- 
lem, all  painted,  dressed  in  their  appropriate  costumes  and 
bearing  their  bows  and  arrows,  arranged  themselves  in  line 
and  advanced,  one  after  the  other,  until  they  arrived  at  the 
drawing  on  the  ground  in  front  of  Chinigchinich.  The  chief 
then  gave  a  jump,  springing  as  high  as  possible  from  the 
ground,  and  at  the  same  time  yelled  with  all  his  strength  of 
lungs  and  brandished  his  weapons  as  if  he  were  about  to 
shoot  at  something  in  the  air.  Each  one  in  turn  performed 
the  same  evolutions.  They  were  followed  by  the  women,  who 
approached  in  the  same  manner  as  the  men  except  that, 
instead  of  running  and  jumping,  they  moved  in  slow  proces- 
sion and,  instead  of  brandishing  weapons,  they  presented  the 
baskets  they  used  for  the  collection   and  carrying  of  seeds. 


INDIAN  SUPERSTITIONS.  759 

The  object  seems  to  have  been  a  sort  of  invocation  or  implo- 
ration  of  Chinigchinich  for  success  in  their  pursuits  and  pro- 
tection from  harm  while  engaged  in  them.  These  ceremo- 
nies being  concluded,  they  all — men,  women,  boys  and  girls — 
dispersed  to  the  fields,  groves  or  mountains  where  their  food 
was  to  be  gathered.1  Upon  their  return  to  the  rancheria, 
loaded  down  with  the  fruits  of  their  labors,  they  deposited  the 
greater  part  with  the  chief  and  sorcerers  and  carried  the 
remainder,  each  one  a  portion,  to  his  or  her  own  hut." 

Again,  when  a  new  chief  was  to  be  selected,  the  puplem 
was  in  like  manner  convened  by  crier  and  the  object  of  the 
convocation  made  known  to  the  members.  If  the  candidate 
was  satisfactory,  they  expressed  their  assent ;  and  a  day  was 
fixed  for  his  installation.  On  such  an  occasion,  all  the  peo- 
ple being  assembled  and  the  candidate  having  made  his 
appearance  with  his  body  duly  painted  and  his  hair  plaited 
and  ornamented,  the  puplem  placed  upon  him  the  insignia  of 
authority,  consisting  of  the  tobet  and  also  a  head-dress  of 
feathers.  They  then  led  him  into  the  vanquech  and  pre- 
sented him  to  Chinigchinich,  before  whose  figure  he  danced 
to  the  accompaniment  of  singing  and  the  violent  rattling  of 
dried  turtle-shells  filled  with  small  stones.  This  ceremony 
being  finished,  the  puplem,  joined  by  the  chiefs  of  friendly 
neighboring  tribes  who  might  be  present,  placed  him  in  their 
midst  and  danced  around  him;  and  from  that  time  forward 
he  was  recognized  as  the  new  chief  and  considered  duly 
installed.  The  puplem  and  people  then  gave  themselves  up 
to  rejoicing  and  feasting,  which  usually  lasted  three  or  four 
days.3 

Again,  when  war  was  about  to  be  declared,  the  puplem 
was  convoked  and  the  chief  laid  before  it  the  occasion 
which  in  his  judgment  called  for  arms.  The  main  question 
to  be  discussed  in  such  case  was  not  the  justice  or  injustice 
of  the  proposed  hostilities,  but  their  probable  outcome  and 
whether  they  should  be  waged  alone  or  with  the  assistance  of 

1  Boscana,  in  Robinson.  260.  261. 

2  Boscana,  in  Robinson,  269. 

3  Boscana,  in  Robinson,  264-266. 


760  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

other  tribes.  If  alliances  were  determined  on.  invitations 
were  sent  to  the  chosen  allies;  and  substantially  the  same 
ceremonies  were  gone  through  with  by  the  allies  as  to 
whether  or  not  they  should  join  the  enterprise.  As  a  rule, 
however,  these  alliances  were  not  extensive  and  in  hardly  any 
instance  embraced  more  than  a  few  neighboring  rancherias. 
War  being  thus  determined  on,  the  chief  sent  out  the  crier  to 
announce  the  declaration;  and,  while  the  women  got  ready  a 
sufficient  supply  of  provisions  for  the  campaign,  the  men 
prepared  their  weapons  and  whetted  up  their  courage.  On 
the  appointed  day  they  sallied  forth,  led  by  the  chief,  who 
until  their  return  wielded  almost  absolute  power.  Even  in 
case  of  alliances,  each  rancheria  obeyed  only  its  own  chief; 
and  it  does  not  appear  that  the  advantages  of  permanent 
combination  or  subjection  to  common  leadership  were  ever 
understood.  Such  was  the  puplem — an  institution  somewhat 
similar  but  very  inferior  to  the  council  of  the  more  advanced 
Indian  tribes  of  the  eastern  side  of  the  continent.  Among 
the  Californians,  as  there  were  no  wide-spread  confederacies 
and  no  King  Philips,  so  also  there  were  no  Thayendanegas  or 
Logans.  As  there  was  no  statesmanship,  so  also  there  was 
no  oratory. 

The  respect  of  the  people  for  their  chief,  their  sorcerers,  their 
puplem  and  their  vanquech  was  very  great.  The  chief  was 
looked  upon,  particularly  by  the  younger  members  of  the 
community,  with  reverence  amounting  almost  to  awe.  No 
one  dared  to  treat  him  with  neglect  or  injure  him  either  by 
act  or  word.  If  he  were  so  treated  and  the  injury  were  in 
any  respect  a  grievous  one,  the  offense  was  made  the  subject 
of  public  notice.  It  was  said  on  such  occasions  that  Chinig- 
chinich  was  angry  and  could  be  appeased  only  with  the  death 
of  the  offender.  The  spiritual  power  was  thus  called  in  to 
the  aid  of  the  temporal;  the  people  were  thoroughly  aroused; 
old  and  young  put  themselves  upon  the  track  of  the  victim 
thus  devoted  to  destruction;  and  it  was  seldom  he  escaped 
becoming  the  object  of  public  vengeance.  The  respect, 
which   was   thus  shown   by  the    people  for   the  chief,  using 


INDIAN  SUPERSTITIONS.  761 

that  term  to  designate  the  temporal  power  in  general,  was, 
however,  much  exceeded  by  that  which  was  shown  for  the 
sorcerers  or  spiritual  power.  As  has  been  already  stated,  the 
sorcerers  were  considered  familiars  of  Chinigchinich  and 
endowed  by  him  with  supernatural  gifts;  they  were  therefore 
regarded  as  inviolable  in  their  persons  and  looked  upon  with 
fear  and  trembling.  The  vanquech  also  was  a  sacred  place, 
sacred  not  in  name  only  but  sacred  likewise  on  account  of 
the  actual  awe  it  inspired.  No  one  approached  it  except  in 
silence;  no  one  presumed  to  commit  any  act  of  irreverence 
in  its  neighborhood;  no  one  as  a  rule  dared  to  enter  it  except 
the  chief  and  sorcerers  or  those  composing  the  puplem;  and 
even  these  exhibited,  in  all  their  conduct  and  demeanor,  the 
highest  degree  of  veneration.  But  the  most  extraordinary 
circumstance  in  reference  to  the  vanquech,  was  its  character 
as  a  sanctuary.  Boscana  relates  that  the  greatest  criminal, 
whatever  might  be  the  heinousness  of  his  atrocities,  if  he 
could  succeed  in  reaching  and  gaining  admittance  to  the  van- 
quech, was  from  that  moment  safe.  His  crime,  indeed,  might 
not  be  forgiven  or  forgotten;  it  might  be,  and  it  usually  was, 
remembered  for  many  years  and  avenged  upon  his  children 
or  relatives;  but  the  offender  himself  was  thenceforward 
unmolested;  and  all  that  could  be  done  by  those  aggrieved 
was  to  deride  him  as  a  coward  for  having  thus  sought  the 
protection  of  Chinigchinich.  The  privileges  of  sanctuary 
thus  established  were  so  strict  that  it  was  inexorable  death  at 
the  hands  of  the  whole  people  to  violate  or  interfere  with 
them.1 

Among  other  objects  of  superstition,  more  or  less  connected 
with  their  fetishism,  were  charms;  but  these,  instead  of  being 
possessed  by  the  people,  were  held  exclusively  by  the  sor- 
cerers. They  consisted  of  black  balls,  composed  of  mescal 
and  wild  honey,  and  were  carried  in  a  small  leather  bag  sus- 
pended under  the  left  arm.  They  were  supposed  to  confer 
occult  powers;  and  when  the  sorcerer,  being  otherwise  unable 
to  effect  his  purpose,  was  seen  to  place  his  right  hand  upon 
them,  it  was  believed  that  great  results  would  be  the  conse- 

1  Boscana,  in   Robinson,  261-263. 


762  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

quence.  It  is  also  said  that  when  the  sun  or  moon  was 
eclipsed,  it  was  believed  that  a  great  monster  was  endeavor- 
ing to  swallow  it;  and  that  the  whole  people  would  turn  out, 
crying  and  shouting,  beating  with  sticks  upon  dry  hides  and 
throwing  sand  into  the  air,  to  frighten  it  away.1 

Though  they  were  firm  believers  in  spirits  and  ghosts,  the 
idea  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  was  not  developed.  The 
only  kind  of  life  after  death  in  which  they  believed,  was  con- 
fined to  the  chiefs  and  members  of  the  puplem  and  was 
secured  only  through  the  services  of  the  sorcerers.  There 
were,  among  these,  certain  ones  who  called  themselves  man- 
eaters  and  claimed  to  be  descendants  of  the  same  coyote  or 
Eyacque,  who  tore  off  and  ate  a  piece  of  the  body  of  Ouiot 
as  he  lay  upon  his  funeral  pyre.  When  a  chief  or  member  of 
the  puplem  died,  one  of  these  man-eaters  was  sent  for.  He 
came  like  a  ghoul;  cut  or  tore  off  a  large  piece  of  flesh  from 
the  neck  and  shoulder  of  the  dead  body,  and  ate  it  in  the 
presence  of  the  multitude  assembled  to  witness  the  perform- 
ance." It  was  only  in  this  manner  and  under  such  circum-. 
stances  that  immortality  could  be  secured  and  the  dead 
magnate  be  taken  up  to  heaven  and  live  among  the  stars. 
Boscana,  in  connection^with  his  account  of  these  superstitions, 
relates  that  in  1 821,  when  a  comet  appeared  flaming  across 
the  northwestern  sky,  it  was  supposed  to  be  one  of  the  chiefs 
who  had  died  a  short  time  before  and  had  prophesied  that  he 
would  show  himself  again.3  But  whatever  their  notions  upon 
this  subject  of  immortality  may  have  been,  it  is  certain  that 
the  man-eaters  were  highly  remunerated  for  their  services. 
In  fact  the  whole  system  of  superstition  was  so  arranged  and 
regulated  as  to  redound  to  the  aggrandizement  of  the  sorcer- 
ers; to  extend  and  perpetuate  their  power,  and  to  distribute 
and,  as  it  were,  rivet  into  the  very  constitution  of  society  their 
baneful  influence. 

The  feasts  and  dances  were  so  intimately  connected  with 
the  superstition  that  they  may  be  said  to  have  formed  a  part 

1  Boscana,  in  Robinson,  296-298. 

1  Iioscana,  in  Robinson,  299. 

8  Boscana,  in  Robinson,  320,  321. 


INDIAN  SUPERSTITIONS.  763 

of  it.  Hardly  any  project  could  be  initiated  or  undertaken 
without  invoking  Chinigchinich;  and  Chinigchinich  could  not 
properly  be  invoked  without  feasting  and  dancing.  The  occa- 
sions of  festivity,  therefore,  were  numerous  and  often  contin- 
ued for  several  days  and  nights  at  a  time  and  sometimes  for 
weeks;  and  the  participants  entered  into  the  spirit  of  them 
with  all  their  enthusiasm.  It  seems  in  fact  that  to  neglect 
them  in  the  slightest  degree  was  to  incur  the  anger  of  the 
god  who  was  supposed  to  have  instituted  them,  and  to  ex- 
pose the  offender  to  inevitable  chastisement.  The  dances  on 
the  occasion  of  the  commencement  of  a  great  hunt  or  harvest, 
as  also  those  on  the  occasion  of  the  installation  of  a  new 
chief,  have  already  been  described.  But  there  were  many 
otiaers,  with  greater  or  less  variation  of  ceremonies  and  doubt- 
less with  different  significations.  In  all  of  them  in  which  the 
chiefs  and  members  of  the  puplem  participated,  these  magnates 
wore  the  short  petticoat  of  feathers,  reaching  from  the  loins  to 
the  knees,  called  the  tobet.  They  also  wore  a  head-dress  or 
crown  of  upright  feathers  called  the  "  eneat ;  "  while  the  other 
parts  of  their  bodies  were  painted  red  and  black  and  some- 
times white.  The  men  in  general,  who  were  not  members  of 
the  puplem,  merely  painted  their  bodies,  varying  the  care  and 
completeness  with  which  they  adorned  themselves  with  the 
dignity  and  importance  of  the  occasion.  The  women  also 
often  participated  in  the  dances;  and,  when  they  did  so,  they 
as  a  general  rule  while  retaining  their  ordinary  attire  added 
strings  of  ornaments,  principally  beads  and  shells,  about  their 
necks,  and  painted  their  faces,  arms  and  breasts  with  a  sort  of 
brown  varnish.  Though  they  all  danced  at  the  same  time, 
the  females  never  danced  with  the  males  but  each  sex  by 
itself;  the  males  forming  one  row  or  line  and  two  or  three 
yards  behind  them  the  females  forming  a  second  line.  The 
musicians,  who  kept  the  time  with  their  rattles  of  dried  turtle- 
shells  accompanied  by  a  sort  of  song  or  chant,  seated  them- 
selves on  the  ground  in  front  of  all. 

One  of  the  most  popular  of  their  festivals  was  called  the 
"panes"  or  bird  feast.     Panes  seems  to  have  been  the  Indian 


764  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

name  given  to  the  large  vulture,  commonly  known  among  the 
Mexicans  as  the  zopilote  and  among  the  Americans  as  the 
Californian  condor.  The  Indians  are  said  to  have  believed 
that  panes  was  once  a  woman  of  consideration,  who  ran  away 
from  her  people  and  retreated  to  the  mountains,  where  Chi- 
nigchinich  met  and  transformed  her  into  the  bird.  Every 
year  at  a  certain  time,  which  was  fixed  upon  by  the  sorcerers 
and  of  which  due  notice  was  given,  they  seem  in  some  way 
or  other  to  have  possessed  themselves  of  one  of  these  birds, 
which  on  the  appointed  day  was  carried  in  solemn  procession 
by  the  entire  tribe  to  the  vanquech.  As  soon  as  it  was  depos- 
ited there,  the  puplem  began  dancing  around  it,  while  all  the 
young  women  both  married  and  single  commenced  running 
and  racing  to  and  fro  and  in  every  direction,  as  if  distracted. 
These  ceremonies  ended,  the  bird  was  seized  and  killed  by 
the  puplem,  care  being  taken  not  to  lose  any  of  its  blood. 
The  skin  with  the  feathers  on  was  preserved  for  the  purpose 
of  making  tobets;  but  the  body  was  buried  in  the  vanquech; 
while  all  the  old  women  stood  around,  weeping  and  moaning, 
throwing  articles  of  food  upon  the  grave  and  exclaiming 
amidst  their  sobs:  "Why  did  you  run  away?  Would  it  not 
have  been  much  better  to  have  stayed  with  us  ?  You  might 
have  made  pinole,  as  we  do.  If  you  had  not  run  away,  you 
would  not  have  become  a  panes."  The  bird  thus  killed  was, 
by  some  inexplicable  contradiction,  still  supposed  to  survive; 
and  the  panes  of  year  after  year  seems  to  have  been  regarded 
as  one  and  the  same  existence.  However  this  may  have  been, 
as  soon  as  the  body  was  sufficiently  bewept  and  bemoaned, 
dancing  in  which  all  participated  commenced  and  was  kept 
up  for  three  days  and  nights;  and  the  greatest  licentiousness 
was  indulged  in. 

Among  their  dances  was  one,  which  took  place  at  night 
and  was  introduced  by  lighting  a  large  bonfire.  When  this 
was  well  under  way,  and  all  the  participants  stood  around, 
the  men  jumped  into  the  flames  and  stamped  the  fire  out; 
while  the  women  at  a  short  distance  kept  up  a  continued 
howling  and  moaning  until  not  a  spark  was  left.     As  soon  as 


INDIAN  SUPERSTITIONS.  765 

the  fire  was  found  to  be  completely  extinguished,  the  dancing 
commenced  and  was  participated  in  by  both  sexes.  Another 
dance,  performed  in  the  day-time,  was  similar  to  the  foregoing 
in  its  introductory  ceremonies;  but  in  addition  thereto  one  of 
the  men  was  dispatched  for  a  quantity  of  filthy  water.  This 
was  poured  into  a  hole,  prepared  for  the  purpose  in  the  van- 
quech;  and  then  the  men,  one  after  the  other,  approached  and 
blew  into  it,  at  the  same  time  muttering  a  sort  of  incantation. 
All  having  done  so,  they  approached  again  in  the  same  order 
and,  dipping  their  fingers  in  the  dirty  liquid,  daubed  their 
faces  as  if  it  conferred  upon  them  some  extraordinary  virtue. 
But  from  this  part  of  the  ceremony  the  women  were  rigidly 
excluded.  Another  dance  was  commenced  by  the  men,  who 
after  hopping  about,  first  on  one  foot,  then  on  the  other  and 
then  on  both  for  some  time,  formed  themselves  into  a  line; 
when  one  of  the  women  presented  herself  with  her  arms 
folded  across  her  breast  and  danced,  passing  two  or  three 
times  up  and  down  in  front  of  them.  The  men  then  resumed 
their  part  of  the  performance  and  again  formed  a  line,  when 
a  second  female  presented  herself;  and  thus  they  alternated 
until  they  were  all  tired  out.  Still  another  dance  was  similar 
to  the  last,  except  that  the  female,  instead  of  preserving  a 
modest  demeanor  as  in  the  former,  unrobed  and  displayed  her 
person  while  the  spectators  crowded  in  a  circle  around  and 
feasted  their  eyes  upon  her  extravagancies.1 

But  some  of  the  strangest  of  all  their  dances  were  those 
witnessed  by  Duflot  de  Mofras  three  or  four  years  previous  to 
the  American  occupation.  On  one  occasion,  while  encamped 
at  night  upon  the  Sacramento  river,  he  was  attracted  by  see- 
ing sixty  seeming  skeletons  performing  a  war-dance  around 
a  great  fire.  Upon  approaching  the  place,  he  perceived  that 
they  were  Cosumnes  Indians,  who  had  painted  their  black 
bodies  with  white  stripes  in  such  a  manner  as  to  represent, 
with  horrible  verisimilitude,  all  the  ribs  and  bones  of  the 
human  frame.  On  another  occasion  he  witnessed  the  so-called 
"  dance  of  death  "  among  the  Mokelumne  Indians.  Like  the 
other,  it  took  place  at  night  and  in  the  presence  of  a  great  fire 

1  Boscana,   in  Robinson,  2S9-295. 


766  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

which  was  built  near  the  edge  of  a  wood.  While  some  of  the 
Indians  seated  themselves  and  sang  their  songs,  the  others 
danced  around  the  blaze,  in  solemn  silence.  Suddenly  a 
sharp,  piercing  cry,  resembling  that  of  *the  coyote,  was  heard 
at  some  distance  off  in  the  darkness;  and  presently  a  horrible 
figure,  covered  with  black,  bristling  feathers,  its  head  sur- 
mounted with  great  horns  and  carrying  in  its  hands  a  bow 
and  arrows,  stealthily  approached.  As  it  drew  near,  the 
dancers  grasped  their  bows  and  arrows  and  ranged  them- 
selves in  a  long  line,  at  the  same  time  uttering  the  most 
lamentable  and  lugubrious  cries.  When  the  specter  finally 
came  up,  the  dancers  still  holding  their  bows  bent,  sur- 
rounded him,  while  he  on  his  part  assuming  a  look  of  the 
utmost  malignity,  selected  a  victim  and  fixing  his  glare  upon 
him  let  fly  a  blunted  arrow.  The  Indian  thus  selected  and 
struck,  fell  as  if  dead.  His  companions  immediately  separated; 
one  party  continuing  to  dance  but  now  with  plaintive  songs; 
another  throwing  their  bows  and  arrows  at  the  feet  of  the  evil 
spirit  as  if  to  deprecate  his  anger,  and  a  third  going  off  to  seek 
a  sorcerer,  who  held  himself  in  ready  proximity.  With  the 
coming  of  the  sorcerer,  who  was  duly  dressed  for  the  occasion* 
the  scene  changed.  All  eyes  were  turned  upon  him.  He 
approached  with  wild  and  violent  gestures.  Upon  reaching 
the  body  of  the  supposed  victim,  he  squatted  over  him  and, 
applying  his  lips  to  the  supposed  wound,  pretended  to  extract 
from  it  an  arrow-head  which  he  exhibited  to  the  spectators. 
The  body  was  then  placed  before  the  fire  and  remained 
motionless,  until  the  demon,  becoming  apparently  placated 
by  the  solicitations  and  presents  of  the  victim's  friends,  at 
length  consented  to  blow  back  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of 
life,  when  the  supposed  dead  man  jumped  up  and  mingled 
among  his  companions  who  all  resumed  their  dancing.1 

Their  feasts  and  dances  were  frequently  varied  with  their 
wars.  These  were  rarely  or  never  waged  for  the  purposes  of 
conquest  but  in  revenge  for  some  trifling  affront  or  fancied 
insult.  Such  affronts  and  insults  were  easily  given  and 
readily  received.     The  tribes,  as  a  rule,  were  inimical  to  one 

1  Duflot  de  Mofras,  II,  375,  376. 


INDIAN  SUPERSTITIONS.  767 

another;  and  all  strangers  .from  the  mere  fact  of  being  stran- 
gers were  regarded  as  enemies.1  If  a  member  of  one  tribe 
stole  a  rabbit  from  a  member  of  another,  or  if  one  gathered 
acorns  from  the  trees  claimed  by  another,  or  if  one  neglected 
to  pay  proper  respect  to  another,  it  was  sufficient  cause  of 
war.  The  chief,  if  not  himself  the  offended  party,  took  up 
the  quarrel  of  the  man  of  his  rancheria;  the  puplem  was 
called  together;  and,  if  it  acquiesced,  war  was  declared.  The 
men  were  ordered  to  prepare  their  arms  and  the  women  to 
provide  pinole  or  pounded  seeds.  On  the  appointed  day  the 
little  army  was  led  forth  by  the  chief;  and  the  women  followed, 
carrying  the  provisions  and  extra  baggage  and  with  their 
infants  on  their  backs.  Their  setting  forth  was  usually  in 
secret,  as  they  hoped  much  from  surprises;  but  generally  the 
enemy  was  on  the  alert  and  fully  prepared.  When  the  oppos- 
ing forces  met,  the  youngest  and  strongest  warriors  advanced 
shooting  their  arrows,  followed  by  the  older  ones;  while  the 
women  brought  up  the  rear,  it  being  their  duty  to  pick  up  the 
spent  arrows  of  the  enemy  and  distribute  them  to  their  own 
fighting  men.  In  case  one  of  their  party  was  wounded  or 
killed,  it  was  also  their  duty  to  remove  him  or  his  body  to  a 
place  of  safety.  In  general  no  quarter  was  given  and  no 
male  prisoners  taken,  except  such  as  were  mortally  wounded. 
These,  as  well  as  the  dead  bodies  secured,  were  immediately 
turned  over  to  the  very  old  men,  who  amused  themselves  by 
decapitating  them  and  afterwards  taking  off  their  scalps, 
which  were  dried  and  preserved  as  trophies.  If  women  or 
children  were  taken,  they  were  detained  as  slaves.  Fortu- 
nately these  wars  seldom  involved  any  great  number  of 
fighters  and  were  of  very  short  duration — the  weaker  party 
generally  taking  to  flight,  sometimes  without  resistance,  and 
the  stronger  party  retaining  its  ground  or  retiring  to  its  ranch- 
eria after  securing  a  few  scalps  and  prisoners.  A  victory 
was  of  course  the  occasion  of  new  feasting  and  dancing.2 

In  some  instances  causes  of  quarrel  were  decided  by  open 
and  pre-arranged  combat.     The  day  and  place  of  battle  were 

1  Vancouver,  III,  328. 

2  Hoscana,  in  Robinson,  306-309. 


768  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

fixed  in  advance.  On  such  occasions  the  contending  parties 
usually  advanced  to  the  place  of  meeting,  painted  with  ochre 
and  adorned  with  feathers.  The  women  and  children  fol- 
lowed; but  with  the  precaution  of  remaining  at  such  a  dis- 
tance as  would  enable  them  either  to  take-to  flight  and  escape 
or  rush  forward  and  partake  of  the  joys  of  victory,  according 
as  the  results  of  the  contest  might  be  adverse  or  favorable. 
The  combatants  were  accustomed  to  enter  the  fight  singing 
martial  songs,  mingled  with  savage  shouts;  and  they  kept 
close  together  so  as  to  render  their  advance  and  onslaught  as 
terrible  as  possible.  Their  main  object  was  to  intimidate 
their  enemies;  and  for  this  purpose,  even  before  the  battle, 
they  were  as  loud  as  possible  in  their  preparations  and  en- 
deavored by  all  sorts  of  stratagems  to  impose  upon  the  eyes 
and  ears  of  their  adversaries  and  render  themselves  dreadful. 
With  the  same  object  in  view,  they  would  commit,  in  sight  of 
the  enemy,  upon  the  first  victims  that  fell  in  their  power  the 
most  horrible  cruelties.1  A  series  of  battles,  apparently  of 
the  latter  or  pre-arranged  kind,  were  fought  among  the  gen- 
tiles in  the  neighborhood  of  Santa  Clara  in  1788;  and  the 
missionaries  had  great  trouble  in  keeping  the  neophytes  from 
participating  in  them.2  A  number  of  the  other  species,  or 
what  may  be  called  surprise  attacks,  took  place  between  the 
highlanders  and  the  lowlanders  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Chan- 
nel in  1796  and  were  occasioned  by  a  quarrel  about  pine  nuts 
and  wild  seeds.3  As  the  missions  increased  and  the  Indians 
were  reduced  to  subjection,  however,  these  petty  wars  which 
in  early  times  were  very  common  became  less  and  less  fre- 
quent, until  finally  there  was  not  spirit  enough  left  among  the 
aborigines  even  for  a  quarrel  unless  they  were  led  or  urged 
forward  by  the  whites. 

Prisoners  taken  in  their  wars,  being  chiefly  women  and 
children,  were  compelled  to  work  for  their  captors  and  were 
in  one  sense  slaves;  though  slavery  as  an  institution  did  not 
exist  amongst  them.     Nor  can  it  be  said  that  they  were  can- 

1  Relacion,  169,  170. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  VIII,  225,  226. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  55. 


INDIAN  SUPERSTITIONS.  769 

nibals,  though  they  would  sometimes  eat  small  portions  of 
chiefs  or  braves  whom'  they  had  slain  in  battle.  They  did  this, 
according  to  La  Perouse,  less  in  token  of  hatred  or  vengeance, 
than  as  an  homage  to  their  valor  and  from  the  persuasion  that 
they  would  thereby  increase  their  own  courage  and  prowess. 
The  same  author  remarked  that,  besides  eating  portions  of 
their  slain  enemies  and  scalping  them,  they  also  took  out 
their  eyes  and  had  the  art  of  preserving  them  from  corrup- 
tion.1 There  "seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  scalping  was  some- 
times practiced  though  it  was  by  no  means  general;  and  it 
is  possible  that  the  eyes  may  have  sometimes  been  plucked 
out  and  displayed  as  ghastly  trophies;  but  there  must  have 
been  some  mistake  in  supposing  that  they  had  any  art  to 
preserve  them  from  corruption. 

1  La  P6rouse,  II,  454. 


49    Vol.  I. 


C  H  A  P  T  E  R    X  I  V  . 

INDIAN    DOMESTIC    RELATIONS    AND    MODES    OF    LIFE. 

HAVING  thus  inquired  into  the  so-called  religious  super- 
stitions and  ceremonies  of  the  Indians  of  Alta  Califor- 
nia in  their  aboriginal  state,  and  given  an  account  of  their 
sorcerers,  chiefs  and  puplem,  their  feasts,  dances  and  wars,  it 
is  next  important  to  examine  into  their  domestic  relations, 
their  modes  of  life  and  ordinary  occupations.  In  reference  to 
these  secular  subjects,  more  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  the 
missionary  authorities  than  in  reference  to  religious  notions  and 
superstitions; 'but  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  remembered 
that  their  accounts  relate  to  the  most  intelligent  and  furthest 
advanced  of  the  tribes  and  that  there  were  various  lower 
gradations  reaching  down  to  almost  the  very  lowest  aggrega- 
tions of  humanity  then  living  on  the  globe.  They  all  recog- 
nized a  sort  of  marriage,  but  it  was  hardly  what  is  generally 
understood  among  civilized  people  by  that  term.  If  a  young 
man  felt  a  desire  for  a  particular  young  woman,  he  simply 
expressed  it  to  her  or  to  her  parents;  and,  if  there  was  no 
objection  made,  they  lived  together  as  man  and  wife.  It 
seems  probable  that  the  wooer  knew  pretty  well  in  advance 
whether  his  proposals  would  be  favorably  received  and  that 
there  were  few  rejections;  but  it  was  usually  the  parents  who 
made  the  match,  and  the  daughter  submitted,  if  not  with 
pleasure,  at  least  without  reluctance.  Where  there  were 
several  candidates,  it  is  said  that  in  some  cases  a  race  decided 
the  contest,  and  in  others  a  wrestling  match  or  trial  of  pure 
physical  strength,  in  which  instances  the  prize  belonged  to  the 
swiftest  or  the  strongest.  But  ordinarily  the  man  who  best 
pleased  the  parents  was  the  chosen  husband.  He  usually 
(770) 


INDIAN  DOMESTIC  RELATIONS.  771 

paid  a  price  or  came  with  a  valuable  gift.  Sometimes  he 
took  up  his  abode  at  least  for  a  time  with  the  family  of  the 
bride;  sometimes  he  carried  her  off  to  his  own  habitation. 
In  a  few  rare  cases  it  seems  that  mere  children  were  given  to 
each  other  by  their  parents;  and  Father  Boscana  relates  one 
instance  at  the  mission  of  San  Juan  Capistrano,  in  which  he 
himself  as  a  priest  and  with  all  the  forms  of  the  Catholic 
ritual  married  a  boy  of  two  years  to  a  girl  of  eight  or  nine 
months,  who  had  thus  been  betrothed.1 

In  general  there  was  no  particular  marriage  ceremony;  but 
sometimes,  and  particularly  when  a  couple  of  consideration 
united,  there  was  a  feast  and  a  dance.  On  such  occasions 
the  bridegroom  was  placed  in  a  sort  of  booth  or  bovver 
erected  for  the  purpose,  while  several  of  the  puplem  and  a 
few  of  the  old  women  went  off  to  fetch  the  bride.  She  came 
dressed  and  adorned  in  her  gayest  apparel;  but  in  a  short 
time  the  female  relatives  and  friends,  who  were'congregated, 
pounced  upon  her,  stripped  her  of  her  finery  and  then  placed 
her  by  the  side  of  the  bridegroom.  Her  dress  and  ornaments, 
of  which  she  was  thus  despoiled,  were  distributed  and  kept 
by  those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  secure  a  piece  as 
mementoes  of  the  joyful  occasion.  In  case  the  bridegroom 
was  a  chief  or  a  chief's  son,  however,  the  bride  was  treated 
with  more  respect  ;  and  sometimes,  after  being  presented  to 
her  lord,  was  invested  by  the  puplem  with  a  dress  of  feathers 
resembling  the  tobet.  As  she  might  under  certain  circum- 
stances, such  as  the  death  of  the  chief  leaving  an  infant  son, 
succeed  to  the  regency,  she  was  known  as  the  chieftainess  or, 
when  Spanish  words  began  to  be  used,  as  the  "capitaneja."  J 
The  so-called  "  Lady  of  Sejo,"  met  by  Cabrillo  near  Point 
Concepcion  as  related  in  the  account  of  his  voyage,  was 
doubtless  one  of  these  regents  and  not,  properly  speaking,  a 
permanent  governor  in  her  own  right. 

The  foregoing  account  of  their  marriages  applies  chiefly  to 
those  which  took  place  within  the  tribe;  but  it  was  not  unus- 
ual for  a  young  man,  and  especially  a  young  man  of  consid- 

1  Boscana,  in  Robinson,  2S1. 

2  Boscana,  in  Robinson,  278. 


772  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

eration,  to  become  enamored  of  the  belle  of  some  other  tribe. 
In  such  case  an  embassy  was  sent  to  solicit  the  honor  of  an 
alliance.  If  this  was  agreeable,  the  bride  was  brought  home 
with  great  ceremony;  if  not,  the  lover  and  his  friends  had 
hesitation  in  resorting  to  force,  deceit  or  any  other  mean 
secure  the  person  of  the  woman.  A  man  sometimes  fell  ... 
love  at  first  sight  and,  without  waiting  for  ceremony,  seized 
and  carried  off  the  object  of  his  sudden  fancy;  but  ordinarily 
rapes  of  this  kind,  unless  the  lover  could  afterwards  succeed 
in  satisfying  the  parents,  were  followed  by  war  and  blood- 
shed. If  they  had  had  Homers,  there  would  doubtless  have 
been  no  lack  of  Helens  or  tales  of  western  Troys — for  private 
wrongs  devoted  to  the  flames. 

At  the  same  time  that  marriage  was  thus  easily  contracted, 
it  was  just  as  easily  dissolved.  Husband  and  wife  separated 
by  mutual  consent  as  readily  as  they  united.  Parents  could 
take  away  their -daughters  and  husbands  could  reject  their 
wives  with  the  same  facility  with  which  they  gave  or  seized 
them.  But  as  long  as  the  woman  toiled  and  labored  for  her 
lord  and  supplied  him  with  the  means  of  living  an  idle  and 
indolent  life,  she  was  secure  of  his  indulgence.  In  fact  it  was 
not  an  uncommon  thing  for  a  man  of  influence  to  have  sev- 
eral wives,  often  sisters  and  sometimes  the  mother  also,  all 
occupying  the  same  wigwam  andv  vying  in  their  efforts  to 
excel  one  another  by  extra  exertions  in  pampering  his  lazy- 
appetite.  Under  the  circumstances,  the  marriage  state  was 
not  regarded  as  one  of  any  peculiar  sanctity.  On  the  con- 
trary very  great  and  very  general  licentiousness  prevailed. 
It  is  said,  it  is  true,  that  in  some  of  the  tribes  adultery  was 
severely  punished  by  corporal  chastisement  and  that  in 
others  the  seducer  was  compelled  to  take  the  woman  and  pay 
the  injured  husband  for  her  loss;1  and  it  is  likely  that  in  all 
tribes  interference  with  the  household  of  a  chief  or  one  of  the 
puplem  was  a  dangerous  proceeding;  but,  as  a  general  rule, 
continence  and  chastity  were  not  cultivated  and  were  hardly 
regarded  as  among  the  virtues. 

The  most  singular,  however,  of  alj   the  domestic  relations 

1  Duflot  de  Mofras,  II,  371. 


INDIA X  DOMESTIC  REIATIONS.  773 

existing  in  the  country  were  those  relating  to  the  "  joyas,"  as 
they  were  called.  These  were  males  who  were  brought  up, 
dressed  and  educated  in  all  respects  like  females.  They  were 
married  by  men  the  same  as  if  they  had  been  women;  but  in 
most  instances,  perhaps,  the  chief  object  was  to  increase  the 
working  force  of  a  polygamous  household.  Being  much  more 
robust  than  the  women,  they  were  much  better  able  to  per- 
form the  arduous  duties  assigned  the  weaker  sex.  There  is, 
however,  no  reason  to  doubt  that  in  some  instances  the  dis- 
gusting hints,  thrown  out  by  the  missionaries  in  reference  to 
them,  were  but  too  true.  Palou  said  there  was  hardly  a 
rancheria,  especially  along  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel,  in 
which  there  were  not  two  or  three  of  this  "  execrable  y  mal- 
dita  gente — this  execrable  and  accursed  race." l  Boscana 
spoke  of  them  in  similar  terms.2  Duflot  de  Mofras  was  sur- 
prised to  find  in  such  a  remote  quarter  of  the  globe  vices 
which  were  supposed  to  characterize  only  the  degradation 
and  corruption  of  so-called  civilized  communities.3 

When  a  Wife  first  gave  promise  of  becoming  a  mother, 
there  was  usually  a  feast  and  dance  in  honor  of  the  looked-for 
increase.  Such  a  wife  was  regarded  as  one  favored  by  Chi- 
nigchinich,  while  a  sterile  woman  was  thought  unfortunate. 
Afterwards  when  confinement  came  on,  which  was  ordinarily" 
attended  with  but  little  labor,  it  was  the  strange  custom  of 
the  Indians  described  by  Boscana  for  the  husband  to  observe 
the  most  rigid  diet  and  refrain  from  diversions  and  amuse- 
ments. On  the  birth  of  the  child,  there  was  no  particular 
demonstration;  but  the  removal  of  the  umbilical  cord,  which 
was  attended  to  by  the  old  women,  was  the  occasion  of  re- 
newed feasting  and  dancing.4  As  the  child  grew  up,  if  a  boy 
and  the  son  of  a  chief  or  one  of  the  puplem,  he  was  given  a 
.sort  of  instruction  to  qualify  him  for  the  rank  and  station  in 
life  which  he  was  to  occupy.  Some  animal  or  bird,  such  as 
a  bear,  a  wolf,  a  coyote,  an  eagle,  a  crow  or  a  rattlesnake,  was 


1  Palou,  Vida,  222. 

2  Boscana,  in  Robinson,  284. 

3  Duflot  de  Mofras,  II,  371. 

4  Boscana,  in  Robinson.  2S2,  2S: 


774  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

named  as  his  protector  and  called  his  "  touch  " — a  word  sup- 
posed by  Boscana  to  mean  a  devil  but  more  probably  mean- 
ing what  was  known  among  the  Indians  of  the  eastern  side  of 
the  continent  as  the  "  totem  " — in  which  he  was  to  place  im- 
plicit confidence.  He  was  taught  to  indure  hunger,  thirst  and 
hardship  and  subjected  to  various  kinds  of  labor  and  expos- 
ure calculated  to  invigorate  his  frame  and  strengthen  his  con- 
stitution. Upon  arriving  at  a  proper  age,  he  was  taken  in 
hand  by  the  puplem;  placed  in  the  vanquech,  and  compelled 
to  remain  without  food  or  drink  until  he  was  reduced  to  a 
state  bordering  on  delirium,  while  his  imagination  was  ex- 
cited by  the  incantations  of  the  sorcerers  and  the  supposed 
presence  of  Chinigchinich.  When  his  ravings  reached  the 
due  pitch  of  extravagance,  he  was  supposed  to  be  initiated 
into  the  mysteries;  food  and  drink  were  given  him;  and  the 
ceremonies  closed  with  a  grand  feast.  In  other  cases,  when 
the  youth  was  not  of  sufficient  dignity  to  be  thus  initiated  in 
the  vanquech,  an  intoxicating  mixture  was  administered;  and, 
while  under  its  influence,  he  was  kept  awake  by  a  crowd  of 
old  men  and  women,  who  by  continual  exclamations  and 
exhortations  excited  his  imagination  until  he  saw  visious  and 
finally  beheld  or  supposed  he  beheld  his  protecting  touch. 
In  both  cases  the  candidate  was  not  only  expected  to  con- 
form to  the  prescribed  regulations;  but  he 'was  threatened 
with  dire  punishment  if  he  failed  to  observe  them.  Boscana 
relates  the  case  of  a  young  man,  the  son  of  a  chief,  who  man- 
aged in  the  course  of  his  seclusion  in  the  vanquech  to  escape 
and  after  appeasing  his  hunger  and  thirst  to  resume  his  vigils 
without  being  detected.  Being  apparently  of  a  somewhat 
philosophical  turn  of  mind,  he  subsequently  related  the  fact 
and  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  doctrines  taught  by  the 
sorcerers  were  unworthy  of  belief.  Under  more  favorable 
circumstances  or  with  greater  caution,  he  might  have  become 
a  reformer  and  perhaps  taught  a  more  advanced  system  of 
religion.  But  he  met  the  usual  fate  of  those  who  are  too 
far  in  advance  of  their  times.  His  comrades,  horrified  with 
his  impiety  and  sacrilegious  skepticism,  immediately  turned 
against  him  and  dispatched  him  with  their  arrows. 


INDIAN  DOMESTIC  RELATIONS.  775 

After  the  ceremonies  above  described,  the  next  thing  done 
with  the  candidate,  before  he  was  considered  entitled  to  all 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  station  for  which  he  was 
intended,  was  to  brand  him  or  administer  the  "potense"  as  it 
was  called.  This  was  performed  by  drawing  upon  his  arm  or 
thigh,  and  sometimes  upon  both,  an  outline  of  the  animal 
selected  as  his  touch,  and  covering  it  with  a  composition  of 
vegetable  substances  pounded  up  together  and  thoroughly 
combustible.  This  was  then  ignited  and  allowed  to  burn 
until  it  produced  a  blister  which  left  a  life-long  scar,  rudely 
representing  the  form  of  the  imaginary  guardian.  Having 
been  thus  duly  branded,  the  candidate  was  next  whipped  with 
nettles  until  his  skin  became  inflamed  to  rawness;  and  he 
was  then  carried  to  a  nest  of  stinging  ants,  upon  which  he 
was  laid  while  his  attendants  annoyed  the  insects  with  sticks 
so  as  to  render  them  furious.  All  these  tortures  being  en- 
dured, and  particularly  when  suffered  with  patience  and  equa- 
nimity, the  candidate  was  regarded  as  absolutely  regenerated 
and  thenceforth  a  special  favorite  of  Chinigchinich.  If  the 
son  of  a  chief,  he  was  now  prepared  for  the  investiture  of  the 
tobet  and  qualified  for  the  succession;  if  the  son  of  a  sorcerer 
or  one  of  the  puplem,  he  was  admitted  into  participation  of 
all  the  mysteries  of  his  order  and  took  his  place  as  one  of  the 
magnates  of  the  tribe. 

The  girls,  on  the  other  hand,  were  taught  domestic  duties 
and  especially  how  to  gather  seeds  and  prepare  food.  They 
were  encouraged  in  these  labors  with  promises,  which  were 
ordinarily  fulfilled,  that  the  most  industrious  would  have  the 
most  admirers — aptitude  in  providing  food  being  a  much 
greater  recommendation  to  admiration  among  the  Indians 
than  amiable  dispositions  or  charms  of  person.  At  the  same 
time  personal  adornment  was  not  neglected;  and  there  was 
hardly  a  case  of  a  girl  attaining  the  age  of  puberty  without 
having  herself  elaborately  tattooed.  This  tattooing  was  done 
by  drawing  the  desired  lines  on  the  body;  following  them 
with  a  series  of  small  punctures  produced  by  pricking  the 
skin  with  a  sharp  thorn,  and  then  rubbing  powdered  charcoal 


776  .    THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

into  the  bleeding  punctures.  The  result  was  an  indelible 
blueish  figure,  following  the  lines  of  puncture,  which  in  ordi-, 
nary  cases  commenced  at  the  lower  lip  and  covered  the  breast 
and  arms  but  in  some  instances  spread  also  over  the  face  and 
most  of  the  body.  Being  thus  taught  to  be  industrious  and 
being  adorned  and  beautified  according  to  Indian  taste,  there 
remained  but  one  great  ceremony  to  fit  her  for  marriage.  A 
hole  was  dug  in  the  ground  and  filled  with  stones,  over  which 
a  fire  was  built  and  kept  burning  until  the  stones  were  thor- 
oughly heated.  The  fire  was  then  removed  and  over  the  hot 
stones  a  bed  of  green  branches  and  leaves  was  laid;  and  upon 
this  bed  the  girl  was  stretched.  She  was  compelled  to  remain 
there,  fasting  and  sweltering  with  the  heat,  for  several  days 
while  troops  of  young  women  danced  around  her  and  a  crowd 
of  old  women,  hideously  painted  for  the  occasion,  in  lugu- 
brious tones  kept  up  an  apparently  never-ending  chant.1 

These  strange  customs,  thus  described  by  Boscana,  related 
especially  to  the  San  Juan  Capistrano  Indians  and  to  the 
households  of  the  principal  men  amongst  them.  They  were 
not  the  customs  of  all  the  rancherias,  though  there  was  some- 
thing more  or  less  similar  in  almost  all.  But  there  were  also 
differences.  In  some,  marriage  was  entirely  a  matter  of  pur- 
chase; in  some,  there  was  no  polygamy;  in  some,  no  joyas. 
In  many  the  birth  of  a  child  was  not  regarded  as  an  event  of 
any  importance.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  woman  to 
work  or  travel,  according  as  she  might  be  engaged,  up  to  the 
time  of  parturition;  then  merely  stop  or  step  aside'for  a  few 
moments,  and  in  less  than  half  an  hour  be  at  work  again  or 
on  the  march  with  the  new-born  baby  on  her  back.  Being 
almost  always  at  labor  and  generally  in  the  fields,  women 
carried  their  infants  about  with  them,  usually  trussed  up  in  a 
sort  of  wicker-work  cradle  slung  over  the  shoulders.  A 
squaw  was  often  seen  carrying  a  heavy  load  of  acorns  in  a 
huge  basket  held  in  position  on  her  back  by  a  strap  around 
her  forehead,  and  the  baby  basket  on  top  of  that  or  in  front. 
And  in  all  cases,  though  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  the 
fact,  the  maternal  affection  for  her  child  was  strong.  In  gen- 
1  Boscana,  in  Robinson,  270-272. 


INDIA N  D OMESTIC  RE  LA  TIONS.  7 7 7 

eral,  children  took  very  little  notice  cf  their  father;  but  often 
preserved  a  long  attachment  for  their  mother,  whose  treat- 
ment of  them  was  as  a  rule  kind  and  considerate  or,  to 
express  all  goodness  in  a  single  word,  motherly. 

As  to  the  ordinary  modes  of  life  and  occupations  of  the 
Indians,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  even  the  most  intelligent 
amongst  them  passed  a  brutish  existence.  They  depended 
entirely  upon  wild  game  and  the  spontaneous  productions  of 
the  forests,  fields  and  waters  for  their  subsistence.  They  were 
unacquainted  with  maize  or  grain  of  any  kind  and  had  no  agri- 
culture or  cultivation  whatsoever.  Being  thus  solely  depend- 
ent upon  the  bounty  of  nature,  they  were  sometimes  exposed 
to  scarcity  and  famine;  and,  even  under  the  most  favorable 
circumstances,  they  were  obliged  to  make  frequent  migrations 
from  place  to  place  according"  to  the  seasons  and  the  wild 
harvests.  This  was  especially  the  case  with  those  who 
inhabited  the  mountains  and  large  interior  valleys;  while 
those  who  lived  upon  the  sea  coast  found  more  permanent 
resources  in  the  fish  and  shell-fish,  with  which  the  seas  and 
bays  abounded.  Occasionally  a  dead  whale  or  sea-lion  was 
thrown  up  by  the  waves;  and  this  was  invariably  the  occasion 
of  a  great  feast  or  surfeit,  which  lasted  until  the  bones  were 
scraped  clean.  It  was  perhaps  on  account  of  this  greater 
plenteousness  and  certainty  of  food  that  the  coast  Indians 
were  more  advanced  than  those  of  the  interior;  and  those  of 
the  Santa  Barbara  Channel,  to  whom  the  sea  was  an  almost 
unfailing  magazine  of  provisions,  than  all  the  other  tribes  of 
the  country. 

It  was  doubtless  on  account  of  the  general  precariousness 
of  food  and  the  consequent  restless,  wandering  character  of 
the  inhabitants  that  no  permanent  houses  were  erected.  In 
the  most  favored  localities,  their  habitations  consisted  of  cir- 
cular excavations  in  the  ground,  some  three  or  four  feet  deep 
and  twelve  or  sixteen  in  diameter,  upon  the  rims  of  which 
timbers,  placed  on  end  and  inclined  towards  a  point,  extended 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  rough  conical-shaped  huts  In 
some  instances  clay  was  thrown  over  the  timbers,  which  in   a 


778  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

short  time  became  sufficiently  hard  and  compact  to  shed  rain; 
and  only  a  small  aperture  was  left  at  the  apex  for  the  admis- 
sion of  light  and  the  emission  of  smoke,  and  an  opening  at 
the  side,  walled  up  with  pieces  of  wood  or  bark,  by  way  of 
entrance.  These  were  the  most  pretentious  of  their  dwellings; 
and  the  ruins  of  them,  in  the  shape  of  shallow  pits,  now  nearly 
filled  up  to  the  level  of  the  surrounding  ground  and  covered 
with  brambles  and  in  some  cases  overgrown  with  trees,  are  to 
be  found  scattered  over  the  country.  In  some  of  the  more 
remote  districts,  where  remnants  of  the  aborigines  yet  survive, 
houses  of  the  same  kind,  but  on  account  of  the  use  of  iron 
tools  of  much  better  construction  than  the  ancestral  domi- 
ciles, are  still  to  be  met  with.  It  is  a  noticeable  fact,  in  ref- 
erence to  these  ruins,  that  the  pits  are  found  near  one  another 
but  seldom  more  than  six  or  a  dozen  in  the  same  neighbor- 
hood, and  that  they  are  almost  invariably  located  near  groves 
or  fields,  which  afforded  in  the  proper  seasons  a  tolerably 
constant  supply  of  nuts,  acorns  or  seeds.  But  the  most  com- 
mon habitation  was  much  more  fragile  and  easily  constructed, 
consisting  of  upright  saplings  or  poles  stuck  in  the  ground, 
bent  over  at  the  top  so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  roof,  and  inter- 
laced at  the  sides  and  thatched  overhead  with  twigs  and  reeds. 
In  other  cases  the  house  consisted  only  of  logs  and  pieces  of 
bark  inclined  against  one  another  at  the  top  so  as  to  form  a 
kind  of  wigwam.  And  of  these  latter  kinds  were  in  general 
those  of  the  dwellers  by  the  sea,  who  have  left  no  signs  to 
mark  the  places  of  their  abodes  except  those  frequent  and  in 
some  cases  extensive  beds  of  crustacean  relics,  counted  the 
richest  for  horticulture  and  garden  purposes,  which  are  known 
and  properly  designated  as  "  shell-mounds." 

In  their  houses,  such  as  they  were,  all  the  members  of  a 
family — men,  women  and  children  and  including  generally  a 
number  of  each  class — lived  promiscuously  together.  There 
were  no  partitions  or  screens  and  no  beds  or  berths;  but  each 
member  of  the  household  seems  to  have  had  his  or  her  par- 
ticularly favorite  spot  to  lie,  some  nearer  and  others  more 
remote  from    the    fire   which    burned    in    the   center.     Their 


INDIAN  DOMESTIC  RELATIONS.  779 

practice  of  thus  sleeping  all  huddled  up  together  is  said  to 
have  given  rise  to  the  name  "  Acagchemen  "  as  the  designa- 
tion of  the  people  about  San  Juan  Capisfrano,  described  by 
Father  Boscana — the  word  signifying  a  pyramidal  heap  of 
animated  beings.1  A  few  logs  of  wood  to  keep  up  the  fire, 
several  baskets,  a  stone  mortar  or  two,  their  few  weapons  and 
scanty  clothing  and  the  unused  products  of  their  recent  hunt- 
ing and  foraging  were  usually  kept  in  the  hut;  but  there  were 
no  tables  or  chairs  or  in  fact  anything  in  the  way  of  furniture. 
Refuse  food  was  left  to  lie  where  it  was  dropped  or  thrown; 
and  dirt,  in  the  aggregated  mass  of  which  fleas  and  other  ver- 
min luxuriated,  prevailed  on  every  side.  The  longer  a  hut 
was  inhabited  the  filthier  it  became,  until  such  a  degree  of 
nuisance  was  reached  that  it  became  unendurable  even  to  the 
Indians;  and  then  the  proprietor  would  apply  fire  and  burn 
the  whole  to  the  ground  and  move  off  to  some  other  locality, 
or  in  a  few  hours  erect  a  new  habitation  upon  the  site  of  the 
old  one. 

With  the  exception  of  times  previous  to  great  feasts,  when 
large  supplies  of  provisions  were  required  and  all  the  people 
were  obliged  to  assist  in  collecting  them,  the  men  spent  their 
time  in  idleness.  They  would  sometimes  occupy  themselves 
with  the  manufacture  of  bows,  arrows,  nets  and  snares  and 
sometimes  hunt  or  fish;  but  as  a  rule  they  devoted  themselves 
to  lying  stretched  out  upon  the  ground,  doing  absolutely 
nothing,  roaming  about  from  hut  to  hut,  playing,  dancing  or 
sleeping.  The  women  on  the  other  hand  were  kept  almost 
constantly  busy  with  the  most  laborious  occupations.  Then- 
were  obliged  to  provide  for  the  family  by  gathering  seeds, 
carrying  them  in  some  instances  for  great  distances,  and 
cooking  them  when  they  reached  home.  In  sunshine  or  rain, 
and  usually  with  an  infant  or  two  hanging  upon  their  shoul- 
ders, they  were  compelled  to  forage  about  all  day  in  search  of 
food;  and  upon  their  return,  almost  fainting  under  their 
loads,  they  would  usually  find  the  fuel  consumed,  the  fire 
extinguished  and  their  lazy  lords  lying  asleep  beside  the 
ashes.     It  would  then   become  necessary  for  them  to  collect 

1  Boscana,  in  Kobinson,  332. 


780  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

wood;  and  they  were  fortunate  if  they  succeeded  in  preparing 
the  meal  before  the  men  awoke — otherwise  they  had  to  expect 
nothing  but  invectives  and  ill  treatment.1 

Almost  all  the  waking  hours  of  the  men,  not  spent  in  war, 
hunting,  fishing  or  absolute  idleness,  were  devoted  to  games, 
the  two  principal  of  which  were  described  by  La  Perouse. 
The  first,  called  by  them  "  takersia,"  was  played  in  a  level 
space  about  twenty  feet  square,  which  was  cleared  of  grass 
and  obstructions  and  surrounded  with  stakes.  The  game 
consisted  of  throwing  a  small  ring  or  hoop,  about  three  inches 
in  diameter,  causing  it  to  roll  across  the  cleared  space.  The 
players,  two  at  a  time,  each  holding  in  his  hand  a  small  reed 
or  thin  stick  about  five  feet  long,  endeavored  to  throw  it 
through  the  ring  while  it  was  in  motion.  If  he  succeeded,  he 
gained  two  points;  if  he  struck  into  the  ring  but  stopped  its 
rolling,  he  gained  but  one  point.  With  three  points  the  game 
was  won.  To  play  a  good  game  required  great  watchfulness, 
alertness  and  accuracy  of  aim,  as  the  person  who  threw  the 
ring  would  resort  to  all  sorts  of  feints  to  throw  the  player  off 
his  guard.  The  other  game,  called  "  toussi,"  was  more  quiet. 
It  was  played  by  four  persons,  two  on  each  side,  sitting  or 
squatting  upon  the  ground.  Each  player  in  his  turn  con- 
cealed in  one  or  other  of  his  hands  a  small  bit  of  wood,  while 
his  partner  would  make  a  thousand  extravagant  gestures 
calculated  to  distract  the  attention  of  the  adversary  players 
and  prevent  them  from  observing  in  which  hand  the  wood 
finally  remained.  The  game  was  to  guess  in  which  hand  the 
wood  was.  A  correct  guess  was  one  point  gained;  an  incor- 
rect one  was  a  point  lost.  This  game,  as  it  required  little 
muscular  exertion,  was  the  favorite;  and  the  lazy  bucks  would 
sit  hour  after  hour  at  it — usually  with  a  crowd  of  spectators, 
squatted  around  them,  looking  on.  It  was  not  unfrequent 
to  play  for  stakes,  consisting  sometimes  of  beads  or  other 
objects  of  desire  and  sometimes,  as  La  Perouse  relates,  for 
the  favors  of  their  women.2  They  also  sometimes  played  with 
a  small  ball  of  hard  wood,  which,  when  struck  smartly  with  a 

1  Boscana,  in  Robinson,  286-288. 
a  La  I't'i-ouse,  I,  454,  455. 


INDIAN  DOMESTIC  RELATIONS.  781 

long  stick  or  club  held  in  the  hands,  would  bound  several  hun- 
dred yards  at  a  time.  For  this  game  sides  were  chosen,  the 
endeavor  of  each  of  which  was  to  drive  the  ball  to  the  opposite 
base.  Sometimes  hundreds  of  players  would  engage  and 
great '  excitement  and  noise  prevailed.1  Dana  mentions  a 
running  game  of  ball,  played  by  young  men,  boys  and  girls 
in  the  presence  of  the  older  Indians,  who  sat  around  in  a 
ring  as  spectators.  The  players  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the 
sport  with  great  zest  and  energy;  the  girls  particularly  ran 
like  greyhounds;  and  at  any  accident  or  exhibition  of  remark- 
able agility  or  skill  the  old  people  would  set  up  a  deafening 
hurrahing  and  clapping  of  hands.2 

The  food  most  ordinarily  used  depended  much  upon  the 
locality  and  season.  In  the  spring  and  summer,  clover  and 
berries  yielded  great  supplies;  in  the  autumn  and  winter, 
seeds,  acorns  and  nuts.  These  latter  were  pounded  in  stone 
mortars  or  ground  on  stone  slabs,  called  metates,  into  a  sort 
of  coarse  meal  or  paste,  which  after  being  roasted  or  baked 
was  known,  according  to  the  manner  of  preparation,  either  as 
"pinole"  or  "  atole."  Sometimes  a  basket,  woven  so  closely 
as  to  be  perfectly  tight,  was  filled  with  water  and  hot  stones 
thrown  in  until  it  reached  the  boiling  point.  The  stones  were 
then  removed  and  their  place  supplied  by  the  coarse  meal 
just  described,  which  in  this  v^ay  became  cooked  into  a  sort 
of  gruel  or  mush.  At  other  times  the  meal  was  mixed  with 
a  little  water  and  kneaded  into  dough,  which  was  spread  in 
front  of  the  fire  or  placed  on  hot  stones  and  thus  baked  into 
a  sort  of  bread  or  cake  more  or  less  tasteful  according  to  the 
ingredients  and  the  skill  of  the  baker.  These  ordinary  foods 
were  varied  in  different  localities  with  game  and  fish.  Deer 
were  abundant  and  some  of  the  Indians  were  skillful  enough 
to  kill  them.  In  doing  so,  the  most  usual  plan  adopted  was 
for  the  hunter  to  encase  the  upper  part  of  his  body  with  the 
head  and  hide  of  a  deer  prepared  for  this  special  object  and, 
thus  disguised,  to  creep  cautiously  along  through  the  bushes 
or  high  grass,  carrying  his  bow  and  arrows  out  of  sight,  and 

1  Robinson,  94,  95. 
*  Dana,  136. 


782  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

gradually  approach  the  unsuspecting  game  as  it  browsed  or 
grazed  in  fancied  security.  An  adept  at  the  business  could* 
under  favorable  circumstances  easily  get  near  enough  for  a 
shot  and  seldom  failed  to  transfix  his  victim  with  an  arrow. 
By  constant  practice  these  deer  hunters  acquired  great  pro- 
ficiency in  their  art;  and  almost  all  the  old  navigators,  who 
visited  the  country  before  the  general  introduction  of  fire- 
arms from  Viscaino's  time  down  to  Duflot  de  Mofras,  speak 
in  terms  of  the  highest  admiration  of  exhibitions  of  skill  of 
this  kind,  of  which  they  were  witnesses.  Bears,  particularly 
grizzlies,  and  cougars  were  rather  too  formidable  for  the  slight 
weapons  of  the  natives;  but,  in  addition  to  deer  and  ante- 
lopes, small  game  such  as  hares,  rabbits,  squirrels,  gophers, 
field-mice,  lizards,  snakes  and  birds  of  different  kinds,  and 
especially  geese  and  ducks  in  the  autumn  and  spring, 
abounded  almost  everywhere.  The  streams  were  full  of  fish, 
particularly  in  the  winter  when  all  those  communicating 
with  the  ocean  literally  swarmed  with  salmon.  These  were 
usually  taken  with  spears;  shot  with  arrows,  or  caught  in 
weirs,  so  constructed  as  to  compel  the  fish  in  passing  to 
run  through  a  narrow  passage  where  they  could  easily  be 
entrapped  in  nets  or  baskets.  These  weirs  were  built  in  great 
numbers  in  all  the  shallow  streams  adapted  to  their  use  and 
as  a  rule  required  more  labor  than  any  other  work  that  the 
Indians  performed. 

When  game  or  fish  was  thus  taken  by  the  Indians,  it 
was  usually  eaten  raw  or  very  slightly  cooked.  The  eating 
of  raw  flesh  was  so  common  that  in  1818  the  viceroy  of  Mex- 
ico sent  a  special  order  to  forbid  it.1  Upon  catching  a  rabbit 
they  would  often  eagerly  suck  its  blood  and  finish  their  repast 
by  eating  its  raw  flesh.2  And  so  of  other  animals — almost 
every  kind  and  variety  of  which,  that  was  found  in  the 
country  and  could  be  taken,  they  devoured.  Nor  in  the 
enumeration  of  their  foods  must  grasshoppers  be  omitted, 
which  when  very  plentiful  were  swept  together  in  great  piles 
and  preserved  for  consumption.     These  were  ordinarily  first 

1  Cal.  Archives,  S.  P.  XVII,  639. 
Boscana,  in  Robinson,  239. 


INDIAN  DOMESTIC  RELATIONS.  783 

roasted  and  then  pounded  up,  sometimes  with  and  sometimes 
without  other  substances,  for  the  composition  of  cakes, 
mushes  or  gruels.  There  were  also  certain  kinds  of  sea- 
weeds which  were  used  as  food;  shell-fish  of  all  kinds,  and 
wild  fruits  of  various  qualities  in  their  seasons.  Fish  and 
meats,  when  not  eaten  raw,  seem  to  have  been  roasted  on 
sticks,  baked  on  hot  stones  or  in  the  coals  or  ashes,  or  boiled 
in  baskets  of  hot  water.  Salt  was  unknown;  and  there  was 
no  drying  or  smoking  or  other  method  of  preserving  flesh. 
Even  nuts  and  acorns,  which  in  some  seasons  were  super- 
abundant, were  only  kept  on  hand  by  a  few  of  the  tribes. 
In  such  instances  rude  magazines  were  constructed  in  hollow- 
trees  or  built  of  closely-plaited  wicker-work,  raised  above  the 
ground  on  stakes,1  and  filled;  but,  with  these  exceptions,  there 
was  nothing  on  any  large  scale  of  a  provident  storing  up 
of  provisions  against  a  season  of  scarcity. 

The  principal  weapons  in  use  were  the  bow  and  arrow. 
The  bow  was  about  a  yard  long  and  from  an  inch  and  a  half 
to  two  inches  wide,  made  of  yew,  cedar  or  other  fine-grained, 
tough  and  elastic  wood,  and  usually  wrapped  more  or  less 
completely  with  sinews.  According  to  Dufiot  de  Mofras,  its 
curvature  was  reversed  so  as  to  increase  the  tension;  and, 
though  not  large,  it  was  strong  and  powerful.  The  bow-string 
was  sometimes  made  out  of  sinew  and  sometimes  out  of 
wild  hemp  and  had  a  small  piece  of  skin  attached  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  prevent  any  whizzing  sound  or  twang  when  the 
bow  was  discharged."  The  arrows  were  from  two  to  three 
feet  long,  made  of  reeds  or  light  wood,  sometimes  partly  of 
hard  wood,  and  pointed  with  a  head  or  tip  of  obsidian,  flint 
or  bone,  which  was  bound  on  firmly  with  sinews.  Man)-  of 
these  arrow-heads,  and  particularly  the  small  ones,  were  fash- 
ioned with  great  skill.  In  some  cases  they  were  so  arranged 
as  to  become  detached  and  remain  imbedded  in  the  flesh,  if  the 
arrow  itself  should  fall  off  or  be  withdrawn.  The  opposite  or 
smaller  ends  of  the  arrows  were  feathered  for  about  six  or 


1  See  an  article  on   the  Californian  Indians  by  E.  E.  Chever  in  the  American 
Naturalist,   IV,  129. 

2  Duflot  de  Mofras,  II,  377. 


784  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

eight  inches.  It  was  usual  to  carry  a  quiver,  made  of  the  skin 
of  a  fox,  beaver,  coyote  or  other  animal  of  the  proper  size  as 
it  was  drawn  off  and  uncut  except  at  the  tail  end,  which 
formed  the  mouth  of  the  quiver  and  held  the  feathered  ends 
of  the  arrows.  In  shooting,  the  bow  was  held  in  a  horizontal 
position  in  front  of  the  body;  and  it  seems  that  the  right  foot 
and  leg  were  usually  advanced.  According  to  all  the  old 
writers,  the  Indians  were  expert  marksmen  with  their  arrows. 
De  Mofras  says  that  their  aim  was  so  correct  and  their  skill  so 
great  that  at  a  distance  of  forty  yards  they  could  pierce  a 
horse  on  the  gallop  through  and  through;  and  incautious 
travelers  could  receive  arrows  thrown  from  great  distances 
without  hearing  any  noise  or  suspecting  the  hands  that  aimed 
them.1  Some  authors  speak  of  poisoned  arrows  being  used; 
and  it  is  possible  that  this  may  in  some  localities,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  northern  part  of  the  Sacramento  valley,  have 
been  the  case;  but  it  was  not  usual;  nor  is  it  known  that  the 
Indians  were  accustomed  to  collect  any  natural  poisons  or 
were  acquainted  with  any  artificial  ones. 

Besides  the  bow  and  arrow,  spears  or  pikes  were  also  some- 
times used.  They  were  generally  from  a  yard  and  a  half  to 
two  yards  long  and  pointed,  like  the  arrows,  with  heads  of 
obsidian  or  flint  but  much  larger  than  arrow-heads.  The  fish 
spears  were  much  longer,  thinner  and  lighter.  They  usually 
had  two  prongs  three  or  four  inches  apart  and  pointed  with 
bone,  having  barbs  of  the  same  which  in  some  cases  were  so 
arranged  and  attached  to  the  shafts  that  they  would  become 
disengaged,  like  arrow-heads,  upon  penetrating  into  a  fish 
and,  turning  in  its  flesh,  would  hold  it  secure  against  all  its 
struggles  to  escape.  There  seem  also  to  have  been  knives, 
made  out  of  sharp  obsidian,  but  used  rather  in  dressing  game 
than  for  hunting  or  the  purposes  of  war.  Clubs  likewise 
were  sometimes  used.  In  some  very  rare  instances  wooden 
cimeters,  which  were  used  in  somewhat  the  same  manner  as 
boomerangs,  were  seen;  but  they  were  exceptional.  Once  in 
a  while  a  piece  of  metal  of  some  kind  or  other  was  met  with, 

1  Duflot  de  Mofras,  II,  377. 


INDIAN  DOMESTIC  RELATIONS.  789 

Vallejo,  the  military  comandante  there,  who  in  those  days 
seized  every  occasion  he  could  to  injure  the  foreign  residents, 
attributed  it  to  the  Americans  and  Russians.1  The  ravages 
of  the  disease  continuing,  various  sanitary  measures  were 
taken  by  the  government  and  funds  set  aside  to  meet  the 
necessary  expenses.2  Governor  Alvarado  ordered  general 
vaccination;  and  it  seems  that  his  orders  were  obeyed.3  In 
1844  the  municipality  of  Los  Angeles  passed  stringent  sani- 
tary regulations;4  and  Hugo  Reid,  who  was  a  sort  of  auxiliary 
alcalde  in  that  jurisdiction,  was  charged  with  seeing  to  their 
observance  at  the  mission  of  San  Gabriel.  He  found  that 
vaccination  or  inoculation  had  been  very  general  there  and 
that  most  of  the  disease  in  that  neighborhood  was  varioloid.5 
In  various  cases,  however,  the  patients,  reported  to  be  afflicted 
with  small-pox,  were  suffering  in  a  much  greater  degree  from 
syphilis;  and  in  one  instance  when  called  to  visit  some  Indian 
girls  he  found  they  had  nothing  but  the  itch;6  and,  instead  of 
medicine,  he  recommended  cleanliness  and  dieting.7  In  the 
same  year,  1844,  Thomas  O.  Larkin,  consul  for  the  United 
States  at  Monterey,  established  a  small-pox  hospital  at  that 
place  towards  the  expenses  of  which  the  government,  then  in 
the  hands  of  Governor  Micheltorena,  contributed  liberally.8 
These  precautions,  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  were 
intended  more  particularly  for  the  white  people  than  for 
the  Indians,  most  of  whom  or  of  such  as  were  left  of  the 
neophytes  had  been  obliged  to  leave  the  ruined  missions  and 
were  living  a  vagabond  life.  But  among  the  Indians  the 
mortality,  caused  by  this  disease,  was  undoubtedly  very  great. 


1  "For  los  establecimientos  ingleses  y  rusos  que  se  hallan  en  contacto  con  esta 
parte  de  la  Alta  California,  nos  iue  comunicada  la  horrorosa  epidemia  de  las  vir- 
uelas.  Ya  invadio  esta  frontera,  senalando  sus  huellas  con  muerte  y  desolacion." 
—  Vallejo  to  Los  Angeles  ayuntamiento,  May  23,  1838. — Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P. 
Ang.  XI,  476,  477. 

2  Cal.  Archives,  S.  G.  S.  P.  XVI,  20,  41. 

3  Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P.  Ang.  X,  140. 

*  Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P.  Ang.  VIII,  155. 

5  Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P.  Ang.  VIII,  104-106. 

8  "  Una  sarna  bastante  lea." — Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P.  Ang.  VIII,  128. 

7  "  La  limpieza  y  dieta."— Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P.  Ang.  VIII,   128. 

s  Cal.  Archives,  D.  S.  P.  XII,  629;  D.  S.  P.  Ben.  C.  H.   VI,  35. 


790  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

Though  no  statistics  give  the  number,  it  is  perhaps  safe  to 
assume  that  the  major  part  of  them  died  of  small-pox. 

For  all  their  sicknesses  the  almost  universal  remedy  of  the 
Indians  was  the  sweat-house  or  temescal,  to  which  they  also 
resorted  even  in  health.  This  consisted  of  a  hut,  mostly 
underground,  with  its  roof  of  timber  so  covered  over  with  clay 
that  the  interior  was  dark  and  almost  entirely  excluded  from 
the  outer  atmosphere.  In  the  middle  of  this  a  fire  was  built, 
which  soon  heated  the  inclosed  air  to  the  temperature  of  an 
oven.  Around  this  fire  the  patients  would  seat  or  throw 
themselves  upon  the  floor  and  in  a  short  time  be  bathed  in 
profuse  .perspiration.  This  they  would  endure  in  some  cases 
until  they  became  thoroughly  exhausted  and  had  to  be  carried 
out;  but  ordinarily,  before  reaching  the  point  of  exhaustion, 
they  would  clamber  out  of  the  heated  dungeon  and,  running 
to  the  nearest  stream  or  pond,  cold  as  it  might  be,  plunge 
their  entire  bodies  into  it.  There  were  doubtless  cases,  in 
which  these  hot  air  and  cold  water  baths  were  beneficial ; 
and  perhaps  in  the  majority  of  instances  they  were  not  hurt- 
ful;1 but  in  cases  of  small-pox  and  other  kindred  diseases, 
which  sometimes  swept  over  the  country,  they  were  almost 
invariably  fatal.  Besides  the  sweat-houses,  various  drugs  and 
charms  and  sorceries  were  made  use  of,  in  the  application  of 
all  which  the  medicine-men,  who  were  the  only  professors  of 
the  healing  art,  were  alone  supposed  to  be  skilled.  For  cuta- 
neous diseases,  sores,  swellings,  tumors  and  rheumatic  affec- 
tions different  kinds  of  herbs,  such  as  wild  sage  and  rosemary 
and  sometimes  balsams  and  resins  were  applied  in  the  shape 
of  poultices  or  plasters.  When  the  pain  was  in  the  stomach 
the  same  kind  of  herbs  was  used;  but  the  application  was  by 
way  of  inhaling  the  smoke  of  their  leaves.  They  did  not 
possess  the  tobacco  plant,  but  used  the  leaves  of  several 
kinds  of  trees  and  weeds  for  smoking,  some  of  them  more  and 


1  Humboldt,  who  seems  to  have  been  unacquainted  with  the  customary  douche 
after  an  ordinary  steam  bath,  says  of  the  effect  of  the  temescal:  "  This  rapid 
transition  from  heat  to  cold  and  the  sudden  suppression  of  the  cutaneous  transpi- 
ration, which  an  European  would  justl)  dread,  causes  the  most  agreeable  sensa- 
tions to  the  savage,  who  enjoys  whatever  strongly  agitates  him  or  acts  with 
violence  on  his  nervous  system." — Humboldt's  New  Spain  (Black's)  II,  349. 


INDIAN  DOMESTIC  RELATIONS.  791 

others  less  pungent.  One  of  these  and  the  most  generally 
used  was  a  weed,  known  among  the  missionaries  as  tobacco 
cimarron  or  wild  tobacco.  For  ordinary  pains  counter  irri- 
tants, produced  by  a  whipping  of  nettles  or  the  bites  of  large 
ants,  were  not  uncommon  remedies. 

When  a  person  felt  seriously  ill,  the  custom  was  to  send 
for  a  medicine-man  and  sometimes  for  several  of  them 
together.  They  always,  upon  their  appearance,  affected  an 
air  of  great  mystery  and  were  not  wanting  in  the  arts  of 
winks,  nods  and  head-shakings,  which  were  regarded  as 
proofs  of  great  wisdom.  These  took  place  while  the  patient 
was  being  carefully  examined  from  head  to  foot,  apparently 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  seat  of  the  pain;  and  as 
soon  as  the  locality  of  a  disease  was  fixed  upon,  the  next 
matter  was  to  decide  upon  the  cause.  This  was  almost 
always  declared  to  be  the  presence  of  some  foreign  body, 
such  as  a  hair,  bone,  thorn,  stone,  stick  or  something  of  that 
kind;  and  it  was  seldom  that  the  practitioners  did  not  pre- 
tend to  know  exactly  what  and  exactly  where  the  trouble 
was.  The  diagnosis  thus  completed,  they  next  applied  them- 
selves to  the  treatment  of  the  ailment  and  eradication  of  its 
supposed  cause.  For  this  purpose  they  would  perform  vari- 
ous kinds  of  antic  gesticulations,  at  the  same  time  blowing 
towards  the  four  cardinal  points  or  making  strange  sounds 
and  generally  working  themselves  up  to  a  pitch  of  great 
excitement,  well  calculated  to  impress  the  patient  and  his 
friends  with  their  earnestness  and  the  difficulties  of  the  task 
they  had  on  hand.  Finally  one  of  them  would  apply  his  lips 
to  the  seat  of  the  disease  and  pretend  to  draw  out  by  suction 
the  cause  of  the  disorder  in  the  shape  of  the  supposed  foreign 
substance,  which  was  then  triumphantly  exhibited.  If  the 
disease  was  persistent  and  the  patient  very  weak,  he  was  next 
laid  upon  a  bed  of  ashes  or  dry  sand,  with  vessels  of  food  and 
water  at  his  head  and  a  fire  at  his  feet,  and  the  result  sedu- 
lously watched  by  surrounding  friends.  These  seem  in 
general  to  have  sat  as  silent  spectators,  without  calling  in 
question    the    propriety    of    the    treatment    adopted    by    the 


792  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

doctors,  obtruding  upon  the  patient  their  own  advice,  or 
vexing  his  soul  with  ill-timed  consolations.  Great  confidence 
being  reposed  in  their  medicine-men,  the  imagination  of 
the  patient  was  often  strong  enough  or  sufficiently  powerfully- 
excited  to  effect  a  wonderful  cure,  in  which  case  the  fame  of 
the  doctors  was  spread  far  and  wide.  Nor  did  they  suffer 
much  in  reputation  if  the  patient  died;  for  in  such  case  it  was 
supposed  that  Chinigchinich  had  intervened;  and  there  was 
no  escape  when  he  had  doomed  the  sufferer  to  death.  In 
either  case  the  professional  men  were  well  paid  for  their  pains. 

In  case  of  death,  as  soon  as  it  was  ascertained  beyond 
doubt  that  life  was  extinct,  preparations  were  made  for  the 
funeral  services.  Among  some  of  the  tribes  the  body  was 
buried;  but  the  most  usual  disposition  of  it  was  burning. 
For  this  purpose  a  pile  was  prepared  and  one  of  the  sorcerers, 
who  generally  acted  on  such  occasions,  was  summoned  to  act 
as  master  of  the  ceremonies.  Everything  being  prepared 
under  his  supervision,  the  body  was  borne  to  the  pile  and 
placed  upon  the  faggots.  All  the  articles  of  common  use 
belonging  to  the  deceased,  including  his  bow,  arrows,  feath- 
ers, beads  and  clothing  and  also  such  articles  of  value  as  were 
contributed  by  his  friends,  were  placed  beside  him.  The 
friends  then  retired  a  short  distance,  while  the  sorcerer 
applied  the  torch  and  kept  up  the  fire  until  the  body  was 
consumed.  This  part  of  the  ceremony  being  finished,  the 
sorcerer,  after  receiving  his  pay,  withdrew,  while  the  friends 
sang  funeral  dirges  in  which  all  the  circumstances  of  the  dis- 
ease and  death  were  recited,  and  the  relatives  wept.  The 
women  were  on  such  occasions  especially  demonstrative  in 
their  grief;  and  often  the  lamentations  were  kept  up  without 
intermission  for  three  days  and  nights.1 

The  ceremonies  of  incremation  differed  in  some  respects  in 
different  localities;  but  in  all  cases  they  made  a  public  spec- 
tacle more  or  less  imposing  according  to  the  importance  of 
the  deceased.  Generally  the  corpse  seems  to  have  been  pre- 
pared by  doubling  up  the  knees  against  the  chest  and 
securely  binding  and  tying  up  the  body  in  as  compact  a  form 

1  Boscana,  in  Robinson,  310-315. 


INDIA  N  D  O  ME  STIC  RE  LA  TIONS.  793 

as  possible.  Usually  the  ceremonies  were  conducted  by 
medicine-men  who  performed  various  juggleries;  but  some- 
times they  seem  to  have  been  under  the  supervision  of  the 
relatives  alone.  In  some  cases  all  the  property  of  the  deceased 
was  buried  with  him;  in  others,  various  articles  such  as  his 
arms  were  preserved  and  handed  over  to  his  heir  or  successor 
Sometimes  those  who  participated  in  the  ceremonies  acted 
with  moderation;  at  other  times  they  worked  themselves  up 
into  a  frenzy  of  excitement,  during  which  they  would  perform 
all  kinds  of  extravagancies,  howling,  contorting  themselves, 
tearing  their  hair  and  flesh,  snatching  brands  from  the  fire 
and  in  some  instances  tearing  off  pieces  of  burning  flesh  and 
devouring  it.  In  some  cases  the  ashes  of  the  deceased  were 
collected  and  preserved  or  buried;  in  others  they  were  mixed 
with  grease  and  plastered  on  the  hair  or  smeared  over  the 
faces  of  the  mourners;  and  in  these  latter  instances  the 
hideous  mixture  was  allowed  to  remain  as  long  as  it  could  be 
kept. 

Of  the  languages  of  the  Indians  of  Alta  California  a  great 
deal  has  been  written ;  but,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  notes 
picked  up  by  some  of  the  older  authors,  there  seems  to  be  but 
little  that  is  reliable  or  valuable.  From  their  testimony,  as 
well  as  from  that  of  later  writers,  it  appears  certain,  as  one 
important  fact,  that  there  were  almost  as  many  different  lan- 
guages or  at  least  idioms  as  there  were  rancherias.  Every 
little  valley  had  a  distinct  tongue,  which  was  almost  entirely 
unintelligible  to  the  people  of  adjoining  valleys ;  and  very 
often  one  and  the  same  mission,  though  its  jurisdiction  did 
not  extend  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  around,  em- 
braced within  its  circuit  a  number  of  different  dialects.  In 
some  instances  the  missionaries,  who  remained  stationed  for  a 
length  of  time  at  the  same  place,  learned  the  language  most 
commonly  used  by  their  people;  but  very  generally  they  were 
obliged  to  make  use  of  interpreters.  It  is  to  be  noted  also 
that  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  Spanish  occupation  it 
was  the  policy  of  the  church,  as  well  as  of  the  state,  to  super- 
sede all  the  native  languages  with  the  Spanish;  and  for  this 


794  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

reason  not  only  was  the  use  of  their  own  tongue  by  the 
Indians  discouraged,  but  the  missionaries  were  required  by 
law  to  teach  only  in  Spanish;1  and  it  was  therefore  regarded 
as  a  sort  of  crime  in  a  priest,  if  not  exactly  to  study  and 
learn  an  Indian  tongue,  at  least  to  use  it  in  teaching  or  com- 
municating with  his  neophytes..  But  notwithstanding  this 
attitude  of  the  ruling  powers,  some  of  the  missionaries,  as 
before  stated,  who  remained  stationed  sufficiently  long  at  the 
same  place,  learned  the  native  dialects  most  commonly 
spoken  by  their  people;  and  a  few  of  them,  such  as  Father 
Geronimo  Boscana  of  San  Juan  Capistrano,  the  author  of 
Chinigchinich,  and  Father  Buenaventura  Sitjar  of  San  Anto- 
nio and  afterwards  of  San  Miguel,  author  of  a  vocabulary  of 
the  San  Antonio  Indians,  have  left  some  record  of  their 
knowledge. 

Father  Lasuen,  according  to  Humboldt,  reckoned  that 
between  San  Diego  and  San  Francisco,  there  was  not  less 
than  seventeen  entirely  distinct  languages  spoken;2  and  in 
this  calculation  no  account  was  taken  of  distinct  dialects. 
Duflot  de  Mofras,  who  affords  more  extensive  and  more 
accurate  information  than  any  other  writer  upon  the  subject, 
says  that  as  the  natives  were  divided  up  into  small  frac- 
tions or  rancherias,  each  separate  from  the  others,  there  re- 
sulted an  infinity  of  distinct  dialects  having  little  or  no  kind 
of  analogy  with  one  another.  And  this  was  the  case  not  only 
among  tribes  strictly  separate;  but  even  among  people  bor- 
dering upon  one  another  or  inhabiting  neighboring  islands  of 
the  same  archipelago.3  He  affirms  that  in  the  space  of  two 
hundred  leagues  occupied  by  the  missions  there  were  more 
than  a  hundred  idioms  completely  distinct.  At  the  mission 
of  San  Jose  alone,  he  counted  more  than  forty  Indians  using 
different  dialects;  and  at  San  Juan  there  were  Indians  belong- 
ing to  more  than  fifteen  different  tribes.  In  the  rude  state  of 
barbarism  that  existed,  without  writing  or  letters  of  any  kind, 
old   languages  changed  rapidly  and  new  dialects  sprang  up 

1  Cal.  Archives,  P.  S.  P.  XIV,  198. 

2  Humboldt's  New  Spain  (Black's)  II,  346. 

3  Duflot  de  Mofras,  II,  336. 


INDIAN  D  O ME  STIC  RELA  TIONS.  795 

with  almost  every  change  of  circumstances.  Father  Boscana 
gives  an  account  of  a  cacique  or  capitanejo,  who  finding  his 
people  too  much  circumscribed  for  territory,  divided  them 
into  two  parts,  reserving  the  control  of  one  portion  for  him- 
self and  giving  the  other  over  to  his  daughter  and  ordering 
her  to  move  off  with  them  to  the  eastward.  And  he  says 
that  the  new  tribe  had  hardly  separated  from  the  old  one 
before  it  formed  an  entirely  new  language.  This  statement 
is  not  to  be  accepted  without  great  allowances,  as  it  is  well 
known  that  new  languages  are  not  formed  so  readily;  but  it 
goes  to  show  that  the  changes  of  dialect  were  rapid. 

So  also  languages  or  dialects  readily  died  out  and  were 
lost.  A  very  affecting  story,  which  in  a  remarkable  manner 
illustrates  this  fact,  is  told  of  a  woman,  the  last  Indian  resi- 
dent on  the  Island  of  San  Nicolas,  who  for  eighteen  years 
lived  the  life  of  a  female  Selkirk.  San  Nicolas  is  of  small 
extent,  little  more  than  a  mass  of  rocks — the  bare  peak  of  an 
isolated  mountain  almost  submerged  by  the  ocean — and  about 
seventy  miles  off  the  coast  of  Los  Angeles.  In  1835  there 
were  a  few  Indians  living  on  it,  said  to  be  seventeen  or  eight- 
een in  number,  whom  it  was  determined  to  remove  to  the 
mainland.  A  schooner  was  accordingly  sent  to  take  them  off 
and  carry  them  to  San  Pedro.  When  everything  was  pre- 
pared, and  the  Indians  all  on  the  beach  ready  to  embark,  one 
of  the  women  discovered  that  her  child  had  strayed  or  been 
left  behind;  and  she  started  to  look  for  it.  She  had  not  been 
long  away,  and  the  other  Indians  had  in  the  meanwhile  gone 
on  board,  when  a  strong  wind  sprang  up  and  the  schooner 
was  compelled  to  run  before  it,  leaving  her  on  the  island. 
The  wind  continuing  and  increasing  to  a  storm,  the  vessel 
could  not  turn  back,  but  proceeded  to  San  Pedro  and  landed 
its  passengers.  Shortly  after  arriving  there,  it  suffered  ship- 
wreck and  was  totally  lost.  There  was  at  that  time  no  other 
vessel  on  the  coast  large  enough  to  make  the  trip,  or  it  was 
not  considered  of  sufficient  importance  to  go  after  the  poor 
creature;  and  she  was  therefore  left  to  shift  for  herself.  Years 
passed  on;  all  who  knew  anything  of  the  facts  thought  the 


79'6  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

woman  must  have  perished  in  her  desolate  loneliness;  and  the 
circumstances  of  her  abandonment  were  almost  forgotten. 
But  in  1853,  eighteen  years  afterwards,  George  Nidever  of 
Santa  Barbara  had  occasion  to  visit  the  island  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  his  occupation  of  sea-otter  hunting.  On  his  first  trip 
he  discovered  signs  of  human  life,  but  saw  no  one.  On  his  sec- 
ond trip  the  same  year,  he  searched  the  island  carefully  and 
found  the  poor  woman,  living  like  a  second  Robinson  Crusoe, 
clad  in  the  skins  of  birds  and  covered  from  head  to  foot  with 
feathers.  As  may  well  be  imagined,  she  presented  an  ex- 
traordinary sight.  He  induced  her  to  enter  his  vessel  and, 
bringing  her  to  the  mainland,  took  her  to  his  house,  where 
she  was  properly  clothed  and  treated  in  the  kindest  and  most 
humane  manner.  But  no  one  could  understand  anything  she 
said.  Though  many  Indians  were  brought  from  different 
portions  of  the  country,  no  one  could  interpret  a  word  of  her 
dialect,  except  another  old  woman  who  it  appears  understood 
a  little,  but  not  enough  to  get  a  connected  narrative  of  her 
strange  life  or  what  had  become  of  her  child.  As  she  could 
neither  understand  nor  make  herself  understood,  she  was 
almost  as  widely  separated  from  her  fellow  creatures  as  she  had 
been  for  so  many  years  among  the  ocean-girt  rocks.  Though 
at  first  in  apparently  good  health  and,  as  near  as  could  be 
judged,  not  over  fifty  years  of  age,  she  lived  only  thre-e 
months  after  her  removal  from  the  island.  The  change  of 
food  and  of  her  mode  of  life  was  probably  too  great  and  too 
sudden;  and  she  sickened  and  died;1  and  as  the  other  mem- 
bers of  her  tribe  had  disappeared  or  been  swallowed  up  in 
other  tribes,  her  language  seems  to  have  died  out  with  her. 

As  there  was  nothing  in  the  way  of  writing,  either  by  let- 
ters or  pictures  among  the  Californian  Indians,  their  only  his- 
tory was  transmitted  by  tradition.  They  had  a  sort  of  songs 
or  chants,  used  in  some  of  their  feasts  and  ceremonies;  but 
even  these  were  in  an  old  language  which  had  passed  away, 
having  little  or  no  resemblance  to  the  dialect  then  commonly 
spoken.     Only  the  chiefs  and  medicine-men  understood  them 

1  Huse's  Sketch  of  Santa  Barbara,  1876,  29,  30. 


INDIAN  DOMESTIC  RELATIONS.  797 

or  had  any  idea  of  what  they  signified.  It  is  said  that  there 
were  some  conventional  signs,  such  as  marks  on  shells  or 
arrangement  of  feathers  or  cuts  upon  trees,  by  which  they 
could  convey  a  certain  kind  of  intelligence  and  particularly 
fix  a  time  for  a  rendezvous  to  celebrate  a  feast,  steal  horses 
or  attack  an  enemy;  and  that  by  means  of  fires  lighted  on 
the  hills  they  could  telegraph  to  one  another;  but  there  was 
nothing  to  fix  or  preserve  the  meaning  of  words,  which  there- 
fore changed  more  or  less  with  every  generation. 

De  Lamanon,  who  accompanied  La  Perouse  and  had  some 
opportunities  of  observation  at  Monterey,  speaks  of  two  dif- 
ferent languages  spoken  there;  one  that  of  the  Achastlians 
and  the  other  that  of  the  Ecclemachs,  corresponding  doubt- 
less to  what  were  otherwise  known  as  the  Eslencs  and  the 
Runcienes.  The  language  of  the  Achastlians  was  adapted  to 
the  feeble  development  of  their  understanding.  As  they 
had  few  abstract  ideas,  they  had  few  words  to  express  them. 
They  did  not  appear  to  distinguish  different  species  of  ani- 
mals to  any  great  extent  by  different  names.  They  called 
both  toads  and  frogs  "ouakache;"  and  in  like  manner  differ- 
ent vegetables  having  the  same  uses  were  called  by  the  same 
name.  To  indicate  moral  qualities,  they  used  words  indica- 
tive of  the  sense  of  taste,  like  the  Lower  Californians.  Thus 
"  missick"  denoted  a  good  man  or  savory  food  and  "keches" 
meant  a  bad  man  or  tainted  food.  They  distinguished  plu- 
rals from  singulars  and  they  conjugated  some  tenses  of  verbs, 
but  had  no  declensions  of  nouns.  Their  substantives  were 
much  more  numerous  than  their  adjectives.  They  did  not 
employ  the  labials  "  f "  and  "  b,"  nor  the  letter  "  x;  "  but  they 
had  "chr  "  as  in  "chrskonder"  bird;  "chruk  "  hut.  The  diph- 
thong "ou"  was  found  in  more  than  half  their  words,  as 
"chouroui"  to  sing;  "  touroun  "  the  skin;  "tonours"the  nails. 
Their  most  common  initial  consonants  were  "t"  and  "k." 
They  had  words  to  denote  numbers  up  to  ten;  but  very  few 
of  them  could  go  beyond  five  without  counting  with  their  fin- 
gers. The  language  of  the  Ecclemachs,  on  the  other  hand, 
who  lived  to  the  eastward  of  Monterey,  was  entirely  different 


798  THE  SPANISH  GOVERNORS. 

and  was  supposed  to  have  a  greater  resemblance  to  the  lan- 
guages of  Europe  than  to  the  other  languages  of  America. 
Their  idiom,  though  it  could  not  be  compared  with  the  lan- 
guage of  civilized  nations,  was  richer  than  that  of  any  other 
Californian  tribe.  Their  numerals  were  "  pek  "  one,  "  oulach  " 
two,  "oullef"  three,  "amniabou"  four,  "pemaka"  five,  "  pek- 
oulana"  six,  "houlakoalano  "  seven,  "  koulefala  "  eight,  "  ka- 
makoualane  "  nine,  "tomoila"  ten.1  Duflot  de  Mofras,  who 
possessed  a  manuscript  grammar  of  the  language  of  the  Tu- 
lare Indians  composed  by  Father  Felipe  Arroyo  de  la  Cuesta 
of  Santa  Inez,  formerly  for  many  years  of  San  Juan  Bautista, 
says  that  it  wanted  the  consonants  "b,"  "d,"  "  f,"  "g"  and 
"r,"  which  play  a  prominent  part  in  most  of  the  languages  of 
the  world;  but  it  had  many  guttural  and  aspirated  articula- 
tions. All  the  Indians,  however,  seemed  to  succeed  in  pro- 
nouncing Spanish  with  facility;  though  ordinarily  they  would 
change  the  "r"  into  "1"  and  say  "pale"  instead  of  "padre" 
and  "  Malia  "  instead  of  "  Maria."  2 

Various  writers,  in  addition  to  those  named,  have  attempted 
to  give  some  information  in  regard  to  the  Indian  languages — 
a  subject  which  might  perhaps  with  proper  knowledge  and 
proper  treatment,  lead  to  important  results — but  so  far  little 
or  nothing  has  been  elaborated.  With  the  exception  of  spec- 
imens of  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  different  dialects  and  a  few 
words  and  grammatical  notes,3  of  which  philology  has  not  yet 
been  able  to  make  much  use,  substantially  nothing  remains. 
And  in  this  same  connection  it  is  to  be  noted  that  tl  e  at- 
tempts above  mentioned  to  give  Indian  words,  and  in  fact  all 
other  attempts  to  reproduce  Indian  or  other  barbarous  lan- 
guages, are  and  must  in  the  nature  of  things  be  more  or  less 
imperfect  and  vain;  for  the  reason  that  the  original  sounds 
were  entirely  different  from  those  used  by  enlightened  people. 
Different  nations  and  indeed  different  authors  of  the  same 
nation  give  entirely  different  spellings  to  the  same  word;  and 
it  may  safely  be  assumed  that  none  of  them  give  the  correct 

1  La  P6rouse,  I,  466-469. 

3  Duflot  de  Mofras,  II,  387,  388. 

'  Duflot  de  Mofras,  II,  390-400. 


INDIAN  DOMESTIC  RELATIONS.  799 

pronunciation.  The  numerals  of  the  Ecclemachs  as  above 
given  by  a  Frenchman,  were  spelled  in  a  very  different  man- 
ner and  required  very  different  pronunciation  when  given  by 
a  Spaniard.1  Dana,  speaking  of  the  language  of  the  Califor- 
nian  Indians  in  general,  described  it  as  the  most  brutish  that 
could  be  conceived.  The  words  seemed  to  fall  off  of  the  ends 
of  their  tongues.  In  other  words,  according  to  his  descrip- 
tion, while  they  were  talking  there  was  a  continual  sound 
made  in  their  cheeks  outside  of  their  teeth;  and  their  lan- 
guage was  a  complete  "  slobber."  '2 

1  Relacion,  172. 

2  Dana,  135. 


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